World Highlights

• Russia said attempts by its Western partners to ditch agreed principles in handling Iran's nuclear ambitions were blocking adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on sanctions against Tehran. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference Russia was also alarmed by what it saw as Western attempts to hamper its economic cooperation with the Islamic republic and bring it under international control

• Army Gen. John Abizaid, who commands US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan as head of the Central Command, plans to retire early next year, his command said. The departure of General Abizaid, 55, who has served in his post since July 2003, longer than any previous commander, could set the stage for strategic changes under review by President George W. Bush.

• The US envoy at talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons held out the possibility of agreement on first steps towards that goal, weeks after Pyongyang defiantly staged its first nuclear blast. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said US and North Korean negotiators were fleshing out plans to set in motion a joint statement from September 2005 promising North Korea aid and security assurances in return for nuclear disarmament.

• Somali Islamists and troops defending the government's only stronghold battled with rockets and heavy weapons at two frontline areas, but a top Islamist leader denied it was the start of war.

"The war has not started. This is a small incident," Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told reporters after meeting visiting European Union aid chief Louis Michel.