AFP - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Iraq on a surprise visit on Saturday from Jordan, a diplomatic source in Baghdad and the government in Paris said.

AP - Plans for provincial elections in Iraq by the fall have already set Sunni Arabs against each other as factions prepare to compete for control of the local governments that will wield considerable power over security and finances.

AP - Human rights groups lashed out at Myanmar's military leaders for evicting cyclone refugees from relief camps and forcing them back to their isolated villages destroyed by the storm.

AP - Growing pressure on Iran to explain what could be secret nuclear weapons work has left Tehran increasingly defensive — and the U.S. and its allies hopeful they can exploit the situation to wrest concessions from Tehran. But it may be too late for that.

AP - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is downplaying the idea of a nuclear attack by terrorists after recent postings on al-Qaida-affiliated Web sites exhorted militants to pursue weapons of mass destruction for use against the U.S.

AP - Chinese authorities had evacuated nearly 200,000 people by early Saturday and warned more than 1 million others to be ready to leave quickly as a lake formed by a devastating earthquake threatened to breach its dam.

AP - Most of the 8,000 children found alone after China's devastating earthquake have been reunited with their parents, Chinese officials said Friday.

Reuters - South African ruling party leader Jacob Zuma on Friday comforted the children of African migrants displaced in a wave of xenophobic attacks, pledging to help them and their families rebuild their lives.

AP - Brazil's government agreed to release stunning photos of Amazon Indians firing arrows at an airplane so that the world can better understand the threats facing one of the few tribes still living in near-total isolation from civilization, officials said Friday.

AP - The outgoing American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said the insurgency there will last for years unless Pakistan shuts down safe havens where militants train and recruit.

AP - Myanmar's military government is forcing cyclone victims out of shelters and refugee camps and sending some back to their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, United Nations and church officials said Friday.

AP - A U.S. Marine handed out coins promoting Christianity to Muslims in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, outraged Sunni officials said Friday. The U.S. military responded quickly, removing a trooper from duty pending an investigation.