AP International NewsBrief at 5:08 a.m. EDT

Pakistan: US missile attack kills 4 in northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — An American drone fired two missiles at a bakery in northwest Pakistan Saturday and killed four suspected militants, officials said, as the U.S. pushed on with its drone campaign despite Pakistani demands to stop. This was the third such strike in the country in less than a week. Drone attacks in Pakistani tribal areas where Afghan and other militants have found refuge are considered a key tactic by U.S. officials in the war against al-Qaida and its Taliban supporters. But many Pakistanis resent the strikes, which they consider an affront to their sovereignty.

Militants post appeal of kidnapped Saudi diplomat

CAIRO (AP) — Militants have posted online a video in which a man identifying himself as a Saudi diplomat kidnapped by al-Qaida in Yemen appeals to Saudi Arabia's rulers to respond to his captors' demands and save his life. In the video posted on a militant Web site late Friday, a man saying he is Abdullah al-Khaldi asks King Abdullah to grant the kidnappers' demands, including the release of detained women.

Afghan parliament approves US partnership

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Legislators say Afghanistan's parliament has approved a strategic partnership agreement with the United States. The approval came in a vote Saturday and by a simple majority of those present in the 249-seat body.

Morocco hosts world's artists, imprisons its own

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco's glittering Mawazine international music festival wraps up this weekend with performances by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, after nine days of showcasing the North African kingdom's cool factor — even as dissident Moroccan musicians are imprisoned for their anti-establishment lyrics. The 11-year-old "Rhythms of the World" festival in the capital Rabat has always highlighted Morocco's contradictions as the country spends millions to lure top world artists to perform at generally free concerts, while much the country remains mired in poverty.

Finland gunman who killed 2, wounded 7 is arrested

HELSINKI (AP) — An 18-year-old gunman killed two people and wounded seven others in what appeared to be a random shooting in a southern Finnish town, police said Saturday. Officers arrested the suspect near Hyvinkaa, some five hours after he fired several shots from a low rooftop at people gathered outside a restaurant just before 2 a.m. (2300 GMT Friday), said Detective Chief Inspector Markku Tuominen.

UN observers heading to site of Syria attack

GENEVA (AP) — A spokesman for the United Nations' envoy to Syria says international monitors are heading to a region where activists say at least 50 people were killed by government troops. Ahmad Fawzi told The Associated Press in an email Saturday that the observers are traveling to Houla "as we speak."

For something so simple, pasta is serious business

ROME (AP) — They twirled, they sniffed, they slurped, they chewed. The dozen housewives who gathered in a Rome hotel on a recent afternoon took their work terribly seriously, rating plates of pasta for chewiness, saltiness, gumminess or done-ness — that perfect balance known as "al dente," or firm to the bite.

Myanmar power protests put new reforms to the test

BANGKOK (AP) — Protests in Myanmar over persistent power shortages have provided a test of how the country's elected but military-backed government will respond to rising expectations sparked by the past year's democratic reforms. Small demonstrations over the last week in Myanmar's two largest cities and several towns could be seen as an indicator of the new openness under President Thein Sein, who has overseen the country's emergence from decades of authoritarian rule and diplomatic isolation.

Egypt results point to deeply divisive runoff race

CAIRO (AP) — The Muslim Brotherhood's candidate and a veteran of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's autocratic regime will face each other in a runoff election for Egypt's president, according to first-round results Friday. The divisive showdown dismayed many Egyptians who fear either one means an end to any democratic gains produced by last year's uprising. More than a year after protesters demanding democracy toppled Mubarak, the face-off between the Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi and former air force chief and prime minister Ahmed Shafiq looked like a throwback to the days of his regime — a rivalry between a military-rooted strongman promising a firm hand to ensure stability and Islamists vowing to implement religious law.

Activists: Troops kills up to 50 in central Syria

BEIRUT (AP) — President Bashar Assad's forces killed at least 50 civilians, including 13 children, in central Syria on Friday, activists said, in one of the highest death tolls in one specific area since an internationally-brokered cease-fire went into effect last month. Syrian troops using tanks, mortars and heavy machine guns pounded the area of Houla, a region made up of several towns and villages in the province of Homs, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist groups said.