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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 12 people died and 18 were injured on Friday when hundreds of young party-goers rushed to get out of a crowded nightclub in the Mexican capital during a raid on under-age drinkers, police said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has opened up a double-digit lead over Republican John McCain two weeks after he clinched the nomination, a new poll published on Friday showed.

BEIJING (Reuters) - More than 1,000 Chinese couples lined up for hours for marriage licenses to wed on August 8, the date of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, state media said on Saturday.

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said that Israel is justified in providing for its security amid the "extraordinary threat" posed to it by Iran.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Republican John McCain defended the North American Free Trade Agreement in Canada on Friday during an unusual foreign trip as a U.S. presidential candidate to draw a contrast with Barack Obama, his Democratic rival in the November election.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama raised $21.9 million in May, his campaign reported on Friday, a day after the Democratic candidate said he would reject public financing for his presidential bid.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush did not know about a White House effort to leak the identity of a CIA agent but tried to protect staffers who were involved in one of the biggest scandals of his administration, former Bush spokesman Scott McClellan told Congress on Friday.

AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) - Supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr accused Iraqi security forces on Friday of heavy-handed action in a crackdown in the southern city of Amara, calling it a "clear provocation".

HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban President Fidel Castro, showing renewed vigor in recent days, lashed out on Friday at the European Union's decision to lift sanctions against Cuba while demanding the island nation improve its human rights record.

LONDON (Reuters) - Major powers have offered Iran preliminary talks on its nuclear work, on condition it limits uranium enrichment to current levels for six weeks in exchange for a freeze on moves towards harsher sanctions, diplomats say.

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Republicans to highlight the fact that he is black as part of an effort to make voters afraid of him.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Republican John McCain defended the North American Free Trade Agreement in Canada on Friday during an unusual foreign trip as a U.S. presidential candidate to draw a contrast with Barack Obama, his Democratic rival in the November election.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.N. children's fund UNICEF has severed ties with an Israeli billionaire and financial backer due to his suspected involvement in building settlements in the occupied West Bank, UNICEF said on Friday.

MALABO (Reuters) - British mercenary Simon Mann sought leniency from a court in Equatorial Guinea on Friday, saying he was sorry for having been part of a failed coup plot to topple the president of the oil-rich West African state.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The quartet of Middle East peace mediators will meet in Berlin on Tuesday for their first gathering since Egypt brokered a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the U.S. State Department said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Major powers have offered Iran preliminary talks on its nuclear work, on condition it limits uranium enrichment to current levels for six weeks in exchange for a freeze on moves towards harsher sanctions, diplomats say.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States hopes North Korea will produce an overdue declaration of its nuclear programs "in the near future," said a U.S. official on Friday who held out the possibility it could come next week.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Brazil said on Friday it would seek as much as $4 billion in sanctions on U.S. imports after the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted a final ruling in a long-running dispute over Washington's cotton subsidies.

SILVER SPRING, Maryland (Reuters) - Director Spike Lee, whose movies often cast a sharp eye on U.S. racial politics, predicted a presidential victory for black Democrat Barack Obama that would mark a "new day" for the United States.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Worries about the economy and higher fuel costs dominated talks on Friday among U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama and Democratic governors, some of whom have been mentioned as his possible running mate.