* ‘2 US aircraft carriers headed for Gulf’ Two additional United States naval aircraft carriers are heading to the Gulf and the Red Sea.

* Rice on IDF Iran strike: U.S. has no veto over Israeli military ops United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday refrained from saying the U.S. would prevent Israel from mounting a much-touted attack against Iran.

* Somalia ‘threat’ to Kenya peace Kenya’s struggle with terrorism will continue as long as neighbouring Somalia remains lawless.

* European parliament chief: EU ready to broker Israel-Syria talks The European parliament chief said Thursday that the EU is prepared to broker Israel-Syria peace talks.

* Bullets to Ballots in Iraq The Mehdi Army is no longer up in arms. In fact, the Shiite militia that ruled Sadr City in Baghdad and parts of Basra has been ordered by its boss, the volatile young nationalist imam, Moqtada Sadr, to lay down its arms.

* Musharraf faces impeachment bid Pakistan’s ruling coalition parties say they will begin impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf.

* Sarkozy floats idea of joint commissioners French president Nicolas Sarkozy is considering proposals that countries of “similar culture and language circle” should share a commissioner.

* Net address bug worse than feared A recently found flaw in the internet’s addressing system is worse than first feared, says the man who found it.

* British consulate: Settlers attack U.K. diplomats on Hebron tour A small group of settlers attacked a delegation of British diplomats during a visit to the West Bank city of Hebron.

* Probing why Women Kill in Iraq A series of raids in Iraq’s troubled Diyala province last weekend included the arrest of a woman purportedly in charge of recruiting female suicide bombers.