MADRID (Reuters) —  The United States told Iran on Thursday it must change its nuclear course or be isolated, but Tehran remained defiant despite the spectre of harsher sanctions as it held talks on its atomic work with the European Union.

BEIJING (Reuters) — China urged the international community on Thursday to show patience with Sudan over the strife in its Darfur region, as an advocacy group called on Beijing to take more action to pressure Khartoum.

KISMAYU (Reuters) — Several hundred Somali soldiers briefly seized the southern port of Kismayu in a protest over unpaid salaries in the latest sign of the turmoil plaguing the Horn of Africa nation, residents said on Thursday.

KISMAYU (Reuters) — Several hundred Somali soldiers briefly seized the southern port of Kismayu in a protest over unpaid salaries in the latest sign of the turmoil plaguing the Horn of Africa nation, residents said on Thursday.

CAIRO (AFP) — An Egyptian court rejected on Thursday a bid by opposition leader Ayman Nur to be released from prison on medical grounds, despite his claims that his health has worsened since he was jailed.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israel is prepared to transfer withheld tax revenues to the Palestinians through a mechanism that guarantees none of the money will go to the Hamas-led government or fighters, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

ANKARA (AP) — Turkey’s military, building up troops on the Iraqi border, said Thursday it was ready to launch a cross-border offensive to fight Kurdish fighters — pressuring the government to support the idea which could strain ties with Washington and lead to tensions with Iraqi Kurds.

BEIRUT (AFP) — The UN vote to set up an international court for the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri was hailed by his supporters on Thursday but it stirred up fears of more instability in the deeply-divided country.

FALLUJAH (Reuters) — A suicide bomber killed up to 20 men queuing at a police recruitment centre west of Baghdad on Thursday, police said, and Al Qaeda members battled a rival Sunni faction in the south of the capital.

GAZA CITY (AFP) — An Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip wounded two Palestinians trying to fire a rocket on Thursday as violence continued in the lawless territory despite international appeals for restraint.