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Reuters - 2 hours 56 minutes ago

Obama says U.S. a strong partner of Iraq despite pullout

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said on Saturday Iraq faced difficult days ahead after taking control of its towns and cities from U.S. forces but he pledged to remain a strong partner on behalf of the country's security and prosperity. Speaking at a U.S. Independence Day celebration at the White House just days after U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq's towns and cities into rural bases, Obama said Iraq's future was now up to its own citizens.

OAS set to suspend Honduras after coup

WASHINGTON - The Organisation of American States was set to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore President Manuel Zelaya who was toppled in a military coup last weekend. Speaking at a special session on the crisis, OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said the region should suspend Honduras after interim rulers who took power after the coup rejected an OAS demand to reinstate Zelaya by Saturday.

U.N.'s Ban rebukes Myanmar generals

YANGON - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon rebuked Myanmar's generals on Saturday for denying him a visit to see detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and said she should be allowed to take part in politics before 2010 elections. The U.N. Secretary-General expressed "deep disappointment" at the end of a two-day visit to the military-ruled state.

Hardline Iran editor calls for Mousavi to face trial

TEHRAN - An editor seen as close to Iran's leadership said on Saturday that opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi should go on trial, and a lawyer said other reformists had already been accused of acting against national security. Mousavi and his supporters in last month's disputed presidential election had acted on the instructions of the United States in protesting against the results, said Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of the hardline Kayhan daily.

Obama says supports Kremlin chief on more freedoms

MOSCOW - U.S. President Barack Obama has used an interview with a Russian opposition newspaper to support Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev's publicly declared aim of building a freer society in Russia. Medvedev, who was sworn in as Russian president in May 2008, has sought to strike a more liberal tone than his predecessor and mentor, ex-KGB spy Vladimir Putin, though officials say Russia's two leaders are united on all major issues.

McCain says Palin to play leadership role as ex-Governor

WASHINGTON - Republican Senator John McCain expressed support for his former presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, on Saturday as Washington speculated about why the Alaska governor abruptly announced her resignation. McCain made the comment a day after Palin stunned the political world by announcing she is stepping down with 18 months left in her term.

Pakistani forces attack militants near crash site

KALLAY, Pakistan - Pakistani helicopter gunships attacked Taliban militants on Saturday in a northwestern region where a military helicopter crashed the previous day killing 26 soldiers on board, a government official said. Fighting has intensified sharply in northwest Pakistan over the past two months since the army went on the offensive to push back an expanding insurgency that raised fears for the stability of the nuclear-armed U.S. ally.

WITNESS: Battling to borrow money in sanctions-hit Sudan

KHARTOUM - The United States achieved at least three things when it stepped up economic sanctions on Sudan: it banned most trade between the two countries, froze Sudanese assets and closed the door on my British mortgage. Trade sanctions are presented as sophisticated instruments -- ways of forcing change in foreign governments without resorting to war. But in today's inter-connected world, economic penalties designed to hit one country can quickly spread beyond their original target.

Anti-G8 demonstrators clash with police in Italy

VICENZA, Italy - Anti-G8 demonstrators clashed briefly with Italian police on Saturday in the first big protest ahead of next week's summit of the world's richest nations. Police in riot gear fired teargas at protesters to prevent them from crossing a bridge and moving closer to a controversial U.S. military base in the north-eastern city of Vicenza.

Rescuers find debris of Yemenia aircraft

SANAA - Search crews have located a large piece of debris from a Yemeni jet that crashed into the Indian Ocean off the Comoros islands last week and are working to retrieve it, the Yemeni transport ministry said on Saturday. A 14-year-old girl appears to be the sole survivor of the crash. International rescuers have been unable to find any of the remaining 152 passengers and crew since the Yemenia Airbus A310-300 crashed in strong winds in the early hours of Tuesday.

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