Hostage freed

KABUL – Afghan police rescued a female German aid worker in a dramatic pre-dawn swoop but efforts to free 19 South Koreans and another German held captive for over a month remain deadlocked, officials said.

Earthquake rescue still on * PISCO – Rescue teams in Peru’s shattered earthquake zone headed home as search operations were replaced by stepped-up aid efforts and security patrols against looters. Turkey polls * ANKARA – Turkey’s parliament voted in the first round of a presidential election that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is all but certain to win despite secularist concerns over his Islamist past.Tehran talks * TEHRAN -A top UN atomic official was holding talks in Tehran aimed at easing concerns over Iran’s contested nuclear programme, amid warnings of further sanctions against the Islamic republic.Heavy rains cause floods * ATHOK – Tens of thousands of people have been made homeless in Myanmar’s Ayeyawaddy River delta after unusually heavy rains triggered floods in this low-lying region, local officials said.Rebels to unite * ASMARA – An Asmara-based umbrella group of Darfur rebel movements announced it would return to the war-torn western Sudanese region to unify its armed wings into a single force.Power cuts in Gaza GAZA CITY – Gaza hummed with the sound of generators on a fourth day of power cuts as the European Union reviewed whether to resume paying for fuel to run the impoverished territory’s sole power plant.Nampa-AFPTurkey polls * ANKARA – Turkey’s parliament voted in the first round of a presidential election that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is all but certain to win despite secularist concerns over his Islamist past.Tehran talks * TEHRAN -A top UN atomic official was holding talks in Tehran aimed at easing concerns over Iran’s contested nuclear programme, amid warnings of further sanctions against the Islamic republic.Heavy rains cause floods * ATHOK – Tens of thousands of people have been made homeless in Myanmar’s Ayeyawaddy River delta after unusually heavy rains triggered floods in this low-lying region, local officials said.Rebels to unite * ASMARA – An Asmara-based umbrella group of Darfur rebel movements announced it would return to the war-torn western Sudanese region to unify its armed wings into a single force.Power cuts in Gaza GAZA CITY – Gaza hummed with the sound of generators on a fourth day of power cuts as the European Union reviewed whether to resume paying for fuel to run the impoverished territory’s sole power plant.Nampa-AFP