Bush – Europe: President Bush arrived to a warm welcome in Albania today (Sunday), the first visit by a U.S. leader to the Balkan state.
Air Force One (- the presidents plane -) touched down at Tirana International Airport, where Mr. Bush was welcomed with a 21-gun salute and an array of posters and U.S. flags.
Albanians lined the streets of the capital, hoping to catch a glimpse of the U.S. president.
Mr. Bush will be in Tirana for several hours today (Sunday) for meetings with Albanian President Alfred Moisiu and Prime Minister Sali Berisha, as well as the prime ministers of Croatia and Macedonia.
President Bush will travel to Bulgaria later today.
Mr. Bush's European tour took him to Germany last week for the annual Group of Eight summit. He has also made stops in the Czech Republic, Poland and Italy. He will return to Washington Monday.
Demonstrations in Italy against Mr. Bush's visit turned violent late Saturday. Italian riot police used tear gas after a group of masked protesters threw bottles and other objects at police.
Afghanistan: Afghan officials say Taleban insurgents fired rockets near a school where President Hamid Karzai was giving a speech today (Sunday), but no one was hurt.
An official in (the Andar district of) Ghazni province said the rockets missed their target and the president went on with his speech.
Elsewhere, Afghan police say Taleban insurgents attacked a district in far northwestern Badghis province Saturday afternoon, sparking a battle that lasted until early today (Sunday).
The provincial police chief (Mohammed Ayub Naizyar) says at least 30 Taleban militants and two police officers were killed in Murghab district before the attackers were driven back.
The police chief says the government now controls Murghab, and the fighting has ended. The district is located near the border with Turkmenistan.
Iraq: Iraqi police say a suicide bomber slammed his truck into a police building near the northern city of Tikrit today (Sunday), killing seven policeman and wounding at least 35.
Tikrit, 130 kilometers north of Baghdad, was ousted leader Saddam Hussein's hometown.
On Saturday, Iraqi military officials said a suicide bomber drove a truck into a checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 Iraqi soldiers and wounding 30 others.
In the capital, a car bomb that exploded near a police patrol killed at least four people and wounded seven others (earlier Saturday).
The U.S. military says an attack on a detention facility (Camp Bucca) in southern Iraq killed six civilian detainees and wounded more than 50 others.
Lebanon: Fighting between Lebanese soldiers and al-Qaida-inspired militants in north Lebanon entered its fourth week today (Sunday).
Lebanese military officials say they are gradually taking control of positions in the Nahr el-Bared camp formerly held by the group Fatah al-Islam.
Sporadic gunfire was heard today in the Palestinian refugee camp.
Army officials say at least three soldiers were killed in overnight fighting. At least 115 people have been killed since fighting broke out May 20th, including militants, civilians, and more than 50 Lebanese troops.
Heavy black smoke billowed from the camp Saturday. A camp resident (Fathi Abu Ali) told VOA there is no electricity and little water, and the situation in the camp is disastrous.
Tens of thousands of refugees have fled since fighting erupted in the camp three weeks ago, but thousands remain inside.
Listen to our World News for details.