World News

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's military said it will begin large-scale air defense drills on Sunday, and a cleric in the Revolutionary Guards warned that the Islamic Republic would fire missiles at "the heart of Tel Aviv" if attacked.

GENEVA -- Scientists are preparing the world's largest atom smasher to explore the depths of matter after successfully restarting the $10 billion machine following more than a year of repairs.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Hamas announced Saturday evening that it has reached an agreement with other militant groups in Gaza to stop firing rockets at southern Israeli towns to prevent retaliatory attacks.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Up to 200 Irish fans protested at the French embassy in Dublin on Saturday to demand a replay of Wednesday's controversial World Cup playoff.

ROME -- Italian police on Saturday arrested a Pakistani father and son who allegedly spent just over $200 to set up a reliable and untraceable phone network that was used by the militants who carried out last year's terror attacks in Mumbai, India.

MANIK FARM, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka will release next month the remaining 136,000 Tamil refugees still in the squalid and overrun government camps where they've been detained since the country's civil war ended six months ago, a top official said Saturday.

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said Saturday his nation may resort to military force if talks with Armenia on resolving a long-standing territorial dispute produce no result.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi health officials announced the first deaths from swine flu of this year's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, as four pilgrims succumbed to the disease soon after arriving in Saudi Arabia.

PERUGIA, Italy (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors on Saturday called for a life sentence for American university student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher.

KABUL -- A rocket hit outside the luxury Serena Hotel in Afghanistan's capital late Saturday, wounding two people, the Interior Ministry said.

CAIRO -- President Hosni Mubarak entered Egypt's bitter soccer row with Algeria on Saturday, vowing in a televised speech that attacks on Egyptians abroad will not be tolerated.

BRASILIA, Brazil -- Famed 101-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer is reportedly back at work just weeks after surgery for gallstones and an intestinal tumor.

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi lawmakers on Saturday sought a compromise in a dispute over an election law that was vetoed by a vice president, throwing national polls slated for January into question.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament suspended efforts on Saturday to reach a deal on a law which is crucial for an election to take place in January and could affect the U.S. military' s plans for a partial withdrawal next year.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament suspended efforts on Saturday to reach a deal on a law which is crucial for an election to take place in January and could affect the U.S. military' s plans for a partial withdrawal next year.

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO took command of the training of the Afghan army and police on Saturday to consolidate efforts on building an effective security force, a vital precondition for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO took command of the training of the Afghan army and police on Saturday to consolidate efforts on building an effective security force, a vital precondition for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Three suspected Taliban militants blew themselves up on Saturday as police chased them in Pakistani Kashmir, police said.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Three suspected Taliban militants blew themselves up on Saturday as police chased them in Pakistani Kashmir, police said.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin pledged on Saturday to widen Russia's anti-crisis aid package with a car scrappage scheme and mortgage support to jolt the economy out of the worst recession in 15 years.