· Mom, tot among 12 'seized' in Zimbabwe
The whereabouts of a dozen opposition supporters -- including a mother and her 2-year-old daughter -- remain unknown, weeks after they were seized by Zimbabwean security forces, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe and a human rights lawyers group said.

· Russia set to extend presidential term
The Russian parliament was expected Friday to approve a constitutional amendment to extend the presidential term from four to six years.

· U.N. sending 3,000 more troops to Congo
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to send more than 3,000 additional troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo, bolstering a mission that is already its largest peacekeeping force in the world.

· Hebron clashes erupt after deadline ignored
Inflammatory graffiti was found on Muslim gravestones and a mosque in the divided West Bank town of Hebron as a group of Jewish settlers clashed with Palestinians, Israeli military sources said Thursday.

· China fears more layoffs, unrest
China's job outlook is "grim," and the global financial crisis could cause more layoffs and more labor unrest until the country's economic stimulus package kicks in next year, the nation's minister of human resources and social security said Thursday.

· Judge orders release of 5 Gitmo detainees
A federal judge ordered the release of five Guantanamo Bay detainees Thursday, saying the government failed to show that they were "enemy combatants."

· Red Sea nations condemn pirates, vow action
Red Sea nations in the Arab League met in Egypt's capital on Thursday to coordinate a common strategy against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.

· London court to hear Madonna divorce
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· Iraq raid kills suspect in kidnap-slaying of GI
An Iraqi slain last week in a raid has been positively identified as a notorious militant suspected in the 2004 kidnapping of a U.S. soldier and the June killings of three U.S. Marines, the U.S. military said Thursday.