Top story: The radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who led one of the most powerful militias during the worst days of the Iraq war, returned to Iraq on Wednesday. Sadr had been in self-imposed exile in Iran for nearly three years, and his return signals the political rehabilitation of his staunchly anti-U.S. political movement in Iraq's corridors of power.
Sadr arrived in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, in southern Iraq. He visited the Shrine of Imam Ali and his father's grave before returning to his family's home. A spokesman for Sadr's office in Najaf confirmed that he had returned to Iraq permanently.
Sadr's movement won 40 seats in last year's parliamentary elections, reestablishing it as a powerful force in Iraqi politics. Its decision to support Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a longtime nemesis of the movement, for a second term was instrumental in helping Maliki win the premiership. However, the Sadrists received numerous government posts in return for their support - and also, apparently, government assurances that Sadr could safely return to Iraq.
Some analysts also suggested that his return could be motivated by a desire to retain his preeminence over the movement's leaders in Iraq, who have overseen the party's impressive gains in recent years. "His party is becoming stronger and bigger, and the need for him to preside over it has grown, especially since there is fear that new leaders within the party could surpass him," wrote Hazem al-Amin in the Arabic daily al-Hayat.
World faces spike in food prices: The Food and Agricultural Organization, a U.N. body, warned of a global "food price shock." Its indices of commodity prices rose steeply last month, surpassing the levels of the food crisis in 2007 and 2008.
Americas
- A U.S. panel investigating last summer's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will report that cost-cutting measures by BP contributed to the crisis, and that the failures leading to the crisis are "systemic."
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Venezuela convened its new parliament, the first in five years with a significant opposition presence.
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A grenade exploded in Georgetown, Guyana, killing one person.
Asia
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U.S. officials downplayed the significance of images of what appears to be a Chinese stealth fighter.
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The funeral of an assassinated Pakistani governor and the praise from some quarters heaped on his assassin has exposed the widening cultural divide within Pakistan.
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The United States lodged a protest with Vietnam after a U.S. diplomat was roughed up while attempting to meet with a prominent dissident.
Middle East
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The Tunisian protester whose attempted suicide set off a wave of protests in the country has died.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heckled at a memorial to commemorate the 42 people who lost their lives during the country's wildfires last month.
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Egypt's police have tightened security around Coptic churches on the eve of the religion's Christmas holiday.
Europe
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The European Court for Human Rights ruled that Lithuania was wrong to prevent its ousted former president from running for parliament.
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Hungary's prime minister said that his country is prepared to change its new law regulating the media.
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Passengers overpowered a man who attempted to hijack a Turkish Airlines flight traveling from Norway to Istanbul.
Africa
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UN officials in the Ivory Coast sent a request to the U.N. Security Council for 1,000 to 2,000 more peacekeepers.
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Nigeria's oil-rich Delta state is holding governorship elections today, amidst tight security.
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Police officers shot and killed two protesters in Tanzania.
QASSEM ZEIN/AFP/Getty Images
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