AFP - Claims that a Bollywood actress had sex with troops while touring an Australian military base in Afghanistan were under investigation, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Thursday.

AFP - Pakistani Taliban militants said Thursday the success of a peace deal with the government in a northwestern area depends on the complete enforcement of Islamic law in the region.

AFP - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has claimed that government troops have killed or captured 95 percent of rebels in the separatist Ogaden region.

Reuters - French unions staged nationwide protests on Thursday against plans by President Nicolas Sarkozy to make people work longer to qualify for a full pension.

AP - Israel's foreign minister is calling on Syria to cut its ties with Arab militant groups if it wants to reach peace with Israel.

AP - Reports of an increase in terrorist violence around the world have been distorted by the high number of civilian casualties in Iraq, and omitting those deaths reveals a decline in terrorism, a research group argued in a new report Wednesday.

AP - A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated a truck loaded with explosives as he tried to ram a crucial crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel early Thursday, a spokesman for the militant Islamic Jihad said. No one else was wounded.

AP - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sought to persuade Myanmar's ruling generals Thursday to let in a torrent of foreign assistance for cyclone victims rather than the current trickle.

AP - China said the death toll from last week's powerful earthquake jumped to more than 51,000, as it appealed Thursday for millions of tents to shelter homeless survivors.

Reuters - Malaysia's prime minister won the backing of the country's main ruling party on Thursday, fending off a challenge to his leadership from the former premier that threatens to deepen political turmoil.

Reuters - South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki gave approval on Wednesday for the army to help end attacks on foreigners that have killed more than 40 people.

AP - President Hugo Chavez is accusing the United States of using anti-drug flights in the Caribbean to spy on Venezuela.

AP - Hezbollah secured veto power over Lebanon's Western-backed government on Wednesday, leaving the militant group virtually free to build up its weapons, including rockets aimed at Israel. But as the political winner, Hezbollah also faces pressure to seek compromise rather than confront opponents, as it had done violently in recent weeks.