A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb in eastern Syria on Saturday killing nine people, as G8 leaders called for a "political transition" in Syria and an end to violence that has claimed an estimated 12,000 lives.

G8 leaders sent a strong message to Iran Saturday that tough energy sanctions would be firmly applied, vowing to ensure oil markets are well supplied to prevent crude prices soaring.

A car bomb in the parking lot of a Syrian military compound killed at least nine people Saturday, the latest in increasingly frequent bombings in the country's major cities to target the regime's security services.

Dozens of people protested in the Yemeni capital on Saturday to demand the arrest of seven men who allegedly gang raped a 13-year-old girl.

Thousands of Sunnis staged a rally in Manama on Saturday in support of of a controversial proposal to unite Bahrain with neighbouring Saudi Arabia, witnesses said.

Ramy Ashour kept on course to become the first Egyptian in almost half a century to win the British Open when he reached the final with a scintillating 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 win over world number one James Willstrop.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development headed into a new era Saturday after electing its first British president and approving investment for "Arab democracies" at its annual meeting.

Dozens of Palestinian olive trees and grape vines were destroyed and anti-Arab graffiti was daubed in groves of the West Bank village of Beit Omar, residents said on Saturday.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain on Saturday urged their citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon, where clashes linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria have left 10 people dead.

Clashes between