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Same-sex marriage bill passed in South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The South African parliament overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday recognizing gay marriages -- a first for a continent where homosexuality is largely taboo.

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Iran's president boasted that his country will soon have mastered the production of nuclear fuel, but he added the country was far from producing enough fuel to power its Russian-built reactor. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed the world had finally accepted that Iran has the complete cycle of fuel production -- from mining uranium to enriching it to the level required for consumption in a nuclear power plant.

Senate Democrats waste no time gathering to choose new leaders

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats picked two women for senior posts Tuesday and appointed former U.S. Capitol police chief Terrance Gainer as sergeant at arms. Their choice as majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, said a top priority is getting a new secretary of defense confirmed.

U.N. pledges $77 million for African Union force in Darfur

President meets with Israeli PM to discuss Iran

Bush trades ideas with Iraq panel, says withdrawal depends on military

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Monday praised a bipartisan commission on Iraq for asking him good questions but said he is "not going to prejudge" the report the panel soon will issue. He pledged to search with victorious Democrats in Congress for a consensus on how best to proceed.

Insurgent activity rising in Afghanistan, says official report; 3,700 violent deaths this year

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgent activity in Afghanistan has risen fourfold this year, and militants now launch more than 600 attacks a month, a rising wave of violence that has resulted in 3,700 deaths in 2006, a bleak new report released Sunday found.

Suicide bombs kill 35 police recruits

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A pair of suicide bombs ripped through a crowd of would-be police recruits in Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 35, and authorities found 75 bodies in the capital and Baqouba, an unusually high number even by Iraq's grim standards.

Arab League proposes Palestinian-Israeli peace talks

CAIRO, Egypt -- The Arab League called Sunday for an international peace conference with Israel, and diplomats said the Hamas-led Palestinian government accepted.

Allen concedes; Democrats take Senate

WASHINGTON -- The anti-GOP wave that upended Congress rewarded Democrats with new opportunities to help set the national agenda and burdened them with the task of delivering on voters' expectations.

Internationally, many see Democratic victories as rejection of Bush's policies

MADRID, Spain -- Wednesday, the seismic shift midterm elections brought to Washington's political landscape was welcomed by many who oppose the war in Iraq and the harsh methods the Bush administration has employed in fighting terrorism.

Secretary of Defense steps down

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses.

Control of Senate still up for grabs early Wednesday

WASHINGTON -- Democrats swept toward control of the House on Tuesday, ending a long turn in the minority. By 11 p.m., Democrats had picked up 19 House seats in Republican hands. They needed 15 to win the majority in the House, and a final result would depend on dozens of races yet uncalled.

GOP faces some losses in Senate

WASHINGTON -- Resurgent Democrats grabbed Republican Senate seats in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Rhode Island Tuesday in midterm elections shaped by an unpopular war in Iraq and scandal at home.

Dems win governorships in Mass., Ohio, New York

Democrats scored a string of victories in governors' races Tuesday, taking back Massachusetts, Ohio and New York from the GOP, holding a vulnerable seat in Michigan and fighting hard to unseat Republicans in Minnesota and Maryland.

Voters elect to ban same-sex marriage in 3 states, 5 pending

Amendments to ban gay marriage won approval Tuesday in three states, including Wisconsin, where gay-rights activists had nursed hopes of engineering the first defeat of such a ban. Nationwide, a total of 205 measures were on the ballots in 37 states -- ranging from routine bond issues to a riveting contest in South Dakota, where voters chose whether to uphold or reject a toughest-in-the-nation law that would ban virtually all abortions.

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Ortega likely to head back to Nicaragua's presidency

Israel to allow gay pride parade

JERUSALM -- Israel's attorney general refused to ban a gay pride parade in Jerusalem despite threats of violence from ultra-Orthodox Jews, instructing police and gay activists to try to work out a compromise, the police commander said Sunday.

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