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NAPLES (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi picked up a broom on Thursday in a brief attempt at sweeping the streets of Naples, where a garbage crisis has scared off tourists and threatened residents' health.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ambassadors from the United States and Libya exchanged hugs and kisses at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday in an unusual public display of affection between former arch enemies.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council voted on Thursday to keep the United Nations mission in Iraq for another year, as Baghdad urged the world body to do more to help it transform into a functioning democracy.

GAZA (Reuters) - Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) militant group on Thursday warned Israel that a truce between Israel and Hamas which went into effect on June 19 was in danger of collapse, saying it could end in three weeks.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Holy politicking, Batman. Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have unmasked their favorite pop culture icons, including superheroes, with McCain favoring Batman and Obama choosing Spider-Man and Batman.

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's son Jean Sarkozy has taken legal action over anti-Semitic graffiti in the Paris suburb where he is a local councilor, the website of the daily Le Parisien said on Thursday.

LIMA, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain poured scorn on his Democratic rival Barack Obama on Thursday for failing to match his commitment to drilling off U.S. coasts for oil and natural gas.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon, dogged by a rising wave of violence, urged Congress on Thursday to pass a bill that would sentence kidnappers to life imprisonment without parole.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers have urged the U.S. Justice Department to suspend its investigation of European Internet gambling companies for possible criminal violations that occurred before Congress passed a law in 2006 to crack down on online gambling.

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush flew in for China's Olympics party on Thursday fresh from criticizing its rights record -- but attention finally swung to sport with soccer powerhouses Brazil and Argentina off to winning starts.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian authorities on Thursday freed dissident Aref Dalila, jailed seven years ago after calling for freedom of speech and assembly and abolishing monopolies in the single party country.

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales is expected to survive a recall vote this weekend but a political crisis in South America's poorest country may intensify as right-wing opponents try to block his socialist reforms.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel issued on Thursday a tender for the construction of 447 housing units in settlements in the Jerusalem area, drawing fire from Palestinians who accused the Jewish state of sabotaging chances of peace.

NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Leaders of a military coup in Mauritania promised on Thursday to hold a free and transparent presidential election as soon as possible, but the United States suspended aid and demanded an immediate return to civilian rule.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The world must solve crises in the Middle East and Somalia or they will spawn more of the extremism that led to bombings of U.S. embassies in east Africa a decade ago, Kenya's prime minister warned on Thursday.

MAE SOT, Thailand (Reuters) - U.S. First Lady Laura Bush tried to boost pressure on the Myanmar government to accept democratic reforms when she visited a large refugee camp in Thailand just a few miles from the border on Thursday.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The United Nations on Thursday raised concerns Sudanese anti-terrorism courts which condemned 30 Darfur rebels to death did not meet international standards and urged the appeals courts to review the sentences.

HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) - A small group of Jewish settlers attacked a delegation of British diplomats during a visit to the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, the British Consulate said.

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (Reuters) - Italian police on Thursday arrested the head of a Calabrian mafia clan whose feud with rivals has killed about 20 people, including six Italians gunned down outside a pizzeria in Germany a year ago.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - One person was killed and another injured on Thursday by an explosion at a beach in Sochi, Russia's popular Black Sea resort which will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the Interfax news agency reported.