ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Most Palestinians favor violence over talks, poll shows

Most Palestinians favor violence over talks, poll shows
By ETHAN BRONNER
International Herald Tribune

RAMALLAH, West Bank: A new poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians support the attack this month on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem that killed eight young men, most of them teenagers, an indication of the alarming level of Israeli-Palestinian tension in recent weeks.

IRAQ: At least 52 Iraqis killed in 3 attacks

At least 52 Iraqis killed in 3 attacks; The violence comes as Cheney and McCain visit the nation to celebrate U.S. successes there.
By NED PARKER and SAAD FAKHRILDEEN
Los Angeles Times

Bombs and mortars claimed the lives of at least 52 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers Monday, a day in which Vice President Dick Cheney and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain made separate visits to Iraq to focus on American successes as the war enters its sixth year.

IRAQ: Six arrested in connection with Iraq blast, six children killed

Six arrested in connection with Iraq blast, six children killed
Deutsche Presse-Agentur

DPA POLITICS Iraq Conflicts Six arrested in connection with Iraq blast, six children killed Baghdad
Six people were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in a suicide bombing in Iraq’s holy city of Karbala while six children were killed in a mortar attack on their home in Baghdad.

IRAQ: U.N. Chief in Iraq Sees Limited Progress

U.N. Chief in Iraq Sees Limited Progress
By ARI SHAPIRO
NPR

From NPR News, this is WEEKEND EDITION. I’m Ari Shapiro.

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is in Iraq this morning. He’s part of a congressional delegation that’s meeting with Iraqi and U.S. officials. This comes a day after the U.N. released its latest assessment on Iraqi human rights. Beneath the diplomatic language, the group was clearly frustrated by the Iraqi government’s lack of progress.

TURKEY: European Parliament Calls on Turkey to Speed Up Reforms

European Parliament Calls on Turkey to Speed Up Reforms
Turkish Daily News

A new draft report prepared by Ria Oomen-Ruijten, European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, has called on the government to accelerate and resolutely pursue reforms.

Regarding the process under way to prepare a new, civilian constitution, the report, published Thursday, underlinedthe need for a broad involvement of civil society in this process. “The new constitution should guarantee theprotection of human rights and freedoms, democracy, rule of law, social cohesion and the separation of religion fromstate affairs,” it said.