Abbas sees UN taking weeks, not months on bid

Speaking to journalists on his plane back from the General Assembly in New York, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Security Council members had initially appeared unenthusiastic about the idea of discussing the application.

He said the mood appeared to change after he delivered a speech to the General Assembly on Friday, during which he pressed the Palestinian case for an independent state alongside Israel."(Now) we are talking about weeks not months," Abbas said. (Reuters)