[TexKat]

Israel Releases Palestinian Prisoners

JERUSALEM - Israel released scores of Palestinian prisoners Tuesday, including the oldest and longest-serving inmate, in a goodwill gesture ahead of a summit with President Bush. But disagreements remained on the fate of about 100 Israeli settlement outposts set up in the West Bank during the past several years.

Ahmad Jubarah, 68, was released from the Ashkelon prison in southern Israel after serving nearly three decades for his role in a 1975 Jerusalem bomb attack that killed 13 people, the Israel prisons service announced.

[TexKat]

G-8 Leaders Pledge Unity on Iraq, Nukes

EVIAN, France - World leaders pledged on Tuesday to rebuild Iraq and combat the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea closing out their annual summit with a unity statement that masked wide differences between the United States and its allies.

The Group of Eight summit countries — the world's seven wealthiest nations and Russia — tried to use their annual economic summit to heal the bitter divisions over the U.S.-led war in Iraq.