3 US soldiers killed near Baghdad
BAGHDAD – A roadside bombing struck a U.S. patrol northwest of Baghdad on Saturday, killing three American soldiers and two Iraqi civilians, the military said.

US Soldier Killed South of Baghdad
The U.S. military says an American soldier has been killed and four others wounded in a rocket or mortar attack south of Baghdad. A statement says the soldier died of wounds sustained from indirect fire on Friday. The military uses the term to describe a rocket or mortar attack.

Iraqi police say US kills Sunni allies
BAGHDAD – A U.S. airstrike struck two checkpoints manned by U.S.-allied Sunni fighters north of Baghdad on Saturday, killing six and injuring two, Iraqi police said.

80,000 Angry Men. Is the US Surge collapsing? (video)
In an investigation carried out by GuardianFilms for Channel 4, we uncover how thousands of Iraqis employed at $10 a day by the US to take on al-Qaida are threatening to go on strike because they say they have been used by the ‘Americans to do their dirty work’ and haven’t been paid

Egypt holds talks with Gaza Islamists on truce
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) – Egypt held talks on Saturday with representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, part of a push for a truce between the militant groups and Israel, officials said.

Dozens injured, detained in Kurdish protests in Turkey
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AFP) – Dozens of people were injured and around 300 detained Saturday as police used truncheons and tear gas to break up violent Kurdish protests in several Turkish cities, officials and media reports said.

Al-Qaida blamed in failed US site attack
SAN’A, Yemen – An Al-Qaida terror cell was behind a mortar strike against the U.S. embassy in Yemen that missed its target but killed a security guard and wounded 13 students at a nearby school, an Interior Ministry official said Saturday.

Bhutto party names Gilani as Pakistan PM candidate
ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Slain former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto’s party Saturday named ex-parliamentary speaker Yousuf Raza Gilani as its candidate to be the troubled country’s new prime minister.

Stop intimidating voters, U.N. tells Nepal parties
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – The United Nations urged Nepal’s political parties and its former Maoist rebels on Saturday to stop intimidating voters ahead of next month’s national elections.

Tigers sink Sri Lanka craft, heavy land battles erupt
COLOMBO (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels struck back against a mounting Sri Lankan military offensive on Saturday by sinking a naval fast attack craft, leaving 10 sailors missing, officials said.

China official paper: crush protesters
BEIJING – The communist government’s leading newspaper called Saturday to “resolutely crush” Tibetan demonstrations against Chinese rule.

Opposition wins Taiwan presidential vote
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan’s opposition candidate cruised to victory in the presidential election Saturday, promising to expand economic ties with China while protecting the island from being swallowed up politically by its giant communist neighbor.

Taiwan’s UN referendums fail
TAIPEI, Taiwan – The official Central Election Commission says Taiwan’s two referendums on joining the United Nations have failed.

Peru says Chavez backs domestic revolt
LIMA, Peru – Hugo Chavez has been accused of using Venezuela’s oil riches to meddle in Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia and Nicaragua. Now, Peru’s president says the Venezuelan leader may be doing it here by funding militants and anti-poverty centers that preach populist revolution.

DNA advances set to ID ‘Dirty War’ bones
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The 600 skeletons are packed into fruit cartons and stacked on shelves in the walk-in closet of a forensic lab, in the dim glow of a single bare light bulb. They are “Skeleton No. 4″ or “Skeleton No. 21,” and nothing more.

Sarkozy, Brown to unveil nuclear cooperation plan
LONDON (AFP) – Britain and France will announce a deal to build new nuclear power stations and export the technology worldwide during President Nicolas Sarkozy’s state visit next week, the Guardian reported Saturday.

Serb minister details Kosovo division proposal
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbia has proposed a plan for the “functional division of Serbs and Kosovo Albanians” in Kosovo, Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic was quoted on Saturday as saying.

Angola celebrates 1988 battle victory that changed region
LUANDA (AFP) – Angola celebrated Saturday for the first time the anniversary of a 1988 battle that changed the region’s political landscape, accelerating Namibian independence and the fall of apartheid in South Africa.

Mugabe says opposition “treasonous”
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe accused the main opposition on Saturday of forging a “treasonous” alliance with Britain to oust him.