HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Unknown gunmen kidnapped two Turkish nationals working on construction project in western Afghanistan on Monday, a senior police official said. Kidnapping has become a lucrative business in Afghanistan, where dozens of locals and foreigners have been abducted by criminals or Taliban-linked militants.

ATHENS (Reuters) – One person was killed in an accident after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the island of Rhodes in southeast Greece, officials said on Tuesday, but there were no other reports of casualties or damage.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Monday that security conditions would determine whether he makes recommendations for further troop withdrawals in the coming months.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – White House hopeful Barack Obama will outline his views on Iraq and U.S. national security in a speech Tuesday before a planned trip there, his campaign said. “He will focus on the global strategic interests of the United States, which includes ending our misguided effort in Iraq,” …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iraq’s southern city of Basra likely will face new threats of violence from Shi’ite militants who battled Iraqi security forces there during a March government crackdown, a British general said on Monday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Every year hundreds of thousands of small arms go missing and many wind up in the hands of insurgents in countries like Iraq, Colombia and Afghanistan, a new survey published on Monday said.

KABUL (Reuters) – A Taliban attack that killed nine U.S. soldiers, the biggest single American loss in Afghanistan since 2005, was a well-planned, complex assault which briefly breached the defenses of an outpost near the Pakistan border.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has approved a plan to hand control of hundreds of state-owned assets to a single Kremlin corporation despite resistance from inside his government.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia made no commitment at last week’s Group of Eight summit to back U.N. sanctions against Zimbabwe so it cannot be accused of a U-turn, a senior Russian diplomat said on Monday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Middle East envoy Tony Blair is preparing to travel to the Gaza Strip this week in what would be the highest-level visit by a Western official since Hamas took control a year ago, Palestinian and Western officials said.