World News: We'll keep on talking, say Israeli and Palestinian chiefs

Israeli and Palestinian leaders said they would keep talking and produce a framework for a permanent peace deal following their first session in two years.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas will meet again on September 14 and 15 in the Middle East. They will also meet about every two weeks after that.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who hosted yesterday's talks in Washington and made a public plea for both sides to compromise in the name of peace, will attend the next round.

US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced the developments after several hours of talks between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas at which the two leaders pledged to work through the region's deeply ingrained mutual hostility and suspicion to resolve the long-running conflict in a year's time.

Mr Mitchell refused to discuss specifics but said the framework agreement would lay out the "fundamental compromises" needed for a final settlement.

He was unclear about whether the one-year deadline applied to the framework agreement or a final peace treaty.

Man smuggles 95 live snakes

A MALAYSIAN man admitted wildlife smuggling after his bag of 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a luggage conveyor belt at Kuala Lumpur airport.

Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, 52, was charged with exporting the endangered boas without a permit.

'Spider-Man' denies charge

A FRENCH skyscraper climber nicknamed "Spider-Man" pleaded not guilty today over his bare-handed climb up a 57-storey building in Sydney.

Alain Robert, known for scaling some of the world's tallest buildings without equipment, was arrested at the top of the Lumiere building.

Explosion hits oil platform

An oil platform exploded and burned off the Louisiana coast in the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in five months. This time, the US Coastguard said there was no leak and no-one was killed.

The coastguard initially reported yesterday that an oil sheen a mile long had begun to spread from the site of the blast, about 200 miles west of BP's massive spill.

Hours later, Cmdr Cheri Ben-Iesau said crews were unable to find any spill.

Turkey hosts peace summit

Turkey has invited leaders of the 14 other United Nations Security Council countries to a peace summit meeting.

Turkish president Abdullah Gul, whose country holds the rotating council presidency, will chair the meeting on September 23.

Soldiers kill 25 members of drug gang

Mexico: Soldiers killed 25 suspected cartel members in a raid and gun battle near the US border that has seen a surge in drug gang violence.

A reconnaissance flight over Ciudad Mier in Tamaulipas state had spotted several gunmen in front of a property.

United States: Four explosives linked to the gunman who took three hostages at the Discovery Communications headquarters in Maryland have been detonated.