Reuters - Bombs exploded in crowded markets in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad on Sunday, killing 40 people in one of Iraq's bloodiest days for weeks as Washington urged leaders to form a coalition to avert a slide to civil war.

Reuters - The body of a kidnapped American peace activist was found bound and shot in Baghdad, police said on Saturday, as U.S President George W. Bush vowed to do everything possible to avert a civil war.

AP - Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra was removed from office Tuesday over allegations that poor government safety regulation contributed to the death of 194 people in a December 2004 nightclub fire.

AP - The number of Kenyans who will depend on food aid this year may rise well past the current 3.5 million because of the country's prolonged drought, the head of the U.N. food agency said Sunday.

AP - A driving ban Friday brought the Iraqi capital a day of relative calm, a rare period of peaceful streets enforced, in part, by a Shiite Muslim militia — one of several armed groups the U.S. military wants abolished.

AP - American troops have avoided confrontations with Iraqi mobs and religious militias, but a top Air Force commander said the military has bolstered its surveillance and intelligence efforts to protect mosques from attack.

AP - The top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Friday it appears the crisis has passed after days of bloodshed there between religious sects, but he conceded that a major new terrorist attack would threaten stability anew.

Iran is holding last-minute talks with EU nations to try to avert UN action over its nuclear programme.

Reuters - Iraqi troops and police patrolled the deserted streets of Baghdad on Friday after the government imposed a daytime traffic curfew to avert violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites on the Muslim day of prayer.

AP - Reacting to a new book quoting Karl Rove as saying she will be the 2008 Democratic nominee for president, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that President Bush's chief political strategist "spends a lot of time obsessing about me."

AP - ALBANY, N.Y. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that President Bush's chief political strategist Karl Rove "spends a lot of time obsessing about me."

Reuters - Japan will urge Iran to ease international concerns over its nuclear ambitions in order to avert United Nations sanctions during a three-day visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Denise Royal - All Headline News Staff Writer Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A company owned by the United Arab Emirates said Sunday it had asked for further review of its deal to buy management rights to terminals at six U.S. ports. This request could avert a political showdown in Washington. The...

AP - The White House got a gift in the ports security debate, a chance for the president to sidestep a battle with members of his own party and to tone down bipartisan criticism of the deal.

Reuters - Dubai Ports World said on Sunday it asked for an additional 45-day review of its takeover of terminal operations at six key U.S. ports in order to allay national security concerns about handing that role to a company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

AP - The Bush administration said Sunday it will accept an extraordinary offer by a United Arab Emirates-based company to submit to a second — and broader — U.S. review of potential security risks in its deal to take over significant operations at six leading American ports. The plan averts an impending political showdown.

AP - The White House got a gift in the ports security debate, a chance for the president to sidestep a battle with members of his own party and to tone down bipartisan criticism of the deal.

AP - A top Chinese official joined Russia Friday in a bid to persuade Iran to accept a compromise deal to avert an escalating confrontation over its nuclear program.

Reuters - Russia and China stepped up their efforts on Friday to persuade Iran to accept a compromise proposal over its nuclear program that may avert the threat of U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Reuters - China joined Russia on Thursday in diplomatic efforts to ease a crisis over Iran's nuclear work before a U.N. atomic watchdog meeting and avert any sanctions.