President Bush said today in a White House press conference that he would “like to close Guantanamo,” referring to the detention center run by U.S. forces in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bush promised that “eventually” the terror suspects held there would have access to counsel and court trials.

The legislature of Somalia’s transitional government approved the reception of peacekeeping forces into the country from Uganda and Sudan today. The vote comes as warlords in the country lose control of their regions to Islamic militia groups affiliated with the Islamic Courts Union, which pledged to end talks with the government if the vote went through.

The Government Accountability Office estimates that almost $1.4 billion in nonessential, fraudulent charges were made on debit cards distributed by the federal government to help Hurricane Katrina victims with expenses after the storm.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar returned to Gaza today from a seven-country globetrot with $20 million in cash in suitcases. The cash will presumably be used to help pay back wages to government workers and quell the civil strife that has overtaken Ramallah in the last few days. Zahar, a Hamas member, visited Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, China, Pakistan, Iran and Egypt.

Israel’s Prime Minister today indicated that his country’s realignment program – in which Israel would unilaterally define the borders of a two-state solution with Palestine – is “unstoppable.” PM Ehmud Olmert insisted after a meeting with the French President Jacques Chirac that the plan “will be carried out with or without talks” that include the Palestinians.