• US, Iraq sign deal to settle Saddam-era claims (AP)

AP - Iraq has agreed to pay $400 million to Americans who say they were abused by Saddam Hussein's regime, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Friday.

  • Castro says he was misinterpreted on Cuban economy (AP)

AP - Fidel Castro says his comments about Cuba's communist economic model were misinterpreted by a visiting American journalist.

  • Spanish miners in Day 9 of underground protest (AP)

AP - Far, far away from a Chilean mine where 33 trapped men struggle to cope as they await rescue, 50 Spanish miners are also deep in the earth's bowels — but by their own choice.

  • Japan missing more than 230K listed centenarians (AP)

AP - More than 230,000 Japanese citizens listed in government records as at least 100 years old can't be found and may have died long ago, according to a government survey released Friday.

  • Cholera stalks West Africa as rains spread disease (AP)

AP - Patients jammed rudimentary clinics and health workers in surgical masks sprayed anti-bacterial solution on muddy paths as the government struggled to contain a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 800 Nigerians in two months.

  • The E.U. Tries to Stop France's Crackdown on Gypsies (Time.com)

Time.com - After weeks of watching from the sidelines, the European Union has finally condemned France's mass expulsion of Roma migrants. But does France care?

  • Kissinger urges regional engagement in Afghanistan (AP)

AP - Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger says Afghanistan's neighbors need to be involved in order to find a long-term solution for the conflict there.

  • Cyrus the Great artifact to be displayed in Iran (AP)

AP - A Babylonian artifact sometimes described as the world's first human rights charter is to go on display in Iran after the government threatened to cut ties with the British Museum if it did not loan the object.

  • Brazilian architect Niemeyer given Spanish award (AP)

AP - Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer has received one of Spain's top awards for the arts.

  • Lions upset Tendulkar's Mumbai in opener (AFP)

AFP - The Champions League Twenty20 tournament got off to a thrilling and surprise start Friday with local outfit Highveld Lions of South Africa defeating star-studded Mumbai Indians by nine runs.

  • Mudslide engulfs Italian village

In Italy the town of Antrani on the Amalfi coast has been hit by flash flooding and mudslides.

  • The world's first Klingon opera

The first ever Klingon opera is underway in The Hague

  • Cyclist's long hunt for missing son

An Australian man who cycled round Europe for three months looking for his missing son is to be reunited with him after two-and-a-half years.

  • Injured marine's epic US run

Royal Marine Mark Ormrod is a triple amputee who is setting out to run 3,500 miles across the US.

  • Bomb scare toy pony blown up

A child's toy sparked a bomb scare in Orlando after it was left unattended in a cul-de-sac.