There has been a bomb attack in northern Iraq and at least 20 people have been killed. Some 30 others have been injured. Officials said the bomber attacked a Kurdish target in the town of Talafar near Mosul. Chris Shaf has the details.

    Officials from the Kurdistan Democratic Party said a car bomb went off during the funeral of one of the party's officials who'd been shot dead in Mosul on Saturday. The party is part of the new Iraqi government which has just been formed after 3 months of stalemate since elections in January. The attack comes amid an upsurge in violence over the past three days since the makeup of the new government was announced. Five policemen died in a raid by insurgents in Baghdad earlier on Sunday. At least five others were killed in a car bomb explosion in the city. Three Iraqi civilians were also killed in Fallujah in a rocket attack.

    Iraqi and American forces searching for insurgents south of Baghdad say they've arrested several people in connection with the abduction and suspected murder of the British aid worker Margaret Hassan. There was an outcry in Iraq after a video released last November purported to show Mrs. Hassan being murdered. Her body's never been found. Meanwhile a video has been released of an Australian citizen believed to have been kidnapped in Iraq. The man identifies himself as Douglas Wood.

    The supreme leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sharply rejected American demands that Tehran curtail its nuclear program. His statement comes after a warning from Tehran on Saturday that it may resume Uranium enrichment activities. From Tehran Frances Harrison reports.

    Speaking on a tour of the southeast of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a blistering attack on the United States, saying it was arrogant and rude and deserved a "punch in the mouth". He said it was not up to the US to decide which countries needed nuclear technology, nor would Iran's nuclear policy be affected by the forthcoming presidential elections, which he said ,were nothing to do with the Americans. Iran's leader said no president would dare violate the country's national interest because the people wouldn't allow it.

    The international community's newly appointed special envoy to help coordinate Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has said he is impressed with Palestinian plans for reviving the territory's economy after the pullout. The envoy James Wolfensohn was speaking during his first visit to the region since being appointed to the role by the quartet of the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States. Israel is expected to start removing thousands of settlers from Gaza within months.

    The American military in Afghanistan has released 85 prisoners from its 2 main bases in the country. 70 people were freed from the US base of Bagram, north of Kabul and another 15 at Kandarha in the south. The BBC correspondent in Kabul says the Americans are hoping the releases will help persuade members of the Taliban to end their insurgency. This is what some of the former detainees had to say.

    "I was taken prisoner because of someone else's dislike of me. We have a lot of fighting in Afghanistan, and unfortunately we Afghans and foreigners as well,they arrest people on the basis of reports like this, which are made because of a personal hostility." “My name is Mistery John.I was imprisoned in Bagram for 20 months. I was arrested by the Americans from my home. They made me spend 20 months in Bagram.""The Americans came to my village, they raided the village, they tied my hands, told me to go with them for 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes turned into almost 2 years."

    The United States says it's monitoring reports that North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. But the White House chief of staff Andrew Card says even if true it would not be the first time such a test had taken place. He told the American FOX television network the North Koreans were just acting as bullies, wanting the rest of the world to stand up and take notice. Japan said it too was checking the reports.

    The prime minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi has arrived in Luxemburg for talks with leaders of the European Union. Mr. Koizumi is expected to reiterate Japan's opposition to proposals to lift the EU's arms embargo on China. Tokyo's expression of concern comes amid deteriorating ties between Japan and China, where major demonstrations have targeted Japanese interests.

    Hundreds of survivors of the Dachau Concentration Camp in southern Germany have taken part in ceremonies to mark its liberation 60 years ago. The camp was the first to be built by the Nazis in March 1933. American troops, who liberated it on April the 29th 1945, found thousands of emaciated corpses and tens of thousands of filthy and malnourished survivors. At least 30,000 detainees died there.