OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, huddled with top military and political officials Sunday to discuss the growing likelihood that Hamas could dominate this week’s Palestinian elections. The ascendance of Hamas has alarmed Israel, which appears to have been caught off guard by the group’s surging …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — US forces hunting kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll are raiding Iraqi homes in a race against time but, as with much of their counter-insurgency war, face the dilemma that their tactics can foster resentment. Operations designed to take her captors by surprise have angered those Iraqis who …

KHARTOUM (AFP) — The merger of the two main rebel groups in war-torn Darfur could simplify peace talks and help shorten the bloody nearly three-year-old conflict in Sudan’s western region, the government and analysts said. The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) announced on Friday …