Hamas militiamen withdrew from the streets of the Gaza Strip today and returned to their normal posts after the worst day of internal violence since Hamas took control of the Palestinian government in March.

A swan found dead in eastern Croatia tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, authorities said today – bringing to three the number of regions in Croatia where the deadly virus has been detected since October.

Ukraine today forwarded bird flu samples to a British laboratory to test for the deadly H5N1 strain, blaming turmoil in the state veterinary department for the five-day delay.