The Times: DICK CHENEY placed Iran at the top of Washington’s list of world troublespots and said that he feared that Israel may strike Tehran in order to eliminate its nuclear threat. “We don’t want a war in the Middle East if we can avoid it,” said Mr Cheney, who was yesterday sworn in for a second term as President Bush’s Vice-President.

Daily Telegraph: Now comes the hard part. President George W Bush’s elegy to freedom yesterday and his vision of it flowering around the world fitted into the long tradition of inaugural speeches that blend America’s optimism with smugness about the reach and benefits of its power. But unlike most of his predecessors Mr Bush has repeatedly made clear that he sees “spreading freedom” as more than a slogan. For him it is a mission. The challenge for his aides now is how – and where – to act on his words.

Financial Times: The Bush administration’s changing of the guard at the State Department was almost complete yesterday as Colin Powell bid an emotional farewell to his staff just as senators were wrapping up their grilling of Condoleezza Rice, the next secretary of state. Speaking of the foreign policy challenges ahead, Mr Powell said the focus was on …

Reuters: Vice President Dick Cheney said on Thursday that Iran was at the top of the administration’s list of world trouble spots and expressed concern that Israel “might well decide to act first” to eliminate any nuclear threat from Tehran. “You look around the world at potential trouble spots, Iran is right at the top of the list,” Cheney said in an interview aired on MSNBC …

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 20 – There are currently “200,000 sufferers of the Hepatitis C virus in Iran”, according to the head of the Iranian Medical Association. Speaking to a state-run news agency, Dr. Iraj Khosronia warned, “One of the most dangerous viruses affecting human society is Hepatitis C … but people’s awareness about this disease is very limited”.