BEIT HANOUN (AP) — Israel will keep targeting Palestinian rocket squads in Gaza despite the risk of inadvertently hitting civilians, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday, as tens of thousands of Palestinians buried 18 victims of an errant Israeli artillery strike.

TOKYO (AP) — The departure of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cheered critics around the world who saw him as a symbol of a failed war in Iraq, while supporters of the military mission pledged to work closely with his successor.

CAIRO (Reuters) — The Sudanese government is willing to start unconditional talks with the National Redemption Front rebel group to stop the violence in Darfur but sees no need for a new peace deal, a senior presidential adviser said.