A U.N.-declared cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect this morning after a brutal escalation in violence over the weekend. Prospects for sustaining the cease-fire appear “dim” and assembling the international military force in Lebanon “is expected to take at least two or three weeks.”

Despite a “months-long push” to search for militants in “every house and business, street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood,” sectarian violence continues to rock Baghdad. “Car bombs and a rocket barrage struck a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, killing at least 62 people” today.

Illinois has dropped a referendum to ban gay marriage from its November ballot. State officials say supporters say failed to gather enough valid signatures.

“Violence against women in Afghanistan is widespread and mainly happens inside victims’ homes,” according to a report from the U.N. Development Fund for Women. “Acts of violence (against women) are happening with impunity,” the report said.

Saqib Ali, a Muslim candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates, is being protested by a man who sits outside Ali’s house “with a sign reading ‘Islam sucks,’ and a shirt with the slogan, ‘This mind is an Allah-free zone.’” Read more