UK-World Summary
Obama makes pitch for U.S. healthcare votes
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama urged Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a broad healthcare reform bill on Saturday as they prepared for a close vote on the biggest changes in health policy in four decades. House Democratic leaders said they were confident they would have the 218 votes needed for approval after striking a middle-of-the-night deal with foes of abortion rights.
Afghanistan hits back at U.N. and foreign criticism
KABUL - Afghanistan accused the United Nations on Saturday of intervening in the formation of President Hamid Karzai's next cabinet, less than a week into his new term. Since being re-elected in a controversial poll in which a fraud investigation rejected more than a million of his votes, Karzai has been under intense pressure from his Western backers to introduce swift anti-corruption reforms.
Honduran rivals signal new bid to solve crisis
TEGUCIGALPA - Honduras' ousted president and de facto leader gave signs they would try again on Saturday to form a unity government to guide the country out of a four-month crisis after the process collapsed a day earlier. President Manuel Zelaya, a refugee in his own country in the Brazilian Embassy, early on Friday declared dead a pact to end the crisis, while de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he would form a new government without Zelaya's participation.
Afghans killed during search for missing U.S. troops
KABUL - NATO forces mistakenly killed seven Afghan soldiers and police in an air strike during a battle while searching for two missing American soldiers in Afghanistan, the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Saturday. The NATO-led force confirmed the deaths and said it was investigating whether its air strikes were responsible. It said an eighth Afghan, a civilian working with the military, was also killed, and 18 Afghans and five American soldiers were wounded.
Lebanon's Hariri set to form government with Hezbollah
BEIRUT - Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri will announce a new national unity government to include Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah in the next few days, politicians said on Saturday. Lebanon has been without a functioning government since Hariri led his coalition, backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, to victory in a June parliamentary election against Hezbollah and its allies.
Obamas to attend Fort Hood memorial Tuesday
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, will attend a memorial service in Fort Hood, Texas, on Tuesday for victims of a mass shooting. The White House announced the trip on Saturday. Obama is scheduled to depart on Wednesday on an Asia tour.
Iran says over 100 people detained at anti-U.S. rally
TEHRAN - Iranian police detained more than 100 people for "disturbing public order" during a rally this week to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday. Security forces clashed with supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi in Tehran on Wednesday when an annual state-organised rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy turned violent.
Japan urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi before poll
TOKYO - Japan urged Myanmar Saturday to release detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before next year's election, adding it was ready to provide more aid if democratisation in the country advanced. The comments came a few days after a U.S. delegation made a landmark visit to Myanmar as part of a new policy of engagement by the Obama administration.
Study shows high cost of German reunification - report
BERLIN - As Germany prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a new study shows that some 1.3 trillion euros have been transferred from the west to rebuild the east, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The report by the Halle-based IWH research institute showed the net transfers from west to east -- a sum equivalent to over half Germany's total economic output in 2008 -- had "risen significantly" in the past decade, weekly Welt am Sonntag said.
AU keeps Madagascar suspension despite new deal
ADDIS ABABA said on Saturday it would not re-admit Madagascar until a newly agreed power-sharing government was in place and fresh elections in the pipeline. Earlier, the island's rivals signed a deal under which coup-instigator Andry Rajoelina would remain president, accompanied by two new co-presidents.