World highlights
Blair headed for Mideast diplomatic hot seat?
British Prime Minister Tony Blair could soon find himself on a diplomatic hot seat that has burned other high-profile players if the Bush administration pushes him to become Middle East envoy. And Blair's chances for success would seem no more promising, analysts said.
Washington has signaled its interest in Blair taking the job of special envoy representing the "Quartet" of world powers trying to mediate the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trap to eliminate Al Qaeda
The US military said it was setting a trap to "eliminate" al Qaeda militants around Baghdad, but also said 12 American soldiers had been killed in the past two days, mostly in roadside bombings.
The toll of civilian casualties continued to rise after a suicide bomber killed 16 people by ramming his truck into a government building near the northern city of Kirkuk.
Atlantis landing expected today
Bad weather forced NASA to delay bringing space shuttle Atlantis back to Earth at least until today, the US space agency said. Touchdown at one of the Kennedy Space Center's seaside runways in central Florida had been scheduled for two opportunities yesterday afternoon, but thick cloud cover and rain showers prompted NASA managers to call off any landing attempts.
Lebanon says operation against militants is over
Lebanon's Defence Minister Elias al-Murr said yesterday the army's military operation against al Qaeda-inspired militants was over after the military destroyed all the militants' positions.
"I can tell the Lebanese that as of now the military operation in Nahr al-Bared is finished," Murr told Lebanon's LBC television in a live interview.