* Blair will stand down on 27 June Tony Blair has announced he will stand down as prime minister on 27 June.

* Arab League delegates to visit Israel; will present peace plan Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak agreed Thursday that in the coming weeks an Arab League delegation would visit Israel.

* Rival groups join forces in Gaza A major Palestinian security operation has begun in Gaza, in a joint effort by rival political parties to crack down on violence and lawlessness.

* Assad: Israel not ready for just peace Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday the current Israeli government was weak and is not prepared for a just peace with the Arabs, but cautioned that it could still wage war.

* Cheney Leaves Iraq After Visit With Troops Vice President Dick Cheney left Iraq today, flying on to the United Arab Emirates on a tour of the Middle East, after spending the night at an American military base outside Tikrit.

* Hamas TV drops militant Mickey Mouse A program using a Mickey Mouse-like character to urge Palestinian children to fight Israel and the West and work for world Islamic domination has been pulled off Hamas’s television station.

* Pope seeks to win over Brazil’s youth Pope Benedict is appealing directly to Brazil’s youth to follow a strict moral code in a country where the government hands out free condoms and many Roman Catholics ignore Church teachings.

* Putin likens U.S. foreign policy to that of Third Reich President Vladimir Putin of Russia obliquely compared the foreign policy of the United States to the Third Reich.

* Iranian cleric threatens Tel Aviv An Iranian cleric said his country would fire “tens of thousands” of missiles at Israel in response to an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

* Voting and veto issues to dominate EU constitution discussions The voting system and where member states should have a right to a veto are shaping up to be the two biggest issues at the treaty summit next month in Brussels.