Afghanistan
KABUL — The U.S. ambassador helped broker a cease-fire Tuesday to halt the latest bloody infighting in Afghanistan, persuading a warlord to pull away from a provincial capital as U.S. warplanes circled overhead. The deal stopped fighting that saw rebels come within 20 miles of the key western city of Herat, said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. He said the death toll had risen significantly from the 25 killed as of Monday but would not give specific figures.
Burundi
BUJUMBURA — Burundi and Rwanda threatened Tuesday to send soldiers into neighboring Congo to hunt down Hutu extremists responsible for slaughtering more than 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees at a U.N. camp in Burundi — deployments that could re-ignite a regional conflict in this part of Africa.
England
LONDON — Rescue crews in emergency helicopters and lifeboats searched seaside communities in southwestern England Tuesday for people stranded by flash flooding. Devon and Cornwall police said more than 100 people have already been evacuated from the Boscastle area of Cornwall, a popular summer tourist area with sandy beaches and picturesque villages.
Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE — A jury Tuesday acquitted a leader of a paramilitary group blamed for killing some 3,000 people, after a 14-hour trial that angered human rights groups and provoked criticism of the new U.S.-backed government. Louis-Jodel Chamblain was acquitted of the murder of Antoine Izmery, an importer who bankrolled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's presidential bid in 1990, the year before he was ousted in a coup. During the regime that followed, Chamblain led the Front for the Advancement and Progress of the Haitian People, a group blamed for killing some 3,000 regime opponents from 1991 to 1994.
Iran
TEHRAN — Accompanied by a warning that its missiles have the range, Iran on Tuesday said it would destroy Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor if the Jewish state were to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
Peru
LIMA — An American-led expedition discovered five new districts in what its leader described as an ancient jungle metropolis on the slopes of the Peruvian Andes. The complex, which covers more than 25 square miles, was used by the Chachapoyas — tall, fierce warriors who were defeated in the late 15th century by Inca ruler Tupac Yupanqui just decades before the Spanish conquest of Peru, expedition leader Sean Savoy, 31, told The Associated Press on Monday.
Serbia-Montenegro
BELGRADE — Serbia restored its 19th-century anthem and ancient coat of arms Tuesday, harkening back to its royal history as its people struggle with economic and social hardships. The emblems represented Serbia before it merged in 1918 with its Balkan neighbors to form Yugoslavia. The 183 lawmakers in Parliament voted unanimously to adopt the once-royal symbols, despite criticism they were inappropriate for the republic sharing sovereignty with Montenegro.
Turkey
ANKARA — Iraq's interim president called on Turkish investors Tuesday to help rebuild his violence-torn country and said he hoped a second border crossing with Turkey would boost trade. "We need each other. We need stability. We need strong neighbors like Turkey, which would help us develop," Ghazi al-Yawer said at a breakfast meeting with Turkish officials and business leaders. "We're gifted by God with natural resources, but we also need partners."
Vatican City
Two days after a grueling papal pilgrimage which left some wondering if Pope John Paul II could still travel, the Vatican on Tuesday announced details of the ailing pontiff's next trip. The Vatican said John Paul would fly on Sept. 5 from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, to Loreto, an Italian town near the Adriatic which is home to a shrine to the Virgin Mary. There the 84-year-old pope will celebrate a stamina-testing two-hour outdoor Mass.
Venezuela
CARACAS — Strengthened by his victory in this week's recall referendum, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez set his sights Tuesday on centralizing power, including exerting control over the courts, local police and the nation's broadcast stations. The leftist government is "going to deepen the social and democratic revolution in Venezuela," vowed Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel.