Turkey: 'A Catholic priest was stabbed in the stomach after Sunday mass yesterday in the latest in a series of attacks on Turkey's tiny Christian minority.' (Guardian).

Lebanon: 'Rival Lebanese leaders tried to salvage a parliamentary session on Monday which is due to elect the army chief as president, a move that could defuse Lebanon's worst political crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.' (Reuters).

Kyrgyzstan: 'Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's party won every available seat in the next parliament, preliminary results showed on Monday, following a weekend election condemned as rigged by the opposition.' (Reuters).

Israel: 'Shrapnel from a rocket that slammed into a house in southern Israel on Sunday injured a 2-year-old child, according to the Israeli military. The rocket struck the home in Kibbutz Zikkim, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The child's injuries are not life-threatening.' (CNN).

Turkey: 'Turkish warplanes and long-range missiles attacked Kurdish rebel positions in the mountains of northern Iraq near the Turkish border early Sunday, according to Turkish military officials.' (CNN).

Iran: 'Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, traveling to Qatar to become the first Iranian president to attend a summit of Gulf Arab rulers, said on Monday he would present "new proposals" to boost cooperation and security in the region.' (Reuters).

Sudan: 'Teacher Gillian Gibbons is to be released from prison in Sudan after she was jailed for allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.' (BBC).

Middle East: 'The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has talked down any expectations of a peace agreement with the Palestinians by the end of 2008 that might have been generated by last week's meetings in Annapolis.' (Independent).