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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iranian leader said on Wednesday he detected a better mood in talks over his country's nuclear program as the top U.S. military officer called for more dialogue to avoid a confrontation with Tehran.

KABUL (Reuters) - A helicopter belonging to U.S.-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire in Afghanistan on Wednesday and America's top military officer said he was increasingly concerned about the rising violence.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge will decide whether Osama bin Laden's former driver, held at the Guantanamo Bay prison, can stop his military tribunal from going forward, the U.S. District Court in Washington said on Wednesday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court sentenced a pair of middle-aged men to more than 12 years in prison on Wednesday for sexually abusing and torturing two young women they held captive for several weeks -- part of the time in a dog kennel.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday rejected talks on a unity government, saying President Robert Mugabe must first stop violence and accept him as the rightful election winner.

LONDON (Reuters) - A few cups of green tea each day may help prevent heart disease, Greek researchers said on Wednesday.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had agreed to a U.N.-mediated deal to exchange prisoners with Israel and expected the swap to take place around the middle of this month.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In impoverished Haiti, the government and aid groups hand out lunches at schools in slums. In Brazil, mothers who regularly take their children to medical check-ups qualify for small cash payments.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iranian leader said on Wednesday he detected a better mood in talks over his country's nuclear program as the top U.S. military officer called for more dialogue to avoid a confrontation with Tehran.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that diplomacy was the first option to address Iran's nuclear program, which he is concerned could be used to build a nuclear weapon, but he repeated that all options were on the table.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is expecting visits soon from Jordan's King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, easing its regional diplomatic isolation, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Shi'ite Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia have criticized a religious edict from Sunni Muslim counterparts branding them infidels, saying that its authors were suffering from psychological problems.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's trade chief Peter Mandelson won the backing of his boss on Wednesday in a mounting war of words with French President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of talks to try to salvage a world trade deal.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 53 people were killed in Somalia when Islamist insurgents clashed with Ethiopian troops and Ugandan peacekeepers in separate battles, a human rights group said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The 2008 presidential race, which has already drawn a record number of dollars and voters, is poised to shatter another record: the amount of money spent on television advertisements.

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad's security forces have killed more than 60 followers of a Muslim spiritual leader who had threatened to launch a holy war in the African country in defence of the Islamic faith, the government said.

VIENNA (Reuters) - U.S. allies in NATO must provide better equipment and drop many restrictions on how their forces are used to help defeat Afghanistan's resilient Taliban insurgency, the alliance's supreme commander said on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is expecting visits soon from Jordan's King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, easing its regional diplomatic isolation, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

KABUL (Reuters) - A helicopter belonging to U.S.-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire in Afghanistan on Wednesday and America's top military officer said he was increasingly concerned about the rising violence.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani politicians should stop squabbling over the fate of President Pervez Musharraf and focus on pressing problems of rising Islamist militancy, soaring prices and energy shortages, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.