TALOQAN, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber killed one of the most powerful men in north Afghanistan on Saturday, underlining the spread of insurgent violence in once peaceful parts of the country and casting a shadow over plans for Afghans to take control of security.
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TRIPOLI - NATO aircraft destroyed guard towers at Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, a NATO official said on Saturday, then staged a rare daytime air strike on the Libyan capital, stepping up pressure on him to quit.
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SANAA - Yemen's government and armed tribesmen demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh leave power agreed on Saturday to end their confrontation which had brought the poor Arabian Peninsula country to the brink of civil war.
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RAFAH - Egypt eased travel restrictions for residents of Gaza on Saturday, eroding a blockade of the Palestinian territory imposed by Israel to isolate its Islamist Hamas rulers.
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AMMAN - At least one man was injured when Syrian security forces opened fired to disperse a night-time demonstration on Saturday in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, scene of growing protests against Baathist rule, a witness said.
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WARSAW - President Barack Obama pledged close U.S. cooperation with Poland on Saturday on missile defence, the upgrading of its air defences and in developing shale gas and nuclear power to boost its energy security.
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ROME - Italians begin voting on Sunday in local election run-offs where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition risks humiliating defeat in his home town of Milan for the first time in nearly 20 years.
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BELGRADE - Tight surveillance of suspected helpers and relatives led to the capture of Ratko Mladic in a messy farmhouse where the fugitive war crimes suspect was found alone surrounded by medication, officials said on Saturday.
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TEHRAN - An aide to Iran's supreme leader called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday to "turn back to the main path", suggesting the Islamic state's highest power may be losing patience with the head of government.
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JUBA/KHARTOUM - The northern Sudanese army has full control of Abyei and has stopped military operations, state media said on Saturday, as officials from the north and south prepared to meet to defuse tensions over the disputed region.
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RIGA - Latvia's president on Saturday moved to dissolve parliament after it blocked a corruption probe of a top lawmaker and businessman, attacking "political scheming and lies" and saying he wanted to rein in local oligarchs.
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BEIJING - An American citizen detained in North Korea on unspecified charges for six months has been released, U.S. rights envoy Robert King said on Saturday following a visit to the secretive state's capital to assess its pleas for food aid.
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