US Fresh floods, fires and looting rode in the destructive wake of Hurricane Katrina, deepening a humanitarian crisis that left hundreds feared dead and sections of New Orleans submerged to the rooftops. Iraq US air strikes on suspected Al-Qaeda hideouts in Iraq near the Syrian border killed at least 56 people, an Iraqi security source said, as Sunnis organized to defeat a draft constitution. US The White House announced US President George W. Bush would cut short his vacation and head back to Washington to coordinate efforts to respond to killer storm Katrina. Mideast Benjamin Netanyahu launched his much-anticipated campaign to oust Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from the leadership of the right-wing Likud party with a blistering attack on Israel's pullout from Gaza. Commodities Oil prices crossed the 70-dollar mark in electronic trading Wednesday as US energy officials considered releasing strategic reserves to make up for disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina. Indonesia Indonesia freed hundreds of rebel Acehnese prisoners after a general amnesty was granted by the president, meeting a key condition of an historic peace pact, officials said. France A blaze in a rundown building housing African immigrants in Paris -- the second in four days and the third in five months -- killed seven people overnight and blew up into a public debate over housing for the poor and the government's crackdown on illegal nationals. Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's parliament approved a bill that stops white farmers from legally challenging land grabs, curtails the travel rights of those deemed anti-government and disenfranchises people without full citizenship. Pakistan-India Nuclear rivals Pakistan and India hold high-level talks this week to nudge forward their slow-moving peace process and set the agenda for a rare meeting between their leaders, officials and analysts said. NKorea Two US Congressmen head for North Korea in a bid to narrow the gaps separating the two sides and urge the Stalinist state to quickly return to talks on its nuclear weapons drive. China EU trade chief Peter Mandelson stepped up pressure on EU governments to agree urgent measures to break a logjam in Chinese textile imports, warning of shortages and price hikes if no action were taken. China China has ordered 7,000 coal mines to suspend operations by the end of the year as deaths from accidents linked to poor safety standards soar, state media reported.