Reuters - The head of Germany's Catholic Church apologized to victims of child abuse by priests and said after meeting Pope Benedict Friday the pontiff encouraged him to press ahead with tackling the problem.

Reuters - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had a narrow lead over rival Shi'ites, partial results in Iraq's tight election race showed on Friday, but a secularist challenger remained far ahead in minority Sunni areas.

Reuters - Suicide bombers targeting the Pakistani military killed at least 45 people in Lahore on Friday, officials said, in a challenge to government assertions that crackdowns have weakened Taliban insurgents.

Reuters - A son of Ghanaian immigrants who was educated at Eton, Britain's most exclusive private school, parliamentary candidate Kwasi Kwarteng embodies both change and continuity in the Conservative Party.

Reuters - Thousands of workers who suffered health problems after the September 11 attacks in 2001 have reached a settlement worth up to $657.5 million with an insurer representing the city of New York, city officials and lawyers said on Thursday.

Reuters - Strong aftershocks in Chile on Thursday have not so far caused a tsunami, but officials are maintaining an alert in some coastal regions, the country's new Interior minister, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, told reporters.

Reuters - Ukraine's new prime minister, Mykola Azarov, declaring state coffers were empty, promised on Thursday to meet all obligations to the International Monetary Fund and push through a realistic 2010 budget.

Reuters - A cross-sectarian, secularist alliance headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is ahead in two Iraqi provinces north of Baghdad, early results from the country's electoral commission showed Thursday.

AFP - Greek police battled demonstrators on Thursday as the country ground to a halt in the latest protest strike against government austerity measures aiming to end a crippling debt crisis.

AFP - Ukraine's new President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday tightened his grip on power as one of his closest allies became the new prime minister and his party succeeded in forming a ruling coalition.