BEIRUT (AP) — A powerful explosion late Monday rocked a shopping centre and hotel in the Zalka neighbourhood in north Beirut, injuring at least three people and causing extensive damage, security officials said. Heavily armed Lebanese soldiers cordoned off the area, punching and hitting journalists to keep them back. Two …

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — The last Jewish settlers were evacuated yesterday from the Gaza Strip as attention shifted to four small settlements in the northern West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, talked of creating a “culture of peace,” while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed to continue building in the …

BAGHDAD (AP) — A day before the deadline for the new constitution, Sunni Arabs appealed Sunday to the United States to prevent Shiites and Kurds from pushing a draft through parliament with their consent, warning it would only worsen the crisis in Iraq. Leaders of the Sunni Arabs, Shiite and …