AP - Ireland's voters have rejected the European Union reform treaty, a blueprint for modernizing the 27-nation bloc that cannot become law without Irish approval, electoral officials said Friday.

AP - President Robert Mugabe said Friday that his supporters are ready to fight if the opposition wins an upcoming presidential runoff election, hardening the rhetoric of a campaign that already has seen widespread violence against government opponents.

AFP - Australia's acting prime minister met the Dalai Lama on Friday despite a warning from Beijing of its strong opposition to any support for the Tibetan spiritual leader.

AFP - China and Taiwan signed historic agreements on Friday that from next month will see thousands more people travel every day between the two rivals.

AP - The U.S. military says five gunmen have been killed and two others detained in a raid targeting a Shiite militia leader south of Baghdad.

AFP - French electricity giant EDF has warned British Energy that it will drop a takeover bid of 11 billion pounds (14 billion euros) if the British group does not agree a deal by the end of June, a report said on Friday.

AP - Japan decided to partially lift its sanctions against North Korea after the communist nation promised a new probe into its kidnappings of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 80s, news reports said Friday.

AP - As individuals and aid agencies around the world dig into their pockets for funds to help Myanmar's cyclone victims, the country's ruling junta said Friday that such assistance from the United States could not be trusted.

AP - President Bush's vision of a new era of trans-Atlantic relations will last at least seven more months.

AP - The United States and Japan are working closely together to tackle soaring oil and food prices, Japan's finance minister said Friday during an international meeting designed to tackle global economic problems.

AP - The Dalai Lama said Thursday that talks with China's government on resolving unrest in Tibet might resume next month, and he urged his supporters not to cause trouble when the Olympic torch is in the Himalayan territory.

AFP - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates invited Pakistan Thursday to join an investigation into an air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, saying he regretted it had created a problem with a key ally.