37 die in Iraq clashes
More than 37 people were killed in Baghdad’s Shi’ite militia bastion of Sadr City yesterday, as gunmen clashed with US soldiers under cover of a severe sandstorm. Several rockets or mortar rounds also struck the Iraqi capital’s heavily fortified government compound, as militants took advantage of the absence of US air cover during the storm, witnesses said.

Iraq to see $70 billion windfall as oil prices rise, U.S. military says
Iraq’s government is expected to reap a $70 billion windfall from soaring oil prices, about double the previous projections, the U.S. military’s reconstruction watchdog reported Wednesday. Congress has approved about $47 billion in reconstruction funding since the invasion.

Palestinian factions agree to truce with Israel: MENA
CAIRO (Reuters) – Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo for talks with Egyptian security officials have agreed to an Egyptian proposal for a truce with Israel starting in the Gaza Strip, state news agency MENA said on Wednesday.

Taliban militants kill themselves in Afghan siege
KABUL (Reuters) – Five Taliban militants blew themselves up in a house in the Afghan capital Kabul after 10 hours of clashes with besieging Afghan security forces on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry official told Reuters.

US launches ‘mini surge’ in Afghanistan
A strike force of US marines punched through Taliban frontlines in southern Helmand yesterday as part of an Afghan “mini surge” intended to weaken the ‘insurgents” grip on the war-ravaged south. The marine force, numbered in the hundreds, exchanged fire with Taliban fighters as they pushed through Garmser, a town abandoned by its inhabitants in recent years and ringed by poppy fields.

New U.S. carrier in Gulf a ‘reminder’ to Iran: Gates
The U.S. Navy has ‘temporarily’ added a second aircraft carrier in the Gulf as a “reminder” to Iran, but this was not an escalation of American forces in the region, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday. News of the second carrier came amid simmering tension between the United States and Iran that has fed speculation about a possible U.S. military strike.

Official: Explosion near Italian embassy in Yemen
SAN’A, Yemen – Two mortar shells fired Wednesday in Yemen’s capital exploded outside the customs authority and near the Italian embassy, an Interior Ministry official said.

US ‘concerned’ about prison terms for Tibet protesters
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States said Wednesday it was “concerned” about reports that China has sentenced 30 people to between three years and life in prison for their role over last month’s Tibetan unrest.

Olympics: 100-day countdown starts amid Tibet, torch troubles
BEIJING (AFP) – China hailed the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday, but simmering controversies over Tibet and the torch relay, as well as heavy pollution, cast a shadow over the milestone.

Australian gay couples get equal rights, but no weddings: minister
SYDNEY (AFP) – Gay and lesbian couples will have the same rights as heterosexuals under new Australian laws but marriage will remain off limits, Attorney General Robert McClelland said Wednesday.

Canada pledges C$50 mln in extra food aid
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s government announced on Wednesday an additional C$50 million ($49.5 million) in international food aid this year and said it would speed up existing food aid projects, particularly in Haiti and Argentina.

Mexican lawmakers decriminalize migrants
MEXICO CITY – Migrant rights activists applauded a vote by Mexico’s Congress to remove long-standing criminal penalties for undocumented migrants found in the country.

Colombian police kill suspected drug lord
BOGOTA, Colombia – Police killed one of Colombia’s most-wanted drug lords in a shootout Tuesday after an informant led officers to a ranch hide-out, the defense minister said. The U.S. government had a US$5 million (euro3.2 million) reward out for the man.

Zimbabwe gloats over UN stalemate
HARARE (AFP) – The Zimbabwe government savoured a rare diplomatic victory on Wednesday after the United Nations Security Council failed to agree on how to respond to the country’s post election crisis.

Two battalions to join Darfur peace force in June
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – About 1,600 troops will join Darfur’s U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in June as part of plans to deploy 80 percent of the force by the end of the year, the head of the mission said on Wednesday.