International pressure forced Sudan to accept a plan to deploy a combined UN and AU peacekeeping force of at least 20,000 troops in its troubled Darfur region, opposition parties said on Tuesday.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling party has won almost all the 16 seats in the runoff elections for Egypt’s upper house of parliament, according to official results and media reports on Tuesday.

Lebanese troops inched towards Islamic strongholds in a north Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp Tuesday as mediators hinted at a possible ceasefire deal that includes the disarmament of the Al Qaeda-inspired gunmen.