Bush Trip: President Bush leaves Washington today (Monday) for diplomatic discussions about the future of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Bush will stop first in Estonia on his way to a NATO summit Tuesday and Wednesday in Latvia, where alliance leaders will discuss Afghanistan.
From there, the president travels to Amman, Jordan, for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
King Abdullah of Jordan, who will host the talks, warned in an interview on American television Sunday that strong action is needed to prevent further deterioration of trouble spots in the Middle East.
He said there are three potential civil wars in the region - the Palestinians, Lebanon and Iraq - and that the Palestinian issue is at the core of all those conflicts.
Iraq: Iraqi authorities have lifted a three-day curfew in Baghdad.
Witnesses say traffic was light today (Monday) as vehicles began circulating for the first time in the Iraqi capital since car bombs Thursday killed more than 200 people.
The lifting of the curfew and travel restrictions cleared the way for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to visit neighboring Iran today for talks with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The two presidents are expected to discuss the deteriorating security situation in Iraq and how Iran can help stem sectarian violence.
Saddam Trial: A Baghdad court has resumed the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and six co-defendants on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with a military campaign against ethnic Kurds in the late 1980s.
The proceedings resumed today (Monday) following a two-week break.
Saddam sat quietly as the chief judge called a prosecution witness to take the stand.
While defense lawyer's have been boycotting the trial for two months, at least two attorney's did attend today's court session. The defense is protesting the court's refusal to give them more preparation time as well as other rulings.
Saddam and his former commanders are accused of war crimes for their role in the military offensive against Iraqi Kurds, known as "Operation Anfal."
Koreas – Bird Flu: South Korean authorities have slaughtered almost 100-thousand poultry in the southwestern city of Iksan so far to stop an outbreak of bird flu from spreading.
South Korea's Agriculture Ministry says it hopes to complete a cull of about 236-thousand chickens and ducks around a farm in Iksan by Thursday. The slaughter also will include almost one-thousand pigs and dogs.
Medical tests have confirmed that the dangerous H5N1 strain of bird flu turned up at the farm last week, killing several thousand chickens. It is the first known outbreak of bird flu in South Korea since 2003. North Korea says it is stepping up border checks to prevent the virus spreading from the south. State media say Pyongyang is also inoculating poultry and monitoring migratory birds as a precaution.
Japan – North Korea: Japanese officials say police have raided the offices of a pro-North Korean group they suspect was smuggling medical supplies to the North.
At least 20 investigators raided the offices of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan today (Monday) on suspicion of a pharmaceutical law violation. Police scuffled with members of the association, which serves as an unofficial North Korean embassy in Tokyo.
Investigators carried out the raid after discovering a North Korean woman linked to the group had illegally obtained 60 bags of intravenous medicine from a Tokyo doctor and tried to take them to North Korea aboard a ferry in May.
Listen to our World News for details.