* Ahmadinejad: Iran has joined club of nuclear nations Iran on Monday announced that it has begun enriching uranium with 3,000 centrifuges, dramatically expanding a program that the United Nations has demanded it halt.

* Shiites burn US flags on regime fall anniversary Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shiites burned and trampled on US flags in the holy city of Najaf Monday at an anti-American rally called by firebrand cleric Moqtada Al Sadr on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein.

* UK calls for Iran to suspend enrichment UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in response to Iran’s announcement that it had begun enriching uranium using 3,000 centrifuges that he hoped Iran would “engage in dialogue”.

* Ukraine’s rival leaders battle on Supporters of Ukrainian PM Viktor Yanukovych are keeping up their protest outside parliament in Kiev against his rival, President Viktor Yushchenko.

* Lebanese Security Officers ‘Aiding Hizbullah Rearmament’ A senior Lebanese politician has said that Lebanese security agents are helping Hizbullah smuggle weapons across the country’s border with Syria.

* Islam’s rapid rise giving Russia growing pains Ask Khadji Gasan Gasanaliyev, imam of an independent mosque in this North Caucasus city, what is wrong with Russia, and he tells how a three-year-old held a gun to his head.

* Russian Experts to Visit Bushehr NPP to Discuss Project Financing According to Russia’s nuclear power plant construction company Atomstroyexport, a group of Russian experts will visit the construction site of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant to ensure progress in talks aimed at breaking a stalemate over project financing.

* Terror attack foiled A major suicide attack on Tel Aviv was prevented this Passover, as Shin Bet and IDF forces arrested 19 Hamas members in the West Bank city of Qalqilya for planning to detonate a car bomb containing some 220 lbs of explosives.

* Chad army ‘attacked from Sudan’ Heavy fighting between the army and anti-government forces in eastern Chad has left “many” dead.

* Internal violence flares in southern Gaza In Gaza, a gunbattle between two warring families in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday killed three people, including a bystander.