PATIENCE: Pakistan's new ambassador to the US said deals that would require militants to give up their weapons and stop backing fighters are in the making
Pakistan's new ambassador to the US is urging patience for those in Washington frustrated with his government's pursuit of peace deals with tribes along the lawless Pakistani-Afghan border.

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Supporters of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto are commemorating her 55th birthday in mournful ceremonies in Pakistan.

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ATTACKS: US-led coalition forces launched an airstrike near the Afghan border and killed several rebels in the northeast as part of its offensive to clear out the Taliban
An improvised explosive device (IED) killed four US-led coalition soldiers yesterday in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, the scene of a large anti-Taliban offensive and an insurgent jail break.

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Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito on Friday urged Brazil and his country to forge stronger ties and work together more closely to overcome challenges facing both countries.

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Cindy McCain, wife of US Republican presumptive presidential nominee Senator John McCain, praised the UN's effort to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and panned the country's military regime for failing to welcome aid.

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INTERVENTION: Many say that official measures to stop abuse in the remote communities, including an alcohol ban and social welfare restrictions, are racist policies
Australian Aborigines threatened yesterday to close one of the country's top tourist destinations, Uluru, in protest at what they described as "racist" government policies in remote communities.

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The US has obtained new intelligence that raises questions about whether North Korea pursued an alternative route to producing a nuclear weapon, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

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In the 1930s, US president Theodore Roosevelt's fireside chats set the political tone of the radio age. In the 1960s, US president John Kennedy's impassioned speeches thrilled the first television generation.

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POLITICAL STALEMATE: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said 'only God' could remove him, while the opposition said it wanted to meet face-to-face
A divided UN Security Council will resume talks tomorrow on the deadly political violence in Zimbabwe ahead of the upcoming presidential runoff election, diplomats said on Friday.

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The proliferation of jellyfish in oceans around the world, driven by over-fishing and climate change, is a sign of ecosystems out of kilter, experts warn.

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The UN nuclear watchdog chief urged Syria on Friday to show “transparency” and cooperate with inspectors from the world agency due to visit the middle eastern country this weekend.

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A US Air Force investigation concluded that "most sites" used for deploying nuclear weapons in Europe lack the minimum security requirements of the US Department of Defense, said the Federation of American Scientists, which pushed for release of the report.

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'FORCE MAJEURE': Armed groups surprised government leaders by pulling off a daring attack on an offshore oil rig that was previously thought to be untouchable
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell declared on Friday force majeure on 225,000 barrels per day for this month's and next month’s deliveries from its offshore Bonga oilfield in Nigeria, following an attack by militants.

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AHEAD: A new poll gives the Democrat a 51 percent lead to the Republican's 36 percent, seemingly reflecting a 'bounce' since Obama secured his party's nomination
Republican presidential candidate John McCain ventured to Canada to attack his Democratic opponent on trade, while Barack Obama dismissed McCain’s push for US offshore oil drilling as making “absolutely no sense.”

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CHANGE: The move, which becomes official tomorrow, is a largely symbolic gesture as the sanctions, imposed after the jailing of dissidents, have been suspended since 2005
The US on Friday downplayed the EU's decision to lift its sanctions on Cuba, even after a White House official a day earlier called it disappointing.

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Federal prosecutors on Friday charged the Big Dig's largest construction contractor with lying about the quality of its work on two areas of Boston’s tunnel system, including the section where a ceiling collapse killed a woman.

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A US federal appeals court has refused to review the case of Omar Khadr, a Canadian who faces trial by a special military tribunal in October at the "war on terror" camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday that the US is trying to bring him before an international court.

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Gay rights advocates asked California's highest court on Friday to keep off the November ballot a citizens' initiative that would again ban same-sex marriage in the state.

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