BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Iraq’s leaders stepped back from the brink of a political crisis on Sunday in the hope of preventing a dispute over local control of oilfields erupting into all-out sectarian civil war.

NEW YORK — US spy agencies dropped a political bombshell six weeks before national elections, with the leak Sunday of a classified report concluding that the war in Iraq has spawned a new wave of radicalism and increased the global threat of terrorism.

RAMALLAH — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh are set to resume negotiations over forming a unity government this week, as Hamas signalled that a deal could be struck.