BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Car bombs on crowded streets killed more than 50 people in Sunni Arab areas of Iraq on Tuesday, a sudden spasm of violence in regions which had been comparatively quiet while battles raged in the Shi’ite south.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ukraine told Russia on Tuesday it would press on with attempts to join NATO despite the former imperial master’s staunch opposition to the plan, but also assured Moscow this would pose no threat to its security.

ROME (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi, who has won a third term as prime minister in Italy’s parliamentary election, will hold talks with outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, a Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday.

Following are security developments in Iraq at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.* denotes new or updated items. * BAQUBA – A car bomb killed 40 people and wounded 80 in the city of Baquba, 65 km (42 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Hundreds of Afghans seeking to return home from northwest Pakistan have been stranded because a tribal clash has closed down a road leading to Afghanistan, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to lead Russia’s biggest political party, a move that will bolster his power after he steps down as Kremlin leader next month.

A U.S. soldier was killed in a roadside bomb attack on his vehicle in northeastern Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said.A roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier in northern Salahuddin province, the U.S. military said on Monday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A car bomb killed 20 people and wounded 60 in the Iraqi city of Baquba on Tuesday, police said. Police said they expected the death toll to rise.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Economic and finance minister presided over the first meeting of the Supreme Council for Campaign against Money Laundering here Saturday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki lashed out at the United States for continuing failed policies, saying the fact that the US renewed its contract with Blackwater signals Washington’s desire to pursue its ‘failed policies’ in Iraq.