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KISMAYU, Somalia (Reuters) - Islamist rebels seized control of this strategic port in southern Somalia on Friday after the worst fighting in the area for months killed 70 people, residents said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq wants an agreement authorizing the continued presence of U.S. troops on its soil to expire in three years, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Friday.

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russian flags hung from balconies, many cheered the army sent to fight Georgian troops and the town planned a hero's welcome for the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A newborn baby abandoned outdoors in winter by her 14-year-old mother was found safe in a dog pen with a mother dog and her brood of puppies near the city of La Plata, Argentine media reported on Friday.

TYRE, Lebanon (Reuters) - Many of the 44 teams clearing cluster munitions scattered by Israel in south Lebanon during its 2006 war with Hezbollah will have to stop work this month for lack of funds, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Friday.

ALMATY (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rattled the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Friday, rocking buildings and sending people running outdoors in fear, witnesses and the emergency ministry said.

WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski celebrated the signing of a missile shield deal this week with Georgian wine, a choice sure to leave a bitter taste for Russia.

CHITA, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian court on Friday rejected a parole appeal by former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a decision his lawyers said showed President Dmitry Medvedev's promises to reform the legal system were far from reality.

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition forces killed 76 Afghan civilians in western Afghanistan on Friday, most of them children, the Interior Ministry said.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's war veteran allies accused opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday of stalling power-sharing talks on orders from Western powers.

LARNACA, Cyprus (Reuters) - International activists departed from Cyprus by boat on Friday in an attempt to run an Israeli sea blockade on 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Waving green Islamic flags and shouting "we want freedom", hundreds of thousands of Muslims marched peacefully in Indian Kashmir's main city on Friday, resuming some of the biggest protests in two decades against Indian rule.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a sixth time on Friday over fraud and bribery allegations that have shaken Israel's political system and jeopardized peace talks with the Palestinians.

LONDON (Reuters) - Gary Glitter, a British singer who spent three years in a Vietnamese jail for child sex abuse, returned to London on Friday after failing to find sanctuary in Asia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Along with TV cameras and funny hats, the 45,000 Democratic and Republican convention-goers will bring something more important to Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul: their credit cards.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A second earthquake in two days in the same county of southwest China killed at least three people, injured more than 100 and prompted the evacuation of over 120,000, state media reported on Friday.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Two Pakistani Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the country's main defense industry complex on Thursday, killing at least 59 people as workers were leaving at the end of their shift, officials said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama prolonged the suspense over his vice presidential pick on Friday, saying he had chosen an independent voice who could be an effective governing partner -- but not announcing the name.

MADRID (Reuters) - Grieving relatives on Thursday tried to identify charred bodies from the wreckage of a Spanish jet which crashed at Madrid airport on its second attempt at takeoff after mechanical problems.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Typhoon Nuri struck southern China on Friday, killing three people after barreling through Hong Kong, shutting down most of the financial hub with gale-force winds and disrupting hundreds of flights.