AP - Robert Mugabe's mother told him when he was a child that he had been chosen by God to be a great leader. No wonder he thinks only divine power — not elections, not foreign critics, not a crumbling economy or a much younger opposition leader — can unseat him.

AP - Pakistani forces bombarded suspected militant hideouts with mortar shells Saturday as the government launched a major offensive against Taliban fighters threatening the main city in the country's volatile northwest, officials said.

AFP - Australia has signed a deal giving airlines greater access to routes servicing South Africa and Kenya, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday.

AFP - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed North Korea Saturday to take the next step and give up its atomic weaponry after it disclosed some nuclear secrets and demolished part of its reactor.

Reuters - Votes were being counted on Saturday in Zimbabwe's single candidate presidential election and state media predicted a landslide victory for President Robert Mugabe despite reports of low turnout in many areas.

AP - President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela has no plans to raise state-subsidized gasoline prices anytime soon.

AP - Israeli soldiers shot dead a West Bank teenager who threw Molotov cocktails at an army patrol, the army and Palestinian officials said Saturday.

Reuters - The United States and the European Union are near a deal on letting law enforcement and security agencies obtain private information like credit card transactions and travel histories about people on the other side of the Atlantic, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

AP - A member of an extremist cell believed to be behind a suicide attack that killed more than 20 people including three U.S. Marines has been arrested, the U.S. military said Friday.

AP - This city's famed marijuana bars have weathered many challenges over the years and are still smoking. But now they face an unwelcome blast of fresh air: On July 1, the Netherlands will be one of the last European countries to ban smoking in bars and restaurants in compliance with EU law.

AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted Saturday that U.S. beef is safe to eat and urged South Koreans to accept their government's decision to lift a ban on the products.

AP - Roaming bands of government supporters heckled, harassed or threatened people into voting in a runoff election Friday in which President Robert Mugabe was the only candidate, ensuring he will remain in power despite international condemnation of the balloting as a sham.

AP - A Pakistani official says a military operation is under way against Taliban militants who have been threatening the main city in the country's volatile northwest region.

AP - Thailand's prime minister and seven of his Cabinet ministers held off a parliamentary challenge Friday as street protesters demanded the coalition government's resignation.