UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.S. official denied on Friday that Washington had consented to a U.N. Security Council statement to reporters voicing concern about the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinians.

AP - A new directive from NATO's top commander in Afghanistan orders coalition forces to avoid night raids when possible, but to bring Afghan troops with them if they must enter homes after dark.

AP - The Harlem drama 'Precious' has won five prizes at the Spirit Awards honoring independent film, including best picture and trophies for stars Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique and director Lee Daniels.

AFP - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown came under fire Saturday for the way he defended his role in the 2003 Iraq invasion, with some commentators saying he had slipped off the hook.

AFP - A powerful car bomb near a Shiite shrine in Iraq's holy city of Najaf on Saturday killed two Iranian pilgrims and an Iraqi and injured at least 54 people, police and medical officials said.

AFP - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was to visit this earthquake-struck Chilean city Saturday to assess its needs as new fears spread among Chileans following three strong aftershocks.

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A car bomb killed four Iranian pilgrims near Iraq's holiest Shi'ite shrine on Saturday, a day before a parliamentary election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to wreck.

AP - Huge piles of wreckage and tons of rotting fish and other debris blanketing the ground are turning the coastal towns shattered by Chile's earthquake and tsunami into nests of infection, doctors warned.

AP - The man chosen to be the fresh face of good Afghan governance in a town just seized from the Taliban has a violent criminal record in Germany, but Western officials said Saturday they are not pushing to oust him.

AP - John Patrick Bedell was a brilliant and seemingly gentle computer whiz, yet so withdrawn that people in this rural community where his parents and grandparents are civic leaders knew little about him — until he opened fire at the Pentagon this week.

AP - A car bomb exploded near a bus for pilgrims in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Saturday, killing at least three people, including two Iranians, on the eve of key national elections, officials said.

AP - China's central bank governor acknowledged Saturday that Beijing is using its controversial exchange-rate controls to cope with the global economic crisis and said it will be cautious about retreating from the policy.

Reuters - A car bomb killed four Iranian pilgrims near Iraq's holiest Shi'ite shrine on Saturday, a day before a parliamentary election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to wreck.

AFP - Iceland polling stations opened Saturday for a referendum on a hugely unpopular bank collapse repayment deal for Britain and the Netherlands, with surveys and even the government saying a no vote is inevitable.

AFP - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is concerned about possible misconduct in Afghanistan by the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater and has promised to review the issue, the Pentagon said.

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Icelanders voted in a referendum on Saturday on a $5 billion deal to repay Anglo-Dutch loans, with an expected resounding 'No' set to further delay foreign aid and hopes for economic recovery.

AP - Facing a tough political environment, President Barack Obama on Saturday turned up the heat for the health care overhaul that has been his top priority for a year yet has not been passed by Congress.

AP - Officials say a top Pakistani Taliban commander is believed to have died in a Pakistan army airstrike.

AP - Icelanders are voting in a nationwide referendum on approving the use of taxpayers' money to repay international debts.

Reuters - Icelanders voted in a referendum on Saturday on a $5 billion deal to repay Anglo-Dutch loans, with an expected resounding 'No' set to further delay foreign aid and hopes for economic recovery.

AFP - Icelanders trickled in to polling stations on Saturday for what was set to be a clear rejection of a bank repayment deal worth billions of dollars (euros) that many here consider a foreign diktat.

CONCEPCION, Chile (Reuters) - Some survivors were still waiting for government aid on Saturday in south-central Chile, a week after one of the strongest earthquakes on record killed hundreds and repeated aftershocks rattled nerves.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan said a senior Pakistani Taliban commander with al Qaeda links may have been killed when helicopter gunships attacked a building he was in, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Saturday.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A U.S. resolution that branded as genocide the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One will seriously damage U.S.-Turkish relations, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

AP - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised British troops 200 new patrol vehicles that can resist roadside bombs more effectively during an unannounced visit Saturday to southern Afghanistan.

