• The new American commander in Iraq said military force alone will not end violence without political reconciliation and said US troop reinforcements will probably stay "well beyond the summer". General David Petraeus said it was critical that Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki engage some militant groups in peace talks to end the bloodshed threatening to tear Iraq apart.

• Democratic leaders in the US House of Representatives proposed legislation that would bring American combat troops out of Iraq by August 2008 at the latest. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, wants the proposal approved next week in the House Appropriations Committee.

•UN nuclear agency governors approved cuts in technical aid to Iran to uphold UN sanctions implemented over concern that Tehran may be trying to master the means to build atom bombs. The move by the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reflected a December resolution by the UN Security Council banning transfers of technology or expertise to Iran that might be applied to producing nuclear fuel.

• Colombia's leftist guerillas are planning attacks and sabotage during US President George W. Bush's visit to his closest South American ally this weekend, the country's police commander said. Mr Bush arrives in Bogota on Sunday for talks with President Alvaro Uribe.

• At least nine Somalis were killed and dozens wounded when a rocket fired at African Union troops hit a restaurant in an ambush that inflicted the first casualties on the peacekeepers, officials said.

• A Palestinian unity government is "99 per cent" agreed, but will not be announced until next week, President Mahmoud Abbas said after talks with his political rival, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. After Saudi mediation, Hamas and Mr Abbas's Fatah group agreed a month ago to forge a coalition Cabinet in a bid to halt weeks of bloody factional fighting that cost more than 90 lives.

• Hundreds of Ecuadorean police surrounded Congress to enforce a court decision to fire 57 lawmakers who opposed a government plan to limit the clout of traditional political parties. The court decision on Wednesday was the latest move in a power struggle between opposition lawmakers and President Rafael Correa, who has promised to hold an April 15 referendum on whether to draft constitutional reforms.

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