Militants declare cease-fire in Lebanon

Hello on this Tuesday, the 22 day of May, 2007. I'm Kristin Volk with a UPI Headline Update.

Islamic militants are declaring a cease-fire in their battle with the Lebanese army at a refugee camp near Tripoli. The Lebanese army says it made no agreement to this, but would not fire into the camp unless its forces were fired on. Fighting between the two groups began Sunday when Lebanese forces raided a building near Tripoli. Militants from Fatah al-Islam fired on the forces who then returned fire. At least 75 are dead from the clashes.

British prosecutors are charging a man with murder in the poisoning death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. They're asking Russia to extradite businessman and former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi. Lugovoi met Litvinenko in London last November, hours before he got sick. Britain is urging Moscow to participate in this case, but sources say the country won't turn over the suspect to British authorities. Litvinenko opposed President Vladimir Putin and had been granted political asylum in the U.K.

The Israeli Prime Minister visited the city of Sderot Monday as militants fired rockets there. Ehud Olmert met with residents of the Israeli city as it's been a recent target of rockets fired from Gaza. Olmert would not take refuge in a bomb shelter when the area was struck, saying if you're staying, I'm staying too. Angry residents accused the prime minister of not doing enough to help and called on him to resign.

At least 25 people have been killed in a car bomb explosion at an outdoor Baghdad market. About 60 more are wounded. Today's attack reportedly crushed some buildings and sparked fires. About an hour before the blast, a gunman stopped a family a six just north of Baghdad at a fake police checkpoint, killing all six.

Thanks for watching. For more on these stories and all of the day's news, go to upi.com.

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