AP - The number of civilians killed in fighting between insurgents and security forces in Afghanistan has soared by two-thirds in the first half of this year, to almost 700 people, a senior U.N. official said Sunday.

AP - President Robert Mugabe was sworn in for a sixth term Sunday, just hours after government officials said he overwhelmingly won a runoff that has been widely discredited. His main rival dismissed the inauguration as "an exercise in self-delusion."

AFP - Pakistani forces pushed forward with the new government's first major offensive against Islamist militants Sunday, retaking control of a key town and demolishing an insurgent group's building.

AFP - Robert Mugabe was expected to be inaugurated for a new term as Zimbabwe's president on Sunday following a one-man election amid growing calls for his fellow African leaders to reject his legitimacy.

Reuters - Guatemala's interior minister died when a helicopter crashed on Friday in bad weather north of the Guatemalan capital, officials said.

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, looking to bolster his expertise in foreign policy, will travel to Europe and the Middle East to consult on issues like terrorism and nuclear proliferation, his campaign said on Saturday.

Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought the government's go-ahead on Sunday for a prisoner swap with Hezbollah to recover two soldiers whose abduction by the Iranian-backed guerrillas triggered the 2006 Lebanon war.

Reuters - Pakistani security forces have secured an area in the Khyber region, where a key supply route passes into Afghanistan, a day after launching an offensive to push back militants threatening Peshawar.

Reuters - Iraqi officials have expressed outrage over a U.S. raid near the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala, which they said should have been approved by local authorities since security for the area is under Iraqi control.

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, under pressure to raise human rights and Tibet with Chinese officials, emphasized friendship over friction during a visit to China on Sunday.

Reuters - U.S. congressional leaders agreed late last year to President George W. Bush's funding request for a major escalation of covert operations against Iran aimed at destabilizing its leadership, according to a report in The New Yorker magazine published online on Sunday.

Reuters - Zimbabwe's one-candidate presidential election was not free and fair and it should be held again, African observers said on Sunday.

AP - Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama on Saturday vied for the support of Hispanics, beginning a four-month courtship of a pivotal voting constituency by vowing to revamp immigration policy.

AP - A Chinese investment fund manager won the chance to have lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett by bidding $2.1 million in the most expensive charity auction ever held on eBay.

AP - A makeshift barrier holding back the Mississippi River failed early Saturday, swamping the low-lying part of the small community of Winfield and ending a valiant but ultimately doomed battle against the surging river.