The Lebanese army intensified its shelling Saturday of Islamists fiercely defending their last patch of a Palestinian refugee camp as the death toll on both sides mounts.

Turkish leaders wrapped up their campaigns Saturday in early legislative elections with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tipped to retain power after a political crisis that polarised the country.

The leaders of two important Darfur rebel factions have set difficult conditions for attending a UN-African Union meeting in August in Tanzania to plan for future peace talks.