Reuters: Dozens die in clashes across Iraq 26 March

The Iraqi army has launched raids in Basra where rival factions of the Shi'ite majority and criminal gangs are competing for control of the country's second city whose oil fields are the government's main source of revenue.

Police said the head of the so-called "Soldiers of Heaven" cult in Basra had been killed in the fighting, which is reminiscent of clashes between the obscure group and Iraqi and U.S. forces a year ago. Those battles near the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf left hundreds dead, mainly members of the cult.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed security forces would battle Shi'ite militia in Basra "to the end" despite thousands of protesters marching to demand his resignation. Mehdi Army fighters loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr remain in control of streets of Basra, Iraq's second biggest city and main oil hub, defying a three-day government offensive that has led to violence spreading across the south and Baghdad.

The surge in violence on Tuesday included a roadside bomb attack on a bus carrying mourners as well as the day-long clashes between gunmen and U.S. and Iraqi security forces in Kut. The bus was carrying members of a family returning from mourning rites for a dead relative in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf when it was hit about 60 km south of Nassiriya.

The surge in violence on Tuesday included a roadside bomb attack on a bus carrying mourners as well as the day-long clashes between gunmen and U.S. and Iraqi security forces in Kut. The bus was carrying members of a family returning from mourning rites for a dead relative in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf when it was hit about 60 km south of Nassiriya.

In the midst of sectarian violence, a young couple south of the capital Baghdad from Shi'te and Sunni backgrounds, defy sectarianism and marry just south of Baghdad. There are no official statistics but some estimates indicate that about a third of Iraq's 6.5 million marriages are unions between Arab Sunnis and Shi'ites. The Iraqi government is offering U.S. $1500 to men who marry women from a different sect.

The American air strikes have come on day four of an operation by Iraqi forces against the militant fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Iraqi commanders say at least 120 militants have been killed and about 450 wounded.

Gay and lesbian rights have improved in recent years, and pride marches have become annual events across the West. But homosexuality remains illegal in 75 countries, including in nine where it is punishable by death. In Poland, the arch-conservative government has proposed to roll back gay rights by banning discussion of homosexuality in schools. The EU has warned such a law will violate European law. Gays in Poland are the object of widespread discrimination, and four out of every five feel they are outcasts. Retransmission of a voiced report from Warsaw originally filed on April 26, 2007.

The rebels say their fighters have taken over the city after meeting little resistance during their advance across the country but a government minister says government forces are still in control