05/10/2008 03:11 PM Myanmar Votes as Rulers Keep Grip on Aid The military junta continued to restrict foreign aid shipments but forged ahead with a constitutional referendum intended to cement its power. 05/10/2008 01:33 PM Deal Reached on Truce in Sadr City Shiite leaders in Parliament and in the Sadrist movement agreed to a truce that would end more than a month of bloody fighting in the Baghdad ghetto. 05/10/2008 02:33 PM Sadr City Bomb Squad: Looking for Trouble Before It Explodes U.S. soldiers in Sadr City search for roadside bombs around the clock, in dangerous missions hidden behind the bland job description of “route clearance.� 05/10/2008 02:39 PM Hezbollah Begins to Withdraw Gunmen in Beirut The move raised hopes for a political settlement after street battles that have killed at least 29 people. 05/10/2008 02:16 PM As Gazprom Goes, So Goes Russia The weight of Gazprom, Russia’s corporate leviathan, extends far beyond its fields of natural gas all the way to the Kremlin, now headed by Dmitri A. Medvedev, its chairman. 05/10/2008 03:41 PM Matching Newcomer to College, While Both Pay The use of overseas recruiting agents, who are paid both by colleges seeking students and students looking for advice on college selection, is raising uncomfortable questions. 05/10/2008 01:16 PM Sudan’s Army Beats Back Attack on Capital Darfurian rebels advanced to within a few miles of the center of Khartoum, and the government deployed troops, essentially shutting down the city. 05/10/2008 03:25 PM In Serbian Elections, Voters Face a Choice Between East and West Serbs will vote Sunday in parliamentary elections that have become a tug of war between old-guard nationalism and a European future. 05/10/2008 02:58 PM White House Memo: As Bush Term Wanes, Mideast Peace Appears as Elusive as Ever As the president heads to the region this week for the second time in five months, some are already looking to his successor. 05/10/2008 10:31 AM Fear and Fraud Mar Elections in Sri Lanka The voting was marred by accusations of fraud and ballot-stuffing carried out apparently by supporters of the governing party, while a series of attacks was attributed to the Tamil Tiger rebels.

05/10/2008 04:33 AM Zimbabwe opposition leader to participate in runoff Speaking in South Africa, Morgan Tsvangirai calls for regional peacekeepers and international observers. He also urges a revamp of the electoral commission, which he sees as biased. PRETORIA, South Africa — Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will return to Zimbabwe in coming days to contest a runoff presidential election, promising a "victory tour" of his country. 05/10/2008 01:20 AM 16 die in Beirut as Lebanon crisis continues The Lebanese army moves to restore order without appearing to take sides in the fighting between supporters of the U.S.-backed government and Hezbollah. Confusion and anger reigned on the streets of the Lebanese capital today as the country's political and military leaders struggled to pull the country back from deepening civil conflict. 05/10/2008 02:25 PM Darfur rebels battle Sudan forces near capital The incursion to the outskirts of Khartoum is not viewed as a serious threat to the regime. But the rebels efforts could encourage other anti-government groups. Darfur rebels from western Sudan took their five-year struggle to the doorstep of their country's capital Saturday, today, engaging government forces in gun battles on the outskirts of Khartoum. 05/10/2008 08:41 AM Misunderstandings plague African adoptions Traditional ways of helping poor children clash with Western concepts. The offer of a foreign education for her beloved youngest son seemed like a dream come true for Elizabeth Rioba. But the Kenyan mother says a family member tricked her into signing adoption papers, and now it's been five years since she's seen her boy. 05/10/2008 08:31 AM Meant to strengthen, land grab weakened Zimbabwe's Mugabe Few war veterans benefited from the redistribution of land. Now the question that will hang over a possible MDC government is whether a small circle of powerful people will retain ownership of seized When Ishmael Dube got his own small plot of land, it felt like justice. He'd grown up a black child under a racist white regime when this country was called Rhodesia. Half his youth was gobbled by darkness: war and prison. 05/11/2008 01:00 AM Kira Plastinina: From Russia with style The 15-year-old wunderkind designer throws in her lot on Robertson Boulevard with a new shop. SHE STRUTS into the Ivy with leg to spare and a long ponytail swinging behind her. She's working a super short, silver polka-dot dress, which she designed herself, and some seriously gooey lip gloss. She's got a makeup artist in tow, along with two publicists and a bodyguard who's not afraid to stand down Robertson Boulevard's crazy roller dancer. 05/10/2008 08:34 AM Turkish wives battle culture of domestic abuse Emine Yaman was paralyzed after she was shot by her husband. Her case shows how the law has yet to overcome ingrained traditions. Emine Yaman lies in bed, her legs rigid, her feet prone to sores and swelling. Paralyzed by a bullet that her husband fired into her chest, she is the face of domestic violence in a country struggling to discard long-held cultural practices that denigrate women. 05/10/2008 10:54 AM Iraq, Sadr agree to end fighting in Baghdad Word of the breakthrough is quickly followed by differing accounts of details in the accord, casting doubt on whether it will end the violence involving forces of the radical Shiite cleric. The Iraqi government and representatives of radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr said today that they had struck a deal to halt weeks of fighting in a Baghdad slum. 05/10/2008 08:35 AM Russians snap up foreign cars World's automakers race to supply sought-after vehicles for the country's growing middle class. Boris Chivanov sat in his 1997 Russian-made Lada and explained, flaw by flaw, why he had decided to part ways with the purple hatchback. 05/10/2008 01:00 AM Hezbollah moves swiftly to take control of West Beirut The Iran-backed militia trounces ill-equipped Sunni fighters loyal to the pro-U.S. government. Analysts say Hezbollah's long- term goal is bolstering itself in its conflict with the U.S. and Israel. In one swoop, the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah took over a large section of Lebanon's capital Friday, altering the country's political balance and demonstrating a level of military discipline and efficiency that left the pro-Western government struggling to exert its authority.