• US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he did not recall being involved in talks on dismissing individual federal prosecutors, disputing testimony given to Congress by his former chief of staff. Gonzales, facing calls to resign over the firings, said he directed former aide Kyle Sampson to evaluate the nation's 93 US attorneys to determine where changes might be needed.

• Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was ready to hold talks with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states about their renewed peace plan but rejected any return of Palestinian refugees as "out of the question". In interviews with Israeli newspapers, Mr Olmert said the plan endorsed by Arab leaders at a summit in Riyadh could help create positive momentum in future negotiations.

• A surge of violence in Iraq in the past week demonstrated the ability of al Qaeda to strike virtually anywhere at will with a seemingly limitless supply of explosives and suicide bombers to wreak chaos. The bombings claimed 300 lives, with one attack triggering mass reprisal killings by Shi'ites, making it the bloodiest week since the launch of a major US-backed security crackdown in Baghdad in mid-February aimed at curbing sectarian violence.

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