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TOKYO (Reuters) - G8 leaders aim to present a united front against global inflation, driven by soaring oil and food prices, at a summit in Japan next week, but solving the problem requires more than just a strong message from rich nations.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, defiant despite growing African condemnation of his re-election, said on Friday the opposition must drop its claim to power and accept that he was the rightful head of state.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will respond on Friday to incentives offered by six world powers to try to entice Tehran to stop enriching uranium, which they fear could result in a nuclear bomb.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday sought the demolition of the houses of two Palestinians behind recent deadly attacks against Israelis after the attorney-general said the move was legally viable.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's communist parties said the government must tell them by Monday if it plans to press ahead with the next step in a controversial civilian nuclear deal with the United States, which they strongly oppose.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked militants have abducted two Pakistani journalists who the militants accused of snooping on their members and positions near the Afghan border.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain took a veiled swipe at Democratic rival Barack Obama over trade on Thursday in the final leg of a Latin American trip aimed at showcasing the Arizona senator's foreign policy credentials.

SAPPORO, Japan (Reuters) - Twenty South Korean activist farmers have been detained by Japanese immigration for over 19 hours and expect to be deported, a spokesman for the group said, in further signs of growing security jitters from the host nation ahead of a G8 summit.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia on Friday mobilized reservists and threatened to use heavy weapons against Georgian forces after two people were killed in heavy exchanges of fire overnight.

YANGON (Reuters) - At least 38 people died when their ferry sank in a river in Myanmar's cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta, official newspapers reported on Friday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A senior Chinese security official said the Beijing Olympics are threatened by sabotage and unrest, state media said on Friday, as authorities moved to sack officials blamed for a riot that torched a police headquarters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in China next month, the White House said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in China next month, the White House said on Thursday.

FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waded into controversy on Thursday over his plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq, first saying he might "refine" his views but later declaring his stance had remained unchanged for more than a year.

BUTTE, Montana (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama mixed presidential politics with parades and barbecue on U.S. Independence Day on Friday, celebrating his daughter's birthday with a picnic and fireworks in Montana.

MINSK (Reuters) - About 50 people were wounded early on Friday by a home-made bomb that sprayed nuts and bolts into a crowd at an open-air concert in Belarus's capital attended by long-time ruler President Alexander Lukashenko, officials said.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Ingrid Betancourt began each day in captivity at 4 a.m. -- cold and depressed but awake in the dark waiting to hear her mother's words of encouragement over the radio.

LONG BEACH, New York (Reuters) - With his wetsuit around his waist, Peter Flintoft walks wearily along the Long Beach boardwalk. While worn out by the surf, he is not yet tired of the lengthy U.S. presidential campaign.

TAIPEI/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Historic regular flights between Taiwan and China began on Friday, in a show of conciliation between the long-time rivals that could bring large numbers of mainland Chinese visitors to the island.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China moved to sack two law-and-order officials blamed for mishandling a riot in the country's southwest, saying that broader abuses of power lay behind the mass outrage, state media reported on Friday.