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.

BEIRUT (AP) — An anti-Syrian Christian leader dismissed Hizbollah’s victory in its war with Israel as thousands of his supporters rallied Sunday in a show of strength that highlighted Lebanon’s sharp divisions.

SANAA (AP) — Yemen’s president on Sunday acknowledged “mistakes” in elections which gave him more than 77 per cent of the vote, but stood by his victory and thanked the opposition giving him his first real challenge in 28 years at power.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush on Saturday named a delegation of corporate leaders to visit Lebanon and explore ways of helping the country rebuild following the devastating monthlong war between Israel and Hizbollah.

KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — Kuwaiti authorities have decided to step up measures to monitor fund-raising by Islamic charities during the Holy Month of Ramadan, to prevent funds from being illegally diverted to some groups.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) — The African Union plans to send more troops into Sudan to reinforce its extended Darfur peacekeeping mission, an AU spokesman said on Sunday.

NEW YORK (AFP) — Reinvigorated negotiations in Europe this week about Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme will be shadowed in parallel by a determined US drive to ready a list of sanctions to impose on Tehran if diplomacy fails.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- France, Britain and Germany would soon start their preliminary talks with Iran to solve the nuclear issue, while Washington is said to be either unwilling or excluded from the negotiations.