Parliament in Iraq has approved the new cabinet of Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari, ushering in the first democratically elected government since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The Shiite politician Ahmed Chalabi who was once favored by Washington is one of four deputy prime ministers. He's also been placed temporarily in charge of the oil ministry, which is one of several key posts yet to be decided. The cabinet comprises ministers from the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities as well as a number of women. Several Sunni politicians say they are unhappy at their representation in the cabinet when one leading Sunni A.P. expressed his optimism about the future.

    The important thing really is to concentrate on the constitution and to get ready for the next elections which will be at the end of this year and I believe the Sunni Arab are determined to participate in the elections in a very inclusive and strong manner.

    The Russian President Vladimir Putin has faced objections from Israel over Russia's plans to sell anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and Moscow's cooperation with Iran's nuclear program. Mr. Putin on the first visit to Israel by a Russian leader insisted that the missiles wouldn't threaten Israel. From Jerusalem, James Ranold reports.

    Vladimir Putin seems to be enjoying his first state visit to Israel. He began the day by signing a declaration of cooperation with Israel's President Moshe Katzav and then he got into the business of defending his ties with Iran and Syria, two of Israel's greatest enemies. Mr. Putin told reporters that Russia's cooperation with Iran on its nuclear program was strictly limited to non-military use. Then he added his own warning for Iran: it should not prevent international access to its nuclear sites. But Mr. Putin gave no ground on his dealings with Syria. He said that short-range anti-aircraft missiles he was planning to sell to the Arab country posed no threat to Israel.

    The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has consolidated his relationship with Cuba by opening the first office of the giant Venezuelan oil company in Havana. The company already provides cheap oil to the Cuban government. It will use the new office as its Caribbean base.

    The World Trade Organization has upheld a ruling that the European Union has been dumping subsidized sugar on the world market. The organization's top court rejected an appeal by the EU against a WTO judgment last year that European exporters were being given illegal levels of state subsidies to sell surplus EU sugar abroad. John Woolen reports.

    Europe's sugar regime has one of the last areas of the common agricultural policy, which has not been reformed. It subsidizes exports into the global market. At the same time, Europe levies steep tariffs on sugar imports. It's long been criticized as being protectionist and damaging to sugar farmers in developing countries. The European Commission now plans to overhaul the sugar regime but sugar remains a significant industry across the EU, employing tens of thousands of workers. Getting member states to sign up to the reforms will not be easy.

    Just a week before the British general election, the Prime Minister Tony Blair has come under renewed pressure over his decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. It follows the disclosure of a leaked document, which appears to show that his chief legal adviser, the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith had some doubts about the legality of the war prior to the invasion.

    Five senior British judges have ruled that it is lawful to have fertility treatment in order to create so-called designer babies, which can be used in the treatment of siblings with genetic disorders. The law lords upheld an earlier court ruling which overturned a ban on the use of fertility treatment to help save the life of a terminally ill boy. David Tresam reports :

    Raj and Shahana Hashmi have spent years trying to have fertility treatment to provide a sibling for their son, 6-year-old Zain. He has a rare blood disorder, which is potentially fatal. The case challenging the couple's right to keep trying was brought by a campaigning group, which argued that the concept of designer babies was unethical and illegal. But the five judges who heard the case ruled unanimously that it was legal to carry out tissue typing in order to create babies to help siblings.

    A court in South Africa has found two men guilty of murdering a black farm laborer by throwing him into a lion enclosure. The prosecution said the laborer had returned to his former place of work to pick up some belongings when he was attacked with machetes, tied up and thrown into a lion's den where he was mauled to death. Trade union leaders say the case highlights widespread abuse of farm laborers. The case has provoked outrage in South Africa with protestors picketing the court demanding life sentences.