GAZA – Israel killed at least 18 Palestinians, nearly all Hamas militants, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in violence the Palestinian Authority said was a “slap in the face” to President George W. Bush’s peace efforts.

TBILISI – Georgia’s opposition vowed on Tuesday to press on with street protests and mount a legal challenge to a presidential election which it says incumbent Mikhail Saakashvili rigged in his favor.

BEIRUT – A car bomb damaged a U.S. diplomatic vehicle in Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least three people and wounding 16, but the U.S. State Department said no Americans were hurt by the blast.