BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Almost 2,000 bodies were taken to Baghdad’s morgue in July, the highest tally in five months of rising sectarian bloodshed which has forced the United States to boost troop levels in the capital to head off a civil war.

Jordan to treat Palestinians affected by suspect powder   AN ISRAELI AIR strike in Gaza City on Wednesday killed three people, including a five-year-old girl, and wounded two others, Palestinian officials and witnesses said.

BEIRUT — Weeks after the sea exodus of Westerners from Lebanon, hundreds of poor migrant workers are leaving daily by bus to escape Israeli bombardment even if they face more war at home.