World News

BEIRUT (Reuters) - More than 200 people were killed in shelling by Syrian forces in the city of Homs, activists said on Saturday, as the U.N. Security Council prepared to vote on a draft resolution backing an Arab call for President Bashar al-Assad to give up power.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Sudanese rebels said they are looking for ways to hand over 29 Chinese workers held in the border state of South Kordofan, Chinese state media said, as Sudan's government confirmed the death of one worker in a firefight.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Three Japanese towns would be willing to restart their nuclear reactors if they pass government stress tests, two were against the idea but most were undecided, a newspaper survey suggested Saturday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader threatened on Friday to retaliate against the West for sanctions, a day after a U.S. newspaper said defense secretary Leon Panetta believed Israel was likely to bomb Iran within months to stop it building a nuclear bomb.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House received a letter last year purported to come directly from Mullah Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, asking the United States to deliver militant prisoners whose transfer is now at the heart of the Obama administration's bid to broker peace in Afghanistan.

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Nine Romanian children were taken into care after a baby died in an unheated house, joining at least 189 others killed by a Siberian front which strengthened its hold over Eastern Europe on Friday and spread further west.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece is still struggling to overcome "crucial" issues before it can secure a 130-billion-euro ($171 billion)bailout package needed to avert a messy bankruptcy, the country's finance minister said.

JUBA (Reuters) - A shoot-out among South Sudanese security forces using truck-mounted machineguns killed 37 people and injured a United Nations policeman Wednesday, U.N. and government officials said Friday.

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia passed laws on Friday seen as crucial to reviving its European Union accession bid, with Serb, Croat and Muslim leaders agreeing to the first census since 1991 and to a single state-level body to coordinate EU aid programs.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Afghanistan could end up fighting Taliban insurgents with a national army and police force two-thirds the size envisaged, if plans discussed on Friday by NATO defense ministers, trying to balance security needs with budget cuts, gain traction.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Senior U.N. nuclear inspectors plan another trip to Iran later this month after holding what both sides described as good talks on the Islamic state's disputed atomic program.

PORT SAID, Egypt (Reuters) - Seventy-four people were killed when supporters clashed at an Egyptian soccer match, prompting fans and politicians on Thursday to turn on the ruling army for failing to prevent the deadliest incident since Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaitis head to the polls Thursday for the fourth time in six years in a snap parliamentary election in which opposition candidates expect to expand their influence and push for change in the oil-exporting Gulf Arab state.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it would veto any U.N. resolution on Syria that it finds unacceptable, after demanding any measure rule out military intervention to halt the bloodshed touched off by protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

KIEV/BELGRADE (Reuters) - Record-low temperatures in parts of Eastern Europe pushed the death toll from Arctic conditions to at least 89 people Wednesday, and have forced Russian gas provider Gazprom to warn over supplies to Europe.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will press South Sudan for help in securing the release of 29 Chinese workers held captive for five days and may appeal to the African Union and other parties to mediate in negotiations, state media reported on Thursday.

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban, backed by Pakistan, remains confident despite a decade of NATO efforts that it will retake control of Afghanistan, NATO said in a new classified report that raises more questions about Afghanistan's future as foreign forces withdraw.

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's secret service arrested the purported spokesman for Islamist militant sect Boko Haram Wednesday, a group that has claimed responsibility for a string of deadly bombings and gun attacks, a secret service source told Reuters.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's prime minister will call the country's political leaders in the next few days to seek backing for more austerity after the International Monetary Fund warned this was key to securing the new bailout Athens needs to avoid a messy default.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arriving in Egypt last year, Julie Hughes had hoped to help write history by aiding the country's new generation of politicians and civil society groups to build a democratic future.