Iraq attacks decline, but Green Zone hit
At least three rockets or mortar rounds were fired at Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone today, U.S. officials said, despite an order by Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr to his followers to end weeklong clashes that have killed more than 350 people in the capital and across southern Iraq.

Al-Sadr trumps in latest showdown
The Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who directs the Mahdi Army militia, was facing a possible stranglehold after Iraqi forces moved last week against Shiite gangs in the southern city of Basra. Instead, al-Sadr emerged as a self-styled peacemaker and patriot after offering Sunday to rein in the Mahdi militiamen who rose up to protest the crackdown. In the balance of politics in Iraq, that means the biggest hit is taken by the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and its allies.

In Iraq, U.S. caught in middle of Shiite rivalry
The biggest surprise about the raging battles that erupted last week in southern Iraq was not that the combatants were fellow Shiites, but that it took this long. Enmity has long festered between the two sides: one a ruling party that has struggled against the widespread perception that it gained power on the back of the U.S. occupation, the other a populist movement that has positioned itself as a critic of the U.S.-backed new order.

Under siege in Baghdad’s Mahdi army stronghold
After nearly a year of relative calm, US troops and Shia militia engaged in pitched battles last week, underscoring how quickly order can give way to chaos in Iraq… Iraq’s government said it began the offensive to wipe out Basra’s Shia militias and criminal gangs. ‘They know the Sadrists will win the elections,’ Thahabi said. ‘So they are using the Americans against the Mahdi army. People have reached a point that they will sell their refrigerator to buy a rocket launcher to kill Americans.’

Israel to consider opening Gaza borders
JERUSALEM – Israel’s defense minister said he would consider reopening Gaza’s border crossings if violence from the territory ceases, but defense officials warned Tuesday that such a move is a long way off.

Iranian peacemaker in Iraq is on U.S. terrorist watch list
WASHINGTON — The Iranian general who helped broker an end to a week of fighting between Iraqi government forces and Shiite Muslim militiamen in southern Iraq is an unlikely peacemaker.

Russia urges Iran to join nuclear talks
UNITED NATIONS – Russia’s U.N. ambassador urged Iran on Monday to drop its opposition to talks with six key nations trying to ensure that its nuclear program is peaceful, saying the only way to resolve the dispute is through negotiations.

For China, Olympics are a time to display – and to conceal
Beijing – On a Beijing street a few weeks ago, a man began to beat his wife. A small crowd gathered, but nobody intervened until an American leaned from his apartment window overlooking the scene and began to shoot photos.

China alleges Tibet ‘suicide squads’
BEIJING – China escalated its rhetoric against supporters of the Dalai Lama on Tuesday, accusing the Nobel Peace laureate’s backers of planning suicide attacks.

NKorea lashes out at SKorea’s leader Lee
SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea on Tuesday launched a barrage of insults against South Korea’s new president in its first comments since he took office, saying his harder line on relations could have “catastrophic consequences.”

Colombian Troops Kill Farmers, Pass Off Bodies as Rebels’
Under intense pressure from Colombian military commanders to register combat kills, the army has in recent years also increasingly been killing poor farmers and passing them off as rebels slain in combat, government officials and human rights groups say.

France may send a “few hundred” troops to Afghanistan
PARIS (Reuters) – France may send a few hundred additional troops to Afghanistan to help NATO allies fight the Taliban and train the Afghan army, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Tuesday.

Texting scandal forces Finland foreign minister out
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s foreign minister was sacked on Tuesday after newspapers and magazines published suggestive text messages he sent to an erotic dancer, his party said.

Hungry crowds spell trouble for world leaders
YAOUNDE (Reuters) – “Is it not said ‘A hungry man is an angry man’?” commented Simon Nkwenti, head of a teachers’ union in Cameroon, after riots that killed dozens of people in the central African country.

Zimbabwe’s ruling party considers defeat
HARARE, Zimbabwe – Top members of President Robert Mugabe’s party are worried the government may have lost weekend elections, an independent African monitor said Tuesday, even as a tediously slow release of results fueled fears of rigging.

Kenyan police tear gas protesters
NAIROBI, Kenya – Police tear gassed about 100 protesters who demonstrated in the capital Tuesday against plans to increase the number of Cabinet posts.

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