AFP - President Robert Mugabe said Friday that "only God" could remove him from office, as Zimbabwe's opposition considered pulling out of next week's run-off election amid escalating violence.

AFP - The future of the Europe Union's troubled reform treaty was put on hold until October at Friday's Brussels summit, after Czech doubts and a last-minute legal hurdle in Britain added to last week's referendum rejection in Ireland.

Reuters - Supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr accused Iraqi security forces on Friday of heavy-handed action in a crackdown in the southern city of Amara, calling it a "clear provocation."

Reuters - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday nuclear power was "not a panacea" for U.S. energy woes but it is worth investigating its further development.

Reuters - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is considering whether to pull out of the June 27 presidential run-off election, fearing it will be a charade, a spokesman said on Friday.

Reuters - Surging fuel prices are forcing cities across the United States to cut back on services and dip into cash reserves to keep their fleets on the road, according to a survey released on Friday.

Reuters - Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will join Barack Obama on the campaign trail next week for the first time since Obama emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3.

Reuters - The Mississippi River's crest rolled downstream on Friday, submerging small towns and some of the U.S. Midwest's most fertile farm fields with a relentless flow as people and industry tried to recover from the worst flooding in 15 years.

Reuters - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that could shield phone companies from billions of dollars in lawsuits for their participation in the warrantless surveillance program begun by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush did not know about a White House effort to leak the identity of a CIA agent but tried to protect staffers who were involved in one of the biggest scandals of his administration, former Bush spokesman Scott McClellan told Congress on Friday.

AP - Temperamental model Naomi Campbell was sentenced to 200 hours of community service Friday after pleading guilty to assaulting two police officers after an "air rage" incident at Heathrow Airport.

AP - The little boy's body was a study in pain. He was covered in cigarette burns, including to his genitals. He couldn't fully open his hand because it had been burned on a stove. His tooth was broken with a nerve exposed. And he had been made to sit in his own urine and feces, authorities say.

AP - U.S.-funded reconstruction in a one-time Sunni insurgent stronghold has been suspended because of a corruption probe, including allegations that the mayor and police chief were involved in a multimillion-dollar oil smuggling ring, The Associated Press has learned.