Iraq’s prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said today that he will let Shiite leaders reconsider his nomination. Many leaders in and out of Iraq have been calling for Jaafari to step down as a first move toward unifying Iraq’s government and ending the insurgency. A meeting of the Iraqi parliament planned for today was postponed until Saturday.

President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao are meeting today at the White House to discuss America’s $202 billion trade deficit with China, which is blamed by some for the loss of nearly 3 million jobs in the US since 2001. Outside the White House, protesters gathered to demonstrate against China’s human rights policies.

A spokesman from the Red Cross claims that much of Sudan’s Darfur region is inaccessible to aid workers due to fighting and looting. One town, Golo, which previously had 20,000 inhabitants, is now deserted, he said.

Algeria’s president Abdelaziz Bouteflika is at a French military hospital for a check-up, following his stomach surgery at the end of last year at the same hospital. His visit is ruffling the feathers of French politicians angered by Bouteflika’s comparison of French colonial rule to genocide. Far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen said that it was “scandalous” that Bouteflika seek medical help from “us terrible colonialists.”

Nepalese police opened fire once again on protesters marching into the capital today. Three people were killed and dozens were injured. The protests were in violation of a curfew announced yesterday to quell opposition to the Nepalese king’s absolute rule. Recent weeks have seen an escalation of protests and police violence in Nepal.