Main news of February 5

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours.

WORLD

 

* The founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has called on Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to bring him home, Sydney Morning Herald reported

* The explosion at a pipeline in Egypt's North Sinai has targeted the gas supplies to Jordan, not Israel, Al Jazeera reported

* The dialogue on overcoming the crisis in Egypt should involve all the political forces in the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

*Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exchanged the instruments of ratification for the New START arms reduction treaty and the document came into effect

* Russia does not deem an adapted Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) irrelevant and expects NATO to accept it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* Russia has called on one of Egypt's leading opposition figures, ex-head of the IAEA Mohamed El Baradei, to seek ways of overcoming the political turmoil in the country via constructive dialogue with Egypt's leadership, a source form the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* Thousands of anti-Mubarak protestors continue to gather on Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak

* Russia's Foreign Ministry  urged Japan to renounce its far-fetched emphasis on "island themes" in order to reach constructive dialogue with Russia

* The top leadership of Egypt's ruling National Democratic party resigned, the Egypt's TV reported

* The next meeting of the Middle East Quartet will be held in mid-March, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called against possible introduction of new sanctions on Iran