SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Illinois House panel charged with deciding whether Gov. Rod Blagojevich should be impeached adjourned Tuesday after meeting for less than two hours.

The committee will resume its work in Springfield Wednesday, when Blagojevich's attorney, Edward Genson, was expected to attend, the Springfield State Journal-Register reported.

House Majority Leader and committee Chairwoman Barbara Flynn Currie opened Tuesday's meeting by saying an impeachment investigation was necessary because Blagojevich has yet to resign after his arrest last week on federal corruption allegations, including an accusation that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat.

Currie and other committee members said they would not let personal feelings interfere with their work on the panel.

"Frontier justice will not prevail in this proceeding. A rush to judgment does not serve the people well," Currie said.

The panel said it will conduct hearings over several weeks as it considers whether to impeach Blagojevich. It has the power to issue subpoenas and compel testimony, and is expected to seek information from the U.S. attorney's office -- which arrested the governor last week -- as well as information from other aspects of the federal investigation, such as testimony from convicted influence-peddler Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the Chicago Tribune reported.

In addition to the House action, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked the state Supreme Court to remove Blagojevich temporarily from office.

Report: Abbas won't seek re-election

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not seek re-election next year, his aides said.

The Arab newspaper Al-Hayat of London said Tuesday that aides to Abbas have said president wants to retire. Abbas reportedly made his decision after consulting with several regional leaders, including Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said.

Abbas is constitutionally obliged to hold new Palestinian elections sometime in 2009, although Hamas, the rival Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, has pledged not to recognize his authority after Jan. 9. Al-Hayat said Abbas decided to hold the elections in April after talking to Assad.

Three weeks ago, Abbas announced he would call early elections if his efforts to promote reconciliation between his Fatah party and Hamas proved unsuccessful, Haaretz reported.

Most countries oppose U.S. Gulf presence

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A worldwide survey of 21 nations indicates widespread opposition to the U.S. policy of stationing naval forces in the Persian Gulf, pollsters say.

In the poll, which surveyed 21,740 respondents between July 15 and Oct. 24 from 21 nations ranging from the United States to China to Pakistan, the U.S. approach to the Middle East got poor grades around the world, WorldPublicOpinion.org, a Washington polling group, said Tuesday.

When asked whether the U.S. having naval forces based in the Persian Gulf is a good idea or a bad idea, majorities in 14 of 20 nations said it is a bad idea, three said it is a good idea, and three were evenly divided.

WorldPublicOpinion.org said majorities that opposed U.S. naval forces in the Gulf were highest in the Middle East, led by Egypt (91 percent opposed); however, the same view was also fairly strongly outside the region, such as in Mexico (74 percent) and Russia (63 percent).

Even in Europe, views on the question leaned negative, with U.S. policy opposed by a majority in Germany (52 percent) and a plurality in Italy (43 percent). The group said the poll carried a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

State: U.S.-UAE nuclear pact to be signed

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department said Tuesday a nuclear energy pact with the United Arab Emirates would be signed soon despite concern about the UAE's ties with Iran.

"No date has been set," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood of the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement. "We hope to do it as soon as possible. (We) just need all of the different pieces in place, and once they are, then we can do it."

The agreement would bring U.S. technology and knowledge to the United Arab Emirates similar to the agreement reached with India earlier this year.

"We are confident that the agreement highlights the transparency of the civilian nuclear energy program the UAE is embarking on and should be lauded as the gold standard of nuclear cooperation agreements," Yousef Otaiba, the emirates' ambassador to the United States, told the official Emirates News Agency.

Critics of the deal, however, told the Los Angeles Times they were concerned about Iran's ties with the federation of kingdoms, which has acted as a transit point for billions of dollars of goods from the West and Asia sent to Iran.

Federal lawmakers, too, have voiced suspicions about the talks, the Times said Tuesday. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., introduced legislation that would require the White House to verify the UAE hasn't acted as a conduit for banned goods and services to Iran for at least a year before it can get nuclear technology.

UAE officials acknowledge congressional reluctance, saying they're working closely with lawmakers.

Caroline Kennedy can govern, friends say

NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Friends and associates of Caroline Kennedy say she is no dilettante and that she'd be qualified to serve as a U.S. Senator from New York.

Those interviewed by Tuesday's New York Times said that she is an unpretentious but capable administrator whose career, although not well known because of her private nature, is nonetheless replete with examples of hands-on policy work and behind-the-scenes maneuvering that could serve her well.

Kennedy, 51, daughter of slain former U.S. President John Kennedy, is one of several candidates to fill out the U.S. Senate term of U.S. Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton. New York Gov. David Paterson will make the choice.

Kennedy's friends cited one example from this spring in which Kennedy clashed with Harvard University officials looking for a new director of its Institute of Politics. The school wanted a well-known figure for the job, but Kennedy insisted they find someone who would be more committed. In the end, the board chose her recommendation, Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell.

"She's not shy about pushing people in a direction, and very good at doing it in a way that people don't even realize they're being pushed," board member Heather Campion told the newspaper.

Coleman hires lawyer in backer's probe

ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Sen. Norm Coleman, his wife and two friends retained attorneys in lawsuits alleging a backer conspired to funnel up to $100,000 to the Minnesota Republican.

The two lawsuits accused Coleman supporter Nasser Kazeminy of trying to send funds from a company he controls to the insurance firm where Coleman's wife Laurie worked, then eventually tried to move the money directly to the senator, The Hill reported.

Neither Coleman nor his wife has been accused of wrongdoing in the federal investigation, officials said.

The FBI is investigating the payments and whether they are connected to renovations done on Coleman's house, the Washington publication said.

"Sen. Coleman has called for an aggressive investigation by the appropriate authorities for these baseless allegations that are nothing more than political and financial extortion," said Coleman spokesman Luke Friedrich said. "To that end, he has retained counsel to work cooperatively with authorities when such an investigation is conducted, and to quickly expose these allegations for what they are, and to hold those who made these false allegations against the senator accountable."

Coleman is in a recount for his Senate seat with Democratic challenger Al Franken.