Patriarch Alexy II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, gave Russian President Vladimir Putin an icon May 17, as a token of appreciation for his contribution to the unification of the Moscow-based Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). The agreement signed earlier in the day reunited the two branches of the Russian Orthodox Church, ending the generations-long breach that followed the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.

A package of constitutional amendments approved May 18 by Kazakhstan's parliament allow President Nursultan Nazarbayev to remain in office for the rest of his life. Under Kazakhstan's current constitution, Nazarbayev—who has been in power since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union—would be required to step down in 2012. Yermek Zhumabayev, chair of a commission that drafted the package, said the elimination of term limits for Nazarbayev was approved in recognition of "the historic role the first president has played in the establishment of our state, as one of the founders of our new independent Kazakhstan." Critics charged that the vote essentially makes Nazarbayev, 66, president for life. "It is a huge step back for the nation," said Aidos Sarimov, a political analyst at the Altynbek Sarsenbayev Foundation, an opposition-linked think-tank in Almaty.

Gunmen climbed down from rooftop positions in Gaza late May 19, as Hamas and Fatah leaders agreed to end a week of factional bloodshed in in response to new Israeli airstrikes on the Strip. May 19 marked a fifth day of strikes in response to Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli border towns. Several Hamas-Fatah cease-fires have been broken, but Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said he expected this one to stick because of Israel's military action. "No one would accept to fight one another while the Israelis are shelling Gaza," he said. The Palestinian news agency WAFA said the new airstrikes killed 14 and injured 75, including children.

Lebanese security forces fought militants linked to al-Qaeda in the northern city of Tripoli and at the adjacent Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared early May 20, leaving at least 10 dead, including four police. Witnesses said gunmen from the Fatah al-Islam faction seized Lebanese army positions at the entrance to the camp, then moved out to roads leading to the city and ambushed a military unit. Army reinforcement were called in and fighting spread. The attack may have been a reaction to a police raid on a Tripoli apartment that morning. Police were looking for suspects in a bank robbery a day earlier in Amyoun, a town southeast of Tripoli, in which gunmen made off with $125,000 in cash. The militants resisted arrest and a gunbattle ensued.

India's intelligence agencies are examining a telephone card and cellphone supposedly recovered from a deactivated exlposive found at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, scene of the deadly May 18 bombing. The card was reportedly purchased by one Shahed Bilal, said to be an operative of the Bangladesh-based Harkat ul Jehad Islami (Huji), which is in turn said to be linked to the Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

Estonia, one of the most wired societies in Europe, has been subject in recent weeks to massive and coordinated cyber-attacks on government, banking and telecommunications wesbites, Internet service providers and news organizations. Computer security specialists call it an unprecedented assault on the electronic infrastructure of a state—and say the attacks re originating in Russia. Moscow is angry over Estonia's recent relocation of a Soviet war memorial, but Russian officials deny any government involvement in the cyber-attacks.

Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe has ordered his military to intensify efforts to free hostages in the hands of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC)—asserting that they are being held in "concentration camp" conditions "more cruel" than those of the Nazis. Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three US intelligence agents, and eight more hostages were reportedly being held in the same Amazon jungle camp from where National Police officer Jhon Frank Pinchao escaped April 28, after eight years in captivity. Frank said Betancourt is forced to sleep chained by her neck as punishment for having tried to escape five times.

A home-made bomb ripped through a bus terminal in Mindanao's Cotabato City May 18, killing three and injuring 15 others. About half of the casualties were children. Authorities said the motive was probably extortion, as the bus company had been receiving letters from armed groups demanding money. But Mindanao has been hit by seven bombings this year, many of them blamed on Muslim extremists linked to the Jemaah Islamiah or al-Qaeda terror networks. The bombing came barely a week after Australia and the United States warned their citizens of possible terror attacks in Central Mindanao. On May 8, a device went off in a crowded market in Tacurong, killing eight. (Manila Times, May 19; GMA, May 18)