ISLAMABAD, Pakistan | A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a checkpoint in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley, killing at least five people Saturday in a reminder that extremists can still strike despite the military’s retaking of the area, police said. It was the first suicide attack in Swat since July, when the government said its forces had mostly driven out the Pakistani Taliban from the one-time tourist area in its largest offensive against the militants in years. Hundreds of thousands of the roughly 2 million people who fled the area during the fighting have been returning amid tight security. …

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RAFAH, Gaza Strip | Hamas crushed an al Qaeda-inspired group in an hours-long standoff that came to a fiery end when a large explosion killed the radical Muslim group’s leader inside his Gaza home Saturday. The fighting was sparked by a rebellious sermon from the group’s leader, and his dramatic death put an end to the greatest internal challenge to Hamas’ rule since it took control of Gaza two years ago. In all, the fighting claimed 24 lives - the highest death toll in the territory since the Israel-Hamas war earlier this year. The crackdown targeted Jund Ansar Allah, or …

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MOSCOW | A ransom demand has been received for the return of a Russian-manned freighter that went missing last month in the Atlantic, Finnish investigators said Saturday. It was not immediately clear whether the ransom demand was legitimate, and the whereabouts of the vessel Arctic Sea, its 15 crew members and its $1.8 million cargo of timber remain a mystery. Crew members had said they were attacked in Swedish waters four days before the ship disappeared July 28, but there has been no confirmation that the ship was actually seized. “A ransom demand has been made. … Let’s say it’s …

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SEOUL | South Korea’s president renewed his offer of aid for impoverished North Korea if it abandons its nuclear weapons and called Saturday for talks on the reduction of conventional weapons along their heavily fortified border. In a nationally televised speech, President Lee Myung-bak said he wanted a “candid dialogue” with North Korea about dismantling its atomic programs so the communist nation can prosper economically. “Nuclear weapons will not guarantee its security but rather make its future more difficult,” Mr. Lee said in his speech marking the 64th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. For years, South Korea …

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DEVELOPING: KUWAIT CITY — A fire at a wedding tent in Kuwait has killed at least 30 women and children guests and injured 50 others, officials said. Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Mohmmed al-Saber says the toll could rise. The cause of Saturday’s fire has not yet been determined and authorities are having difficulty evacuating the injured because of relatives and onlookers flooding the scene in Jahra, west of Kuwait City. Wedding parties in this conservative country are held separately for men and women. Children attend the women’s party.

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YANGON, Myanmar — Stung by international outrage over the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s ruling generals agreed Saturday to hand an American prisoner involved in her case to a visiting U.S. senator. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia was also granted an unprecedented meeting with the junta chief, and was allowed to hold talks with Suu Kyi, the first foreign official permitted to see the Nobel laureate since she was sentenced to 18 more months of house arrest on Tuesday. American John Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years of hard labor for swimming uninvited to Suu Kyi’s lakeside …

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip | Islamic radicals from an al Qaeda-inspired group battled Hamas security in the Gaza Strip on Friday in shootouts that killed at least 13 people. The fighting began when Hamas forces surrounded a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah where about 100 members of Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, were holed up, including some armed with suicide belts and rifles, according to residents of the area. The confrontation was triggered when the leader of the group defied Gaza’s Hamas rulers by declaring in a Friday prayer sermon that …

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RUSSIA Missing ship found near Cape Verde MOSCOW | A Russian-manned cargo ship that vanished last month in the Atlantic was found Friday near Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa, according to French and Russian officials. There was no immediate information about the condition of the crew or whether there was anyone else on board. The vessel Arctic Sea - carrying a load of timber and 15 Russian sailors - disappeared after passing through the English Channel on July 28. The Maltese-flagged freighter sent radio messages as it sailed along the coasts of France and Portugal, but then …

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CARACAS, Venezuela | Lawmakers loyal to President Hugo Chavez gave final approval Friday to legislation that has raised fears among government opponents of impending socialist indoctrination in schools. The law orders schools to base curriculums on what it calls “the Bolivarian Doctrine” - a reference to ideals espoused by 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar, such as national self-determination and Latin American unity. Critics are quick to note that Mr. Chavez uses the term “Bolivarian” to describe his political movement, and some think his socialist government intends to win over hearts and minds through classroom indoctrination. “They don’t use the word …

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KABUL (AP) — A suicide car bomb exploded near the main gate of NATO’s headquarters in the Afghan capital early Saturday, killing and wounding an unknown number of people, an official said. Bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street after the massive blast. Children — many of whom congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners, were among the wounded. NATO’s headquarters is on the same street as the U.S. Embassy and presidential palace. Afghanistan’s Transportation Ministry lies across the street. Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a U.S. spokeswoman for the NATO-led mission, said the explosion occurred near the gate …

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