IRAQ: Hundreds released from prison
BAGHDAD (AP): MORE THAN 200 prisoners were released yesterday in Iraq, the second batch to be set free as part of a bid by the new government to promote national unity, but those efforts faltered with demands for more by Sunni Arabs and a new sectarian..

PUERTO RICO: HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS FEAR MORE SUICIDES - 'Stench of despair' over Guantanamo
SAN JUAN (AP): A "STENCH of despair" hangs over the Guantanamo Bay prison where three detainees committed suicide this weekend, said a defence lawyer who recently visited the base in Cuba.

GERMANY: Jews tell Ahmadinejad to stay out
NUREMBERG, Germany (AP): GERMAN JEWS and politicians protested Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Nazi Holocaust yesterday while his country kicked off its World Cup campaign, declaring that he would be unwelcome at the tournament.

UNITED STATES: Storm heads for Florida
TAMPA, Florida (AP): MOST OF Florida's west coast was under a hurricane watch yesterday as Tropical Storm Alberto spun over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to bring heavy rain in the next few days.

MIDEAST: Violence cracks Israel-Hamas ceasefire pact
GAZA CITY (AP): AN ISRAELI air strike killed two Hamas militants yesterday while Palestinian militants bombarded southern Israel with homemade rockets, as a 16-month-old ceasefire unravelled and the two sides moved closer toward a broader conflict.

Abbas calls July 26 referendum
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP): PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas, defying the rival Hamas group that controls the Cabinet and Parliament, announced Saturday a July 26 referendum on the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

UNITED STATES: Mad cow disease rears head in Texas, Alabama
WASHINGTON (AP): TWO CASES of mad cow disease in Texas and Alabama seem to have resulted from a mysterious strain that could appear spontaneously in cattle, researchers say.