Obama makes pitch for U.S. House healthcare votes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a broad healthcare reform bill on Saturday as they prepared for a close vote on the biggest changes in health policy in four decades.

U.S. Army gunman's act "impossible" - grandfather

AL-BIREH, West Bank (Reuters) - The grandfather of a U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead 13 people and wounding 30 others at a base in Texas said on Saturday he found it impossible to believe his grandson had committed the act.

Japan urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi before poll

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan urged Myanmar on Saturday to release detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before next year's election, adding it was ready to provide more aid if democratisation in the country advanced.

Russia's Medvedev leaves door open to Iran sanctions

BERLIN (Reuters) - Sanctions against Iran should not be ruled out if it fails to agree to restrictions on its nuclear programme, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel in an interview.

Honduran rivals signal new bid to solve crisis

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' ousted president and de facto leader gave signs they would try again on Saturday to form a unity government to guide the country out of a four-month crisis after the process collapsed a day earlier.

Lebanon's Hariri set to form govt with Hezbollah

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri will announce a new national unity government to include Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah in the next few days, politicians said on Saturday.

Iran says over 100 people detained at anti-U.S. rally

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police detained more than 100 people for "disturbing public order" during a rally this week to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Britain urges divided G20 to reach climate deal

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - British finance minister Alistair Darling urged his G20 counterparts on Saturday to work toward a $100 billion deal to tackle climate change but developing nations insisted they did not want to talk about it.

Study shows high cost of German reunification - paper

BERLIN (Reuters) - As Germany prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a new study shows that some 1.3 trillion euros have been transferred from the west to rebuild the east, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Storm Ida revives, churns towards Gulf of Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Ida strengthened back into a tropical storm early on Saturday off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and was moving north toward the Gulf of Mexico, where it could again become a hurricane.

Ida hurricane watch for Mexico's Caribbean coast

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) - Officials readied storm shelters along Mexico's Caribbean coast Saturday and told fishermen and tour operators to pull in their boats amid warnings that Tropical Storm Ida could become a hurricane as it neared the resort city of Cancun.

Giant dominoes form tribute to Berlin Wall's fall

BERLIN (AP): Massive colorful dominoes painted by German students have been placed along the former path of the Berlin Wall to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the barrier that divided the city for nearly three decades.

Canada charges Rwandan man with war crimes

TORONTO (AP): Canadian police charged a Rwandan immigrant Saturday with war crimes related to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

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