Politics this week

Israel agreed to an Egyptian-brokered truce with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which runs the Gaza Strip. It is hoped that the truce will stop Hamas and other groups from firing rockets at Israel and that Israel will no longer carry out raids on Gaza. The Palestinians of Gaza also hope that the blockade imposed by Israel will gradually, if at first partially, be lifted. See article

Soon after the United States said that violence in Iraq was at its lowest for four years, a lorry blew up in a crowded market in a Shia district of Baghdad, killing at least 63 people, the worst such incident for three months. The Americans blamed a Shia militant group supplied by Iran.

Overcoming long-standing opposition from China and Russia, the UN Security Council issued a “presidential statement” calling on Sudan to “co-operate fully” with efforts by the International Criminal Court at The Hague to end impunity for perpetrators of atrocities in Darfur.

South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, again flew to Zimbabwe to try to mediate between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, as violence increased ahead of a presidential run-off scheduled for June 27th. See article

Simon Mann, a former British special-forces officer, went on trial in Equatorial Guinea for his alleged involvement in a coup attempt against the west African country's government in 2004. Several of his co- accused have already received long jail sentences; Mr Mann has spent four years in a Zimbabwean prison. See article

The friendly skies

At their first formal talks since 1999, China and Taiwan agreed to establish regular direct flights, and to allow more tourists from the mainland to visit Taiwan. Meeting in Beijing, representatives from the two sides agreed that the service will begin on July 4th, with 18 return flights each weekend.

China and Japan reached agreement in long-running talks over the joint development of oil- and gas-fields in disputed waters in the East China Sea. See article

Taiwan withdrew its representative from Japan in protest at the sinking of a Taiwanese fishing boat by the Japanese coastguard near the Diaoyutai, or Senkaku, islands, claimed by China, Japan and Taiwan.

Taliban insurgents, including two suicide-bombers, attacked the main prison in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, freeing some 1,200 prisoners, of whom about 450 were Taliban members. Subsequently, NATO and Afghan forces launched an offensive in the region around Kandahar. See article

Seeking approval

In an apparent climbdown, Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, asked the country's Congress to debate increased taxes on farm exports, which her government introduced by decree in March, triggering months of protests by farmers. See article

The United Nations said that coca cultivation in the Andean countries rose by 16% last year. The biggest increase was in Colombia, despite a massive government effort to eradicate the crop there. See article

Venezuela's leftist president, Hugo Chávez, named Alí Rodríguez, a veteran communist, as his finance minister. His job is to cut an inflation rate that has climbed above 30%, but without cooling an already slowing economy. See article

An aide to Canada's public-works minister resigned over his relationship with Julie Couillard, a Quebec lobbyist with past ties to criminal biker gangs. Ms Couillard is the former girlfriend of Maxime Bernier, who was recently sacked as foreign minister after Ms Couillard said he had left sensitive documents at her home. See article

At least Irish eyes are smiling

The European Union huffed and puffed after Ireland's voters rejected its new Lisbon treaty. The Irish prime minister, Brian Cowen, was asked to explain the vote to an EU summit. Several leaders grumbled that a small country should not block a treaty backed by everybody else. Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum on Lisbon. See article

Nicolas Sarkozy presented the results of France's defence review. Troop numbers will be cut and some bases shut, but a new one is to open in Abu Dhabi. He confirmed plans for France to rejoin NATO's military command structure next year. See article

Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, endorsed plans to suspend certain long-running trials, including by coincidence a corruption trial against him in Milan. Mr Berlusconi also said he wanted a law to suspend cases against holders of top state positions. See article

Russian investigators charged three men over the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. Ms Politkovskaya, a journalist, was a leading critic of the Kremlin, especially over the war in Chechnya. She was shot dead in Moscow in October 2006.

In Turkey Bulent Ersoy, a transsexual singer, went on trial for allegedly turning the public against military service after criticising the army's operations against Kurdish guerrillas. Meanwhile, a Turkish publisher, Ragip Zarakolu, was jailed for insulting the Turkish nation by publishing a book on the mass killings of Armenians in 1915.

Kept at Bay

John McCain and Barack Obama sparred over security issues after the Supreme Court decided to allow the remaining prisoners at Guantánamo Bay to challenge their detention in civilian courts. Mr Obama argued that the justice system could cope with suspected terrorists. Mr McCain's campaign accused Mr Obama of likening terrorists to regular criminals and said he had “a September 10th mindset”. See article

George Bush asked Congress to end a ban on drilling for oil off America's coastline on the ground that it would help ease high fuel prices. Mr McCain supported the move (he once opposed it), though Mr Obama said a plan to “simply drill our way” out of an energy crisis would not work. Environmental groups began marshalling their forces.

Reuters

The first legal gay marriages were performed in California after a court ruling last month. Among the couples rushing to say “I do” were two San Francisco women in their 80s who have lived together for more than 50 years, and the actor who played Mr Sulu in “Star Trek”.