· Netanyahu, Clinton talk after settlement crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed "confidence-building steps" with Palestinians in a telephone call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after a dispute over settlements.

· Israel strikes targets in Gaza

Israeli aircraft strikes two targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday a day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave killed a Thai worker in Israel, Hamas security officials and witnesses say.

· Marines try to buy good will in Marjah

Since U.S., Afghan and NATO forces wrested Marjah from the Taliban, they've been going to extraordinary lengths to cultivate townspeople who had lived under insurgent control for years.

· Chaos marks Iraq election vote tally

Iraq's postelection count has fueled allegations of fraud. Questions about the vote's validity could undermine U.S. ambitions to set a standard for democracy in the Middle East.

· U.N. nixes ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna

U.S.-backed proposal to ban the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna prized in sushi was rejected by a U.N. wildlife meeting, as nations feared doing so would devastate fishing economies.

· Retired general links gays in army to genocide
A retired U.S. general says Dutch troops failed to defend against the 1995 genocide in the Bosnian war because the army was weakened by openly gay soldiers.

· Clinton, Russia spar over Iran nuclear plant

On a visit to Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticizes Russia's plans to start up a nuclear power station in Iran, prompting a defense from a Russian official.

· U.N. calls for Afghans to take charge of future
The U.N. peacekeeping chief says it's time for the international community to take "concrete steps" to allow Afghans to take charge of their future.

· Myanmar deports jailed American
Army-ruled Myanmar deports a Burmese-American activist on Thursday after sentencing him last month to three years in prison for forgery and immigration offenses.

· Woman convicted of killing 6 newborns

A court in Normandy on Thursday convicts a 38-year-old woman of killing six of her newborn babies — a deed she acknowledged — and sentenced her to 15 years in prison.

· A slave trade symbol to join U.S. and Cuba

Days from now, a stately black schooner will sail through a narrow channel into Havana's protected harbor, its two masts bearing the rarest of sights — the U.S. Stars and Stripes, with the Cuban flag fluttering nearby.

· U.K. delays rules on terror suspects
New British guidelines on handling terrorism suspects held overseas have been delayed over a dispute about how to deal with information from detainees who may be at risk of torture by allies.

· Chicago terror suspect pleads guilty

A Chicago man admits in court that he scouted out the Indian city of Mumbai before a 2008 terror attack that left 166 dead and helped plan an attack a Danish newspaper that never took place.

· Ships use new strategy against Somali pirates
An international fleet of warships is attacking and destroying Somali pirate vessels closer to the shores of East Africa and the new strategy has dealt the brigands a setback, officials say.

· Ex-Scotland Yard detective jailed in drug plot
A former Scotland Yard drug squad detective was jailed Thursday for his role in a botched attempt to smuggle hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine into Ireland.

· Remains of Italian teen believed found in church
The case of an Italian teenager who disappeared in 1993 has returned to the spotlight after decomposed remains believed to be hers were discovered in the church where she was last seen, police said Thursday.

· Poland convicts 3 men in theft of Auschwitz sign
A Polish court convicted three men Thursday of the theft of the notorious "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Sets You Free) sign from the Auschwitz memorial site in December.