AP - Chinese police Wednesday blocked access to a school that collapsed in last month's massive earthquake, a day after breaking up a protest by parents of students who died in the disaster.

AP - Dozens of people remain imprisoned for taking part in the 1989 pro-democracy protests centered in Tiananmen Square, though releasing them would improve China's image ahead of the Beijing Olympics this summer, a human rights group said.

Reuters - The United States suspended talks with Sudan on normalizing relations on Tuesday, saying leaders from the north and south were not serious about ending clashes that have stoked fears of a return to civil war.

AP - Iraq should boost crude oil export capacity to 6 million barrels a day, nearly three times the amount the country currently sends to international markets, a top Kurdish political leader urged Tuesday.

AFP - Manchester United hope to win the race for Welsh starlet Aaron Ramsey after agreeing a fee for the Cardiff midfielder.

AP - Syria's president said he was willing to hold direct peace talks with Israel in the future under U.S. sponsorship, laying out his vision of how negotiations could progress.

AP - More than 1 million people still don't have adequate food, water or shelter a month after a devastating cyclone swept through Myanmar, and the military junta's policies are hindering relief efforts and driving up the cost of aid operations, the United Nations said Tuesday.

AP - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe defended land policies blamed for devastating his country's agricultural sector, asserting at a U.N. food summit Tuesday that the West was trying to cripple the nation's economy.

AP - A proposed U.S.-Iraq security agreement is shaping up as a major political battle between America and Iran, as the debate over the future of troops here intensifies ahead of the fall U.S. presidential election.

AFP - US General David McKiernan on Tuesday took command of 52,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, vowing to deal with "insurgents, foreign fighters, criminals and others" who stood in the way of stability.

Reuters - The African Union and United Nations are working to appoint a joint chief mediator to jumpstart efforts to bring peace to Sudan's Darfur region, U.N. Darfur envoy Jan Eliasson said on Monday.