BAGHDAD A secular challenger to Iraq's prime minister edged ahead Saturday in the overall vote count in parliamentary elections, while the prime minister held onto his province-by-province lead as the counting neared completion.

NEW DELHI Indian investigators will be able to question a Chicago man who pleaded guilty to scouting targets for the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, a senior U.S. official said Saturday.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia Thousands of people have rallied across Russia to denounce the government's economic policy and demand more freedom in a new challenge to the Kremlin reflecting increasing disillusionment and a growing potential for protests.

ISLAMABAD Hundreds of tribesmen from Pakistan's semiautonomous regions near the Afghan border ended a rare tribal council meeting Saturday with a declaration calling for the army to crush the Taliban.

TOKYO Tokyo subway workers observed a moment of silence Saturday to mark the 15th anniversary of a nerve gas attack by a religious cult, Japan's deadliest act of domestic terrorism.

KATMANDU, Nepal Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal's former prime minister who led mass protests that ended the king's authoritarian rule and helped deliver a peace deal to end 10 years of communist revolt, died Saturday. He was 86.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia Cambodia will erect a memorial to nearly 40 foreign and Cambodian journalists who died covering a savage five-year war that ended with the triumph of the Khmer Rouge 35 years ago, a government official said Saturday.

AIRLIE BEACH, Australia About 60,000 homes are without power, trees and signs have blown over and boats have been smashed on the rocks after a massive storm blew across the coast of northeastern Australia.

PARIS President Nicolas Sarkozy's party braced for a potential electoral wipeout in Sunday's final round of regional elections, which an alliance of the rival left hopes will give it a national sweep and a staging ground for 2012 presidential voting.

BEIJING Tons of sand turned Beijing's sky orange as the strongest sandstorm this year hit northern China, a gritty reminder that the country's expanding deserts have led to a sharp increase in the storms.

CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuelan prosecutors charged a government opponent with conspiracy and other crimes Friday after he said on a television program that the country has become a haven for drug trafficking.

BOGOTA Former Foreign Minister Noemi Sanin has defeated Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's hand-picked successor for the Conservative Party's presidential nomination in a close primary.

BANGKOK A crimson tide of protesters snaked its way through the Thai capital Saturday, with thousands of cars, trucks and motorbikes tangling up traffic as demonstrators sought to drum up support for ousting a government they call illegitimate.

MEXICO CITY More Americans in Mexico are falling victim to a wave of drug violence sweeping the country, a change driven home by the recent killing of a U.S. Consulate employee and her husband who were gunned down after leaving a children's birthday party.

LA PAZ, Bolivia The retired general who captured legendary revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara was summoned Friday by Bolivian authorities investigating an alleged plot against President Evo Morales.