RAMALLAH (AP) — Embattled Mahmoud Abbas got a major boost in his increasingly bellicose showdown with Hamas on Saturday, with a US diplomat saying he expects a crippling 15-month-old foreign aid embargo to be lifted once the Palestinian president appoints an emergency government without the Islamic fighters.

‘If the Islamic Courts came back, not just this area but the whole of Somalia will be safer’

Security concerns in the North Caucasus traditionally peak in the summer. Warm weather and green leaves on trees help the Caucasian rebels intensify their attacks on Russian army units and local police forces.