AFP - Israeli President Shimon Peres blamed "weak" and divided Palestinian factions for holding up a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, in an interview published Tuesday.
AP - In her first visit to a Gulf nation, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni sought Arab support against Iran and militant groups, warning Monday that extremists like Hezbollah and Hamas are trying to sabotage regional peace efforts.
AP - Former President Jimmy Carter defended his plan to meet with the top leader of the violently anti-Israel Hamas movement, saying Monday he hopes to become a conduit between the Islamic militant group and Washington and Israel.
AP - The United States has taken ownership of the mammoth new, heavily fortified embassy in Baghdad after months of delay, the State Department said Monday.
McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON? The State Department on Monday certified the new $740 million U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as ready to open, more than six months behind schedule.
AP - The new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday criticized fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter for plans to meet with Hamas, saying the former president holds "warped" views on the Middle East.
AP - An Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in northern Gaza late Monday, fatally wounding a senior Palestinian militant, witnesses and officials said.
AP - As of Monday, April 14, 2008, at least 4,034 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,289 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
AP - Sectarian militias are increasing their profile in Iraq and recruiting members by providing much-needed assistance to families displaced by the war, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Refugees International.
AP - Iraqi troops freed a kidnapped British journalist for CBS News on Monday after finding him hooded and bound in a house during a raid in a Shiite militia stronghold in Basra.