OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel yesterday launched an air strike against what its army said were three Hamas members who fired mortars at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip in a second day of increasing tension. On Tuesday, two Palestinian farmers and one Chinese labourer were killed by Palestinian mortar fire …

DAMASCUS — Spurred by the Kurds’ political advance in Iraq, the Kurdish minority in Syria is hoping the Baath Party congress in Damascus will help resolve their problems, which have been compounded by the recent murder of one of their leaders. In Iraq, Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani has been elected …

KHARTOUM (Reuters) — Darfur peace talks are due to resume on Friday after a six-month gap that has seen the political and military landscape in Sudan’s vast west change in a way that could improve the chances for a deal. Despite recent infighting which has raised doubts over their ability …