AP - A security pact with a timetable for pulling U.S. forces from Iraq won final government approval Thursday, even as suicide bombers killed 17 people and wounded more than 100. Two Americans were among the dead.

AP - Israeli soldiers and police stormed a disputed building in the biblical city of Hebron on Thursday, dragging out 250 young settlers in a raid meant to send a warning to Jewish extremists fighting to keep what they see as God-promised land.

AP - A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India's financial capital, authorities said Thursday, a blow to Indian officials who have blamed the deadly attacks entirely on Pakistani extremists.

AP - Knut the superstar polar bear turns two on Friday looking nothing like the button-eyed ball of white fluff who captured hearts around the world.

AFP - Britons are forbidden from disturbing packs of eggs and from selling game killed on a Sunday, it was revealed Thursday by an opposition MP who condemned ministers for introducing ridiculous laws.

AP - Israel on Thursday lifted a four-week ban on international journalists entering Gaza and temporarily eased a blockade on shipments of goods to the coastal strip.

AFP - Zimbabwe's government pleaded for international help after declaring a national emergency over a cholera epidemic that has left 560 dead, as Britain warned the country had become a "failed state."

AFP - Australia is seeking stronger ties with regional states to counter security concerns raised by the dawn of the Asia-Pacific century, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament Thursday.