Top Stories - AFP

ST ANDREWS (AFP) - Hosts Britain urged G20 finance ministers to put aside their differences and strike a deal on climate funding on Saturday despite fading hopes for an accord at key UN talks next month.

KABUL (AFP) - Seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed in a NATO air strike that also injured international forces in remote western Afghanistan, the Afghan defence ministry said on Saturday.

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran is to turn down proposals from the major powers about its supply of nuclear fuel, a leading parliamentarian said on Saturday, in a serious setback for efforts to allay Western concerns about its atomic ambitions.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama, his top domestic priority in the balance, was to make a rare in-person plea Saturday for wary lawmakers to cast an historic vote for legislation to remake US health care.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (AFP) - The world's largest and top emerging economies agreed at a G20 meeting here Saturday a timetable on mutual monitoring of their economic policy, a European source told AFP.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - US auto giant General Motors is in advanced talks with its Chinese partners on a proposal to bring their vehicles to India, according to the Press Trust of India.

NUREMBERG, Germany (AFP) - British challenger David Haye insists he will be the first fighter to knock out WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev here on Saturday.

LONDON (AFP) - An in-form Didier Drogba is capable of ruffling the feathers of even the most confident defences.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - US online music service Bluebeat said it plans to fight British recording label EMI over rights to stream and sell versions of Beatles songs.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AFP) - US President Barack Obama led his nation in mourning Friday as shocked Americans struggled to understand why a Muslim army doctor unleashed a massacre at a US military base, killing 13.

KABUL (AFP) - Seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed in a NATO air strike in remote western Afghanistan, the defence ministry said on Saturday.

TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) - Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted in a military-backed coup four months ago, called for fresh protests Friday after the collapse of a US-brokered deal to end the crisis.

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) - Talks on a new UN climate pact were wrapping up Friday, leaving a roster of bitterly divisive issues to be hammered out at a showdown in Copenhagen next month.

MANAGUA (AFP) - Nicaragua's Caribbean coast faced a battering by high winds and heavy rains Friday, as remnants of hurricane Ida wrecked homes and officials warned as many as 40,000 could be affected by the storm.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US unemployment jumped to double digits in October for the first time since 1983, reaching 10.2 percent, prompting renewed talk of additional stimulus for an economy struggling to emerge from recession.

LONDON (AFP) - The price of gold hit a record high above 1,100 dollars an ounce in trading here on Friday following a report that Sri Lanka had joined India in purchasing the precious metal in favour of the US currency.

LONDON (AFP) - Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insisted on Friday that he will not be rushing for the Stamford Bridge chequebook despite a transfer ban being lifted on the Premier League leaders.

BASEL, Switzerland (AFP) - Roger Federer puts an 18-match win streak at his home Swiss Indoors tournament on the line Saturday against old school friend Marco Chiudinelli in the semi-finals.

GENEVA (AFP) - Solar Impulse, the Swiss bid to make the first solar-powered flight around the world, rolled out its prototype on Friday at an airbase near Zurich and powered up the engines.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) - An American army major went on a shooting rampage Thursday at a Texas military base killing 11 people and wounding 31 others before being gunned down, army officials said.

KABUL (AFP) - The United Nations announced Thursday it will evacuate more than half its international staff based in Afghanistan after a deadly Taliban attack on UN workers, prompting a dismayed reaction from NATO.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Thursday he will not seek re-election as he voiced frustration with the US position on Israeli settlements and delivered a major blow to Washington's Middle East peace efforts.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - A UN warcrimes court Thursday imposed a lawyer on Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and put off to March 1 the genocide trial he has boycotted since it started last week.

PARIS (AFP) - Scientists reported Thursday that nano-particles used in medical applications can indirectly damage DNA inside cells by transmitting signals through a protective barrier of human tissue.

BERLIN (AFP) - Angry German workers on Thursday protested General Motors' shock refusal to sell its European unit Opel and its plans to cut 10,000 jobs, moves slammed as a slap in the face for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

FRANKFURT (AFP) - The European Central Bank and Bank of England both kept interest rates at record lows Thursday, but the ECB was more upbeat on economic growth while the BoE planned to pump billions more pounds into Britain's recession-hit economy.

PARIS (AFP) - Fulham compromised their hopes of advancing in the Europa League on Thursday when Roma came from behind to win 2-1 in Italy, the English Premiership side ending the Group E contest with nine men, while Everton slumped 2-0 at home to Benfica.

BASEL, Switzerland (AFP) - Novak Djokovic clinched the most comprehensive victory of his career on Thursday when he humiliated Czech journeyman Jan Hernych 6-0, 6-0 to reach the Swiss Indoors quarter-finals.