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CAIRO (Reuters) - Millions of Egyptians, choosing their leader freely for the first time in their history, voted on Thursday in a fraught contest between Islamists and former officials of President Hosni Mubarak who was toppled in a popular uprising last year. After six decades under authoritarian, military-backed rule, Egypt's 50 million eligible voters may entrust the most populous Arab nation to an Islamist president for the next four years, alongside the Islamist-led parliament they elected earlier. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Support for President Vladimir Putin is sliding across Russia, and pressure for change is so widespread that a political crisis including violent clashes with protesters appears highly likely, a respected think-tank said on Thursday. Putin was elected comfortably to a third, six-year term as president in March, despite huge urban protests last winter against alleged election fraud and the monopoly on power that he and his United Russia party enjoy. ...

GENEVA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.N. investigation on Thursday said both sides in the Syrian conflict had committed serious human rights abuses, with government forces executing entire families in their homes and rebels torturing and killing soldiers and government supporters. The United Nations report into the 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad said government forces routinely drew up lists of wanted people and their families before blockading then attacking a village or neighborhood. ...

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait's Finance Minister Mustapha al-Shamali resigned on Thursday after a questioning session led by opposition lawmakers over alleged financial irregularities in departments he oversees. The 69-year-old Finance Ministry veteran repeatedly had denied allegations of mismanagement on his watch. His resignation marked fresh political discord between the government and parliament, which was only elected three months ago. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lawmakers are investigating a billing dispute of at least $750 million between the main supplier of food to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the Pentagon. The Pentagon says Supreme Foodservice GmbH overcharged it, but the Netherlands-headquartered company said the rates were properly based on the complexities and dangers of supplying food in war-ravaged Afghanistan. ...

ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni troops fought Islamist militants in southern cities on Thursday, as the government pressed ahead with a U.S.-backed offensive to help stabilize the impoverished Arab state that has turned into a base for al Qaeda. Western and Gulf Arab countries have watched with mounting alarm as political crisis in Yemen gave al Qaeda the opportunity to develop a base from which to launch attacks around the world. Insurgents in the south exploited mass protests last year against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize large swathes of territory. ...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran accused world powers on Thursday of creating "a difficult atmosphere" in talks on its atomic energy program, signaling a setback in efforts to reach an agreement that would allay their fears that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear bombs. The nub of the dispute appeared to be Iran's demand for fast relief from economic sanctions as part of any deal for it to stop higher-grade uranium enrichment, a pathway to nuclear arms, whereas Western powers insisted Tehran must first shut down enrichment activities. ...

KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan agreed to restart talks next week with the aim of ending hostilities and settling disputes after border clashes scuppered an earlier round of negotiations, both sides said on Thursday. The two armies clashed last month in a disputed oil region near the poorly drawn border, coming closer to all-out war than at any time since South Sudan's independence last July. ...

A tropical storm warning has been issued for the coast of Mexico as Hurricane Bud gains strength in the Pacific.

Tough negotiations between Iran and world powers over Tehran's nuclear program ended Thursday with a plan to meet next month for another round of talks but agreement on little else.

A British minister in the hot seat for his alleged close ties to Rupert Murdoch's media empire did lobby Prime Minister David Cameron to back the tycoon's bid for satellite broadcaster BSkyB, according to a memo made public Thursday.

As one diplomatic effort after another fails to end more than a year of brutal violence in Syria, the Obama administration is preparing a plan that would essentially give U.S. nods of approval to arms transfers from Arab nations to some Syrian opposition fighters.

Egypt's wide-open presidential election, which was in its second day of voting Thursday, is showing how deeply polarized the nation has become, with backers of rival Islamists and former regime figures each vowing they cannot let the other rule.

European leaders insist they want to keep Greece in the eurozone, but are putting off any agreement on how they hope to accomplish that. Greece says it, too, wants to stay in the eurozone, but until after elections it's uncertain whether it can implement the austerity that Europe has set as a condition for doing so.

After a prolonged chill, security ties between Israel and China are warming up.

Iran traded proposals with six world powers, including the United States, Wednesday in a new round of talks aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program and ease concerns it wants to make atomic weapons. But divisions over sanctions complicated the discussions.

Iran and six world powers resumed talks Wednesday over Tehran's nuclear program, with the Iranians pushing for specific timetables and goals but Westerns leaders signaling they want more disclosures before offering rewards.

Iran has made the first move in attempts to gain an edge in nuclear talks with the U.S. and other world powers: It agreed in principle to allow U.N. inspectors to restart probes into a military site suspected of harboring tests related to atomic weapons.

Despite some remaining differences, a deal has been reached with Iran that will allow the U.N. nuclear agency to restart a long-stalled probe into suspicions that Tehran has secretly worked on developing nuclear arms, the U.N. nuclear chief said Tuesday.

Pese a ciertas diferencias que perduran fue logrado un acuerdo entre Irán y el organismo nuclear de las Naciones Unidas que permitirá a sus observadores reanudar la inspección de instalaciones atómicas, ante la sospecha de que el gobierno de Teherán trabaja secretamente para producir ojivas nucleares, dijo el martes el director de la AIEA.

El director general de la Agencia Internacional de Energía Atómica dijo el martes que había llegado a un acuerdo con Irán para inspecciones de sospechas de fabricación de armas atómicas y agregó que el acuerdo será firmado "dentro de poco".