Morning Brief: Making headway on settlements?

Middle East

• The leader of one of Iraq's leading Shiite political groups has died.
• Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad unveiled a program to build up a Palestinian state over the next two years. 
• Diplomats say Iran may be running short on nuclear material. 

Asia

• Preliminary results show Afghanistan's election is still too close to call.
• Chinese President Hu Jintao is visiting the Xinjiang region for the first time since last month's riots. 
• Delegates from North and South Korea have begun talks on family reunification. 

Africa

• A French security agent captured by insurgents in Somalia is now free. 
• A prolonged drought is devastating Kenya. 
• The head of the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force has resigned.

Europe

• Greece's devastating wildfires have been contained. 
• Russian investigators say the recovered ship Arctic Sea may have been carrying more sensitive cargo than originally thought. 
• French police have discovered a cache of weapons belonging to Basque separatist group Eta. 

Americas

• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he is preparing to cut off diplomatic ties with Colombia. 
• Honduras's interim government has balked at a proposed resolution to the country's political crisis.  
• Remittances from Mexicans living abroad continued to drop last quarter.