AP - Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey seems to be OK after collapsing on the bench Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Reuters - Some survivors were still waiting for government aid on Saturday in south-central Chile, a week after one of the strongest earthquakes on record killed hundreds and repeated aftershocks rattled nerves.

Reuters - Pakistan said a senior Pakistani Taliban commander with al Qaeda links may have been killed when helicopter gunships attacked a building he was in, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Saturday.

Reuters - A U.S. resolution that branded as genocide the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One will seriously damage U.S.-Turkish relations, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

AFP - Icelanders headed to the polls in drizzling rain on Saturday in a referendum expected to reject a bank repayment deal worth billions that many here consider a foreign diktat.

AFP - Early wins in a major anti-Taliban push in southern Afghanistan offered a 'beacon of hope,' British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday during a surprise visit to troops.

AP - Economically struggling Icelanders resentful of international pressure were expected to vote down a $5.3 billion plan Saturday to pay off Britain and Holland for the debt spawned by the collapse of an internet bank.

AP - Too predictable. That's the persistent complaint about the Academy Awards, whose drama generally is sapped by a glut of earlier award shows that spell out what films will win at the Oscars before the show starts.

AP - Lindsey Vonn won her third straight World Cup downhill title Saturday with a narrow victory in her first race since the Vancouver Olympics.

AP - Afghan government officials are not rushing to oust the man they chose to bring fresh and credible governance to a town just seized from the Taliban, but his newly disclosed violent criminal record in Germany will be investigated further, officials said Saturday.

AP - Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in a surprise news conference on the eve of the Iraqi election, has urged his followers to turn out and vote.

AP - Audiences are mad as hatters about Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland,' helping it earn a whopping $41 million in its first day.

AFP - A car bomb targeting Shiite pilgrims killed three people in Iraq's holiest city Saturday on the eve of the country's parliamentary election which Al-Qaeda has threatened to wreck.

KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - Pork producers attending their annual meeting here are looking for China to be the next major market to open fully to U.S. pork following word this week that certificate problems with Russia have been solved and exports could start soon to that country.

AP - Billed as a key test of Iraq's nascent democracy, Iraqis fear Sunday's parliamentary election will lead to a protracted period of uncertainty as the winners and losers try to cobble together a new government — even as American forces prepare to go home.

CONCEPCION, Chile (Reuters) - Some Chileans were still waiting for government aid on Saturday, a week after one of the strongest earthquakes on record and a roaring tsunami killed hundreds and ravaged cities and villages along the South American country's south-central coastline.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy began a round of meetings on Saturday aimed at relaunching negotiations, while the Palestinian leader said he feared the 20-year-old peace process with Israel was close to collapse.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Saturday that two cases of sexual abuse linked to a renowned cathedral choir in Germany did not coincide with the thirty-year period it was run by Pope Benedict's brother.

AP - President Barack Obama is trying to persuade a weary public and wavering Democrats to get behind his frantic, late-stage push on health care, while Republicans dig in and demand starting from scratch after a year's worth of work.

AP - A father's unanswered cry for his missing son rang out Saturday from the wreckage of a fallen 15-story apartment building that has become a symbol of Chile's devastating earthquake.

AP - A sixth-generation Key West resident, who first blew a conch shell as a child, has won the island's 48th annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest in Florida.

AP - For the second time in a year, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is being accused of sexual misconduct, with police investigating him Saturday for an alleged assault at a nightclub in a Georgia college town.

Reuters - Some Chileans were still waiting for government aid on Saturday, a week after one of the strongest earthquakes on record and a roaring tsunami killed hundreds and ravaged cities and villages along the South American country's south-central coastline.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy began a round of meetings on Saturday aimed at relaunching negotiations, while the Palestinian leader said he feared the 20-year-old peace process with Israel was close to collapse.

Reuters - Icelandic voters overwhelmingly rejected a $5 billion deal on Saturday to repay debts to Britain and the Netherlands, according to partial official results.

Reuters - The Vatican said on Saturday that two cases of sexual abuse linked to a renowned cathedral choir in Germany did not coincide with the thirty-year period it was run by Pope Benedict's brother.

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Icelandic voters vented their fury on Saturday at the bankers and politicians who ruined their economy, overwhelmingly rejecting a $5 billion deal to repay debts to Britain and the Netherlands, early results showed.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis vote on Sunday in a parliamentary election that will help to determine whether their shaky democracy can end sectarian conflict and defeat insurgents who are trying to plunge Iraq back into broader bloodshed.

AP - Still smarting from the crippling aftermath of the global financial crisis, Iceland's voters on Saturday resoundingly rejected a $5.3 billion plan to pay off Britain and the Netherlands for debts spawned by the collapse of an Icelandic Internet bank, according to initial results.

AP - Too predictable. That's the persistent complaint about the Academy Awards, whose drama generally is sapped by a glut of earlier award shows that spell out what films will win at the Oscars before the show starts.

Reuters - Icelandic voters vented their fury on Saturday at the bankers and politicians who ruined their economy, overwhelmingly rejecting a $5 billion deal to repay debts to Britain and the Netherlands, early results showed.

Reuters - Iraqis vote on Sunday in a parliamentary election that will help to determine whether their shaky democracy can end sectarian conflict and defeat insurgents who are trying to plunge Iraq back into broader bloodshed.

AFP - Icelanders on Saturday massively rejected a deal to pay Britain and the Netherlands billions for losses in the collapse of the Icesave bank, the government said after partial referendum results.

AFP - Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe was re-elected Saturday, winning 60.9 percent of the vote and defeating his opposition rival, Jean-Pierre Fabre, election officials announced.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Seventy-one mushers and their powerful sled dog teams got a festive send-off in downtown Anchorage on Saturday for a 10-mile ceremonial run that launched the fabled Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

AP - Authorities are saying five people, including three children, have been killed in a mobile home fire in central Alabama.

Reuters - Seventy-one mushers and their powerful sled dog teams got a festive send-off in downtown Anchorage on Saturday for a 10-mile ceremonial run that launched the fabled Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Reuters - Pork producers attending their annual meeting here are looking for China to be the next major market to open fully to U.S. pork following word this week that certificate problems with Russia have been solved and exports could start soon to that country.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Polling stations opened in Iraq on Sunday for a parliamentary election seen as crucial to the future of a country seeking stability after years of bloodshed.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Sunday that relations with the United States had been 'seriously disrupted,' after a rise in friction between the two big powers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government, while pushing for tougher sanctions against Tehran, has given $107 billion in the last 10 years to U.S. and foreign companies doing business in Iran, much of it in the energy sector, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

AP - With a midnight deadline looming on a threat to pull the plug on Cablevision's 3.1 million customers in New York a day before the Academy Awards, there was still no word Saturday night on whether ABC's parent company and the cable operator have reached a decision.

AP - 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' was picked as last year's worst picture at Saturday's Razzies, and Sandra Bullock won worst actress for 'All About Steve' — on the eve of her expected Academy Awards triumph for another film.

Reuters - Polling stations opened in Iraq on Sunday for a parliamentary election seen as crucial to the future of a country seeking stability after years of bloodshed.

Reuters - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Sunday that relations with the United States had been 'seriously disrupted,' after a rise in friction between the two big powers.

Reuters - The U.S. government, while pushing for tougher sanctions against Tehran, has given $107 billion in the last 10 years to U.S. and foreign companies doing business in Iran, much of it in the energy sector, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

AFP - Three mortars struck Baghdad's 'Green Zone' and three other blasts were heard in the Iraqi capital as polls opened in the country's general election Sunday, officials and AFP correspondents said.

AFP - Iceland's socialist government was surveying the damage Sunday after a referendum rejected a deal to pay Britain and the Netherlands billions for losses in the collapse of the Icesave bank.