Top Stories - AFP

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodians looked set to extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 23-year rule in elections Sunday, after a campaign overshadowed by a tense military standoff in a border dispute with Thailand.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Hamas-run security forces stormed across Gaza on Saturday, clashing with rival Palestinian gunmen and arresting dozens of people after a bomb killed five of its senior militants and a little girl.

BELGRADE (AFP) - Radovan Karadzic's bid to dodge trial for war crimes was reportedly in the mail Saturday after his lawyers sent off an appeal at the last possible minute against his transfer to a UN tribunal.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Coast Guard and clean-up crews were struggling Saturday to rid the Mississippi River of hundreds of thousands of gallons (liters) of spilled fuel oil and unclog a backup of commercial traffic.

GENEVA (AFP) - Top trade negotiators struck a rare note of harmony in their quest for a new global free trade pact Saturday, expressing encouragement after the latest development in talks that have divided rich and emerging economies.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate on Saturday approved an elaborate housing rescue plan designed to help thousands of homeowners avert foreclosure and bolster mortgage finance giants that have struggled amid a volatile housing market.

SAINT-AMAND-MONTROND, France (AFP) - Spaniard Carlos Sastre virtually wrapped up the Tour de France yellow jersey here Saturday after stunning victory favourite Cadel Evans in the penultimate stage time trial.

LONDON (AFP) - Jamaica's Usain Bolt ran the second-fastest 200 metres in the world this year as he won the London Super Grand Prix event in a time of 19.76 seconds at Crystal Palace here Saturday.

BAYREUTH, Germany (AFP) - Christoph Marthaler's production of "Tristan and Isolde", revived at this year's Bayreuth Festival for its fourth run on Saturday night, certainly puts the "triste" back into "Tristan".

LONDON (AFP) - White House hopeful Barack Obama wrapped up his adulation-soaked foreign tour Saturday, denying it was a premature victory lap, but admitting he could take a short-term hit in popularity back home.

RHODES, Greece (AFP) - Dozens of families from around the world gathered Saturday on the Greek island of Rhodes to pay tribute to the man who in 1944 saved 40 Jews from being deported to a Nazi concentration camps.

LONDON (AFP) - US presidential hopeful Barack Obama arrived in London Friday, the last scheduled stop on a world tour aimed at boosting his foreign policy credentials before elections later this year.

BELGRADE (AFP) - A deadline for Radovan Karadzic to appeal his transfer to the UN war crimes tribunal expired Saturday, but it remained unclear whether his lawyer has lodged a complaint.

NICOSIA (AFP) - Rival Cypriot leaders on Friday set September 3 as the date when they will begin direct negotiations on ending the island's 34-year-old division.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Mississippi River reopened to limited traffic on Friday, two days after a barge collided with a tanker spilling hundreds of gallons of fuel oil, the US Coast Guard said.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law Friday that will see artificial trans fats outlawed in restaurants across the most populous US state from 2010.

GENEVA (AFP) - World trade powers strode forward towards a new global pact on Friday amid real hopes of a breakthrough after seven years of deadlock, but several emerging nations threatened to torpedo a deal.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - New US home sales ticked down in June, government data showed Friday, but the better-than-expected figures sparked a glint of hope that the worst housing slump in decades may be scraping bottom.

MONTLUCON, France (AFP) - Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel finally handed his Cofidis team a well-deserved leaving gift by winning the 19th stage of the Tour de France between Roanne and Montlucon here Friday.

LONDON (AFP) - Former world record holder Asafa Powell grabbed a second pre-Olympics 100m win in three days on Friday when he cruised to victory at the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace.

BUDAPEST (AFP) - Budapest's highbrow Museum of Fine Arts has staged its first-ever photography exhibition, causing a sensation with a novel show paying tribute to some of the best artists of the genre.

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Polls opened in Cambodia on Sunday for legislative elections widely expected to extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 23-year grip on power.

GENEVA (AFP) - Top trade negotiators from key rich countries and emerging economies struck a rare note of harmony Saturday, saying they were encouraged on talks about the services sector.

AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) - At least 29 people were killed and over 100 wounded Saturday in a string of more than a dozen coordinated bomb attacks in the tinderbox western Indian city of Ahmedabad, officials said.

LONDON (AFP) - Jamaica's Usain Bolt ran the second-fastest 200 metres in the world this year as he won the London Super Grand Prix event in a time of 19.76 seconds at Crystal Palace here Saturday.

AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) - At least 15 people were killed and over 100 wounded Saturday in a string of more than a dozen coordinated bomb attacks in the tinderbox western Indian city of Ahmedabad, officials said.

GENEVA (AFP) - Ministers battled to nail down the last portion of a new global free trade pact Saturday, as delegates voiced optimism but some emerging economies threatened to dash fragile hopes of a breakthrough.

AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) - At least 15 people were killed and scores wounded Saturday in a string of coordinated bomb attacks in the tinderbox western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Saturday, officials said.