Tehran  - In a first official reaction, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki late Friday said he was studying an offer by US President Barack Obama to open a new era in relations and put old divisions aside.

In a video message to Iran on Nowruz, which is Iranian New Year, Obama early Friday offered a new beginning, saying the United States was committed to engagement, not threats, in its pursuit of diplomacy.

Mottaki, whose comments were made in Afghanistan and were carried by the official news agency Irna, showed a cool reaction.

Valletta, Malta - Malta and Libya have signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding on search and rescue, the Maltese Foreign Ministry said Friday night.

There has been a steady increase in tragedies caused by boatloads of African immigrants leaving Libya's shores en route to Europe.

The memorandum of understanding is inspired by the desire of Malta and Libya to further promote friendly relations between the two countries and the necessity of improving the safety of life at sea in the Mediterranean basin, the ministry said.

Washington  - The United States criticized Spain for its decision Friday to end its role in the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, calling it a disappointment that breaks with an alliance agreement.

The Spanish government announced that it would pull out its 620 soldiers who are part of NATO's 15,500-strong contingency in Kosovo, which declared independence last year but was not recognized by Madrid.

Brussels  - The European Union and Ukraine on Monday are set to agree on a programme of political reforms and physical repairs to the former-Soviet state's giant gas network, EU officials said.

One fifth of all the natural gas consumed in the EU flows through Ukraine's 13,500-kilometre network of gas pipelines, but experts say that that network will need some 2.5 billion euros (3.4 billion dollars) in investment over the next six years just to keep pipes and pumping stations in running order.

Washington  - The United States moved to cut off aid to Madagascar on Friday following the forced resignation of the Indian Ocean island's president that amounted to a "coup d'etat," the State Department said.

The president of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, resigned on Tuesday under pressure from the military. He ceded control to mutinous generals, who in turn appointed opposition leader Andry Rajoelina as interim president.

London  - Outspoken British anti-war member of parliament (MP) George Galloway Friday denounced as "outrageous" a decision by the Canadian authorities to refuse him entry on the grounds of national security.

Galloway, a former Labour politician who has now set up his own political party, said in London that he would not accept the ban imposed ahead of a speech he had planned to give in Toronto.