Saturday, June 16, 2007

06/16/07

* Fatah militants storm parliament Fatah gunmen have stormed the Hamas-controlled Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah in the West Bank.

* Gates pushes Iraq's leaders on reconciliation U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met Iraqi leaders for talks in Baghdad on Saturday to tell them Washington is disappointed with their efforts.

* US forces in new Iraq offensive US forces in Iraq have launched a major security offensive around Baghdad.

* Lebanese army unleashes barrage of shells on camp Lebanese troops unleashed an intense artillery bombardment Saturday against positions of Islamist fighters who have been holed up inside a refugee camp for almost a month.

* Report: PA premier denies completing gov't's formation Newly appointed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad hasn't completed the formation of his new government yet.

* Crowd loots Gaza home of Arafat A crowd on Saturday looted the home of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, destroying one of the strongest symbols of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip.

* Hamas threatens to expand fighting against Fatah to W. Bank Hamas on Saturday threatened to retaliate against Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' forces in the West Bank.

* Berlin avoids adding voting issue to EU treaty review list Berlin has identified seven outstanding problems to be discussed at next week's EU leader's summit .

* US debate over Iran strategy erupts A debate on US strategy regarding how the country plans to deal with Iran's nuclear program within President George Bush's administration has broken out.

* Secret new plan for EU superstate Tony Blair wants to hand the European Union radical new powers in his last act as Prime Minister.