Washington  - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments against Israel at a racism conference Monday were "unacceptable" and only serve to fuel racial hatred, the US State Department said.

"Unfortunately, we've heard all of this before from President Ahmadinejad. The comments that he made, frankly, were unacceptable and, frankly feed racial hatred," spokesman Robert Wood said. "Iran needs to end this type of inflammatory rhetoric. It's not helpful."

Havana  - Traditional Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Monday complained that the weekend Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago was held in "secret."

But at the same time, amid a dawning - though as yet far from complete - thaw in US-Cuban relations, Castro had some praise for US President Barack Obama.

"His predecessor (George W Bush) went to sleep early and slept many hours. It seems that Obama works a lot and sleeps little," he quipped in an article published on the website Cubadebate.

Strasbourg - European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering on Monday condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's speech at the UN racism conference as "unacceptable" and coupled it with a warning about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

Poettering said "The European Union and the international community must decisively condemn these statements and work with determination to ensure an Israel in safe borders and a Palestinian State in safe borders can live in peace together."

Washington - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for the immediate release of an American journalist sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran on "baseless" espionage charges.

"We believe she should be freed immediately," Clinton said. "The charges against her are baseless."

Roxana Saberi had been held in Iran for months prior to last week's sentence. The Iranian government charges she was operating in the country illegally because she was not a credentialed journalist.

Ramallah  - President Barack Obama is committed to the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state and regards this as a "national interest" of the US, his envoy said Friday in Ramallah.

"This conflict has gone on for far too long. The people of this region should no longer have to wait for the just peace," George Mitchell told reporters, as he wrapped up his first visit to the region since the formation of a new Israeli government that has refused to openly endorse a two-state solution to the conflict.

Mexico City  - US President Barack Obama arrived in Mexico Thursday for an overnight visit to meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

"Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners and necessity has made us allies," Calderon said as he welcomed Obama, quoting the late US president John F Kennedy.

Discussions are set to focus on drug trafficking and crime, as the death toll in Mexico's drug wars has soared to more than 7,000 since January 2008.