AP - Diplomats from 111 nations formally adopted a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs on Friday after futile calls for participation by the weapons' biggest makers and users, particularly the United States.

AFP - Australia's Origin Energy Ltd. said Friday its directors had decided to reject a revised offer from British energy giant BG Group valuing it at about 13.6 billion dollars (13 billion US).

AFP - Africa's leaders and Japan pledged Friday to ramp up the continent's food production, seeking to put the crisis of spiralling prices firmly on the agenda of the Group of Eight rich nations.

AP - African leaders, Japan and development organizations agreed Friday that there is an urgent need to boost agricultural productivity in Africa and pledged to tackle the widespread impact of soaring food prices.

AP - Tropical Storm Alma slammed into Nicaragua's coast Thursday as the first such storm of the eastern Pacific season, forcing tens of thousand of people to evacuate and flooding low-lying areas, before pushing into neighboring Honduras.

AP - The U.S. military says an American service member has been removed from duty in Iraq after receiving complaints that Marines were handing out coins promoting Christianity.

AFP - The chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday that a French plan to cut value added tax on oil to help ease fuel prices was not "preposterous" and should be debated.

AP - Hardline Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu would win national elections if a corruption probe topples Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, an Israeli poll showed Friday.

AP - Afghanistan will ask international donors next month for $4 billion to revive its agricultural sector, but it could be a hard sell with another massive crop of opium expected this year.

AP - China's official news agency says officials worried that a lake could burst have ordered 1.3 million people to evacuate in Sichuan province.

AP - Human rights and aid groups complained Friday that Myanmar's military government was still hindering the free flow of international help for victims of Cyclone Nargis.

AP - The world's rarest rhino does not like the limelight. A Javan Rhino was captured on video attacking a camera set up in an Indonesian jungle to study the habits of the animal, apparently because she sensed the lens was a threat to her calf, the WWF said Thursday.

AFP - Lacklustre South Africa edged neighbours Swaziland 1-0 in a non-cap international friendly match at chilly Germiston Stadium Thursday.