Reuters - South Sudanese authorities have begun to collect thousands of guns amassed by civilians during decades of war to try to end tribal conflicts which claim dozens of lives each year, officials said.

AP - A Guantanamo prisoner testified Thursday that U.S. troops made loud noises, kept the lights on in his cell, and frequently moved him around the prison to deprive him of sleep.

AP - Afghan and NATO troops backed by warplanes drove Taliban militants from villages within striking distance of southern Afghanistan's main city on Thursday, killing 56 of them, Afghan officials said.

AFP - Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo will announce in the coming days whether he intends to leave Old Trafford and join Spanish giants Real Madrid, according to reports here Friday.

AP - A draft statement shows European Union leaders plan to threaten authorities in Zimbabwe with more sanctions amid reports of escalating violence against the opposition before next weeks' election.

AP - South Korea and the United States neared an agreement to renew imports of American beef, aimed at defusing a political crisis in Seoul over fears of mad cow disease, officials said Friday.

AP - Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo was all smiles as he and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez embraced, talked of a revolution for the poor and pledged to build a united Latin America.

AP - China raised prices for fuel by as much as 18 percent on Friday in a move intended to cool the nation's surging energy consumption.

AP - Police held back thousands of protesters attempting Friday to punch through a cordon around Thailand's government offices, which demonstrators vowed to peacefully besiege until the prime minister resigns.

AP - A British ex-military officer told an African court on Thursday that he was only a junior member of a team that planned to overthrow Equatorial Guinea's government in 2004.

AP - More than 10,000 Shiites marched Thursday in this tiny Sunni-ruled Gulf country to protest newspaper articles deemed insulting to their top cleric.