* Dozens killed near Iraqi shrine A female suicide bomber has killed at least 42 people and injured 58 in the Shia Iraqi holy city of Karbala, Iraqi health officials say.

* Livni, Qurei try to restart peace talks Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s announcement Monday that Israel would continue building in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa cast a shadow on talks later in the day between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei, according to government officials.

* PA urges Palestinians to ‘return’ The Palestinian Authority is planning to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary by calling on all Palestinians living abroad to converge on Israel by land, sea and air.

* Ukrainian officer dies in Kosovo A Ukrainian policeman wounded in fierce clashes on Monday with Kosovo Serbs on Monday has died of injuries he suffered when a hand grenade was thrown.

* Haniyeh beats Abbas in popularity poll A Palestinian public opinion poll published on Monday showed that Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh would defeat Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas if presidential elections were held these days in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

* ‘US concerned over building in J’lem’ On Monday during a tour of Mea Shearim, a haredi neighborhood bordering on Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, US Ambassador to Israel Richard H. Jones told The Jerusalem Post that the US was “concerned about where things are built in Jerusalem.”

* Egypt army to tackle bread crisis Egypt’s president has ordered the army to increase the production and distribution of bread, in an attempt to cope with serious shortages.

* China and Tibet protesters must both show restraint says EU Hours away from a midnight deadline from the Chinese government warning Tibetan protesters to surrender or face violence, the European Commission has called on both the protesters and Beijing to show restraint and rejected a boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

* China’s premier blames Dalai Lama ‘clique’ for violence in Tibet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday blamed supporters of the Dalai Lama for recent violence in Tibet, and said Chinese forces exercised restraint in confronting unrest there.

* Bush sends Putin missile defense offer President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday endorsed portions of a private proposal from President George W. Bush that could lead to a new strategic framework between their nations, including progress on troubling issues like missile defense, nuclear arms control and nonproliferation.