Iraq’s Top Vote-getter Cuts Across Sectarian Lines (ap)
AP – He has fought off a machete-wielding assassin believed sent by Saddam Hussein, spent much of his life in exile and was rumored to have personally shot a number of insurgents. Ayad Allawi is a survivor, and he showed it more than ever in Iraq’s parliamentary elections. Read more
Un: Kidnappers Release Belgian Taken In Haiti (ap)
AP – Kidnappers have released a Belgian businessman who was grabbed as he drove through Haiti’s capital, a U.N. police official said Friday. Read more
Germany, Britain Mull A Bank Tax To Address Deficits (time.com)
Time.com – Both Germany and Britain are calling for a tax on banks in the wake of the economic downturn — but the countries have different ideas about what to do with the money Read more
Clergy Abuse Threatens To Tarnish Pope’s Legacy (ap)
AP – The Vatican is facing one of its gravest crises of modern times as sex abuse scandals move ever closer to Pope Benedict XVI — threatening not only his own legacy but also that of his revered predecessor. Read more
Fierce Fighting In Gaza Strip Kills 3 (ap)
AP – Two Israeli soldiers and a Palestinian civilian were killed Friday as a gunbattle between troops and Palestinian militants widened into some of the fiercest fighting in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s military offensive there last year. Read more