AFP - RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday that the international community "strongly supports" Palestinian efforts to build a state and branded all Israeli settlement activity illegal.

Reuters - ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss Catholic Church is investigating around 10 allegations of abuse by clergy, including some acts committed since 2001, making Switzerland the latest country to be hit by a wave of scandal sweeping Europe.

AFP - LONDON (AFP) - Controversial Irish jockey Kieren Fallon was back in the spotlight on Saturday when he was allegedly attacked by an owner at Lingfield Racecourse.

AFP - LONDON (AFP) - Police in northwest England said Saturday they had arrested 74 people following violent clashes between right-wing and anti-fascist demonstrators.

AFP - LONDON (AFP) - British Airways cabin crew began a three-day strike Saturday which will force the cancellation of hundreds of flights, but the airline said many of its passengers were able to travel.

The Canadian Press - WASHINGTON - Victory within reach, President Barack Obama rallied House Democrats on Saturday for a final health care push ahead of a critical make-or-break vote for his presidency, capping off a long, turbulent debate that has left the country deeply divided.

The Canadian Press - A city used to fighting floods was confident Saturday that it had done enough to hold back the swelling Red River - even as the water inched higher - but officials stressed that it was too early to celebrate.

The Canadian Press - ORANJESTAD, Aruba - Authorities will search once again for a missing U.S. teen after an American couple took an underwater picture of what they believe might be Natalee Holloway's remains, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors' office told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The Canadian Press - WASHINGTON - Thousands of protesters carried signs reading "Indict Bush Now" and flag-draped cardboard coffins on Saturday - the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq - urging the immediate withdrawal of all troops sent into combat overseas.

The Canadian Press - TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian news agencies say authorities have released a prominent pro-reform activist two days after security forces took him into custody.

The Canadian Press - DUBLIN, Ireland - Pope Benedict XVI's unprecedented letter to Ireland apologizing for chronic child abuse within the Catholic Church failed Saturday to calm the anger of many victims, who accused the Vatican of ducking its own responsibility in promoting a worldwide culture of coverup.

AFP - PRAGUE (AFP) - Prince Charles and his wife Camilla on Saturday started a four-day visit to the Czech Republic, which will wrap up their tour of three central European post-communist countries.

The Canadian Press - Visiting U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said Saturday that Israeli settlement building anywhere on occupied land is illegal and must be stopped, while a Palestinian teenager was killed in clashes with Israeli troops elsewhere in the West Bank.

AFP - ROME (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the Italian capital Saturday in a massive show of support for embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ahead of regional elections.

AFP - BAGHDAD (AFP) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's main rival Iyad Allawi has inched ahead of the incumbent in the nationwide vote tally, updated results from Iraq's general election showed on Saturday.

The Canadian Press - ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Thousands of people rallied across Russia Saturday to denounce the government's economic policy and demand more freedom in a new challenge to the Kremlin reflecting increasing disillusionment and a growing potential for protests.

AFP - RIYADH (AFP) - Osama bin Laden's son Omar said on Saturday that Al-Qaeda's North Africa branch should keep out of his family's affairs, after it accused Iran of mistreating his siblings stranded in Tehran.

AFP - TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's leaders in their Persian New Year messages on Saturday said that over the past year the Islamic republic had been victorious over enemies who had plotted against the nation and the revolution.

AFP - KATHMANDU (AFP) - Girija Prasad Koirala, the former prime minister who brokered Nepal's peace agreement and led a protest movement against his country's autocratic king, died Saturday aged 85.

AFP - KHARTOUM (AFP) - Franco-British former hostage Gauthier Lefevre on Saturday described the "daily struggle" of staying positive for five months as the kidnap victim of a criminal gang in Sudan's war-torn Darfur.

AFP - FREETOWN (AFP) - Sierra Leone officials on Saturday denied reports of a gold mine collapse in southern Sierra Leone after an official delegation inspected the site.

Reuters - RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel and the Palestinians on Saturday to restart negotiations as one Palestinian was killed during clashes in the West Bank.

The Canadian Press - PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The earthquake not only smashed markets, collapsed warehouses and left more than 2.5 million people without enough to eat. It may also have shaken up the way the developing world gets food.

AFP - LONDON (AFP) - The Conservatives pledged Saturday to impose a US-style tax on banks to claw back money spent bailing them out, just weeks before a general election they are tipped to win.

AFP - MADRID (AFP) - Spanish authorities admitted Saturday that five men on a surveillance video they had identified as Basque "terrorists" were in fact Spanish firemen on holiday.

AFP - LAKE BOGORIA, Kenya (AFP) - Draped in red blankets, palms skywards, the Endorois, a Kenyan pastoralist tribe, chanted prayers to attract good spirits and scare evil ones from their ancestral lands nearly 40 years after being evicted from them.

AFP - BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia (AFP) - An EU-Balkans summit aimed at speeding up the region's European integration met on Saturday, overshadowed by Serb President Boris Tadic's last minute decision not to attend.

AFP - MANAMA (AFP) - Bahraini police have questioned a minister, Mansur bin Rajab, on suspicion he laundered 32 million dollars, media reports said on Saturday.

Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has suggested holding a referendum to approve subsidy cuts that the Islamic Republic's parliament has repeatedly blocked, a news agency said Saturday.

AFP - RABAT (AFP) - South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen fired 10 birdies to card a nine under par 64 and take a two shot lead over Welshman Rhys Davies after three rounds of the Trophee Hassan II.

AFP - TEHRAN (AFP) - Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his new year message to the nation on Saturday that Iran had defeated "enemies" last year who plotted against the Islamic revolution.

AFP - JAKARTA (AFP) - More than a thousand people in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, protested Saturday over Israel's plan to build settlements in East Jerusalem.

The Canadian Press - ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Hundreds of tribesmen from Pakistan's semiautonomous regions near the Afghan border ended a rare tribal council meeting Saturday with a declaration calling for the army to crush the Taliban.

Reuters - VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict apologized on Saturday to victims of child sex abuse by clergy in Ireland and ordered an official inquiry there to try to stem a scandal gripping the Catholic Church which has swept across Europe.

AFP - CAPE TOWN (AFP) - The Western Stormers maintained their challenge in the Super 14 southern hemisphere championship with a bruising 21-8 win over the Central Cheetahs at Newlands on Saturday.

The Canadian Press - BEIJING - Tons of sand turned Beijing's sky orange as the strongest sandstorm this year hit northern China, a gritty reminder that the country's expanding deserts have led to a sharp increase in the storms.

The Canadian Press - WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama told Iranians in an online video message that the U.S. wants more educational and cultural exchanges, and lamented that Tehran's leaders have "turned their backs" on good faith overtures in the past to expand opportunities for their people.

AFP - VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI apologised Saturday for Irish priests' child sex abuse in a letter with far-reaching implications, but victims said it was not enough to address the growing scandal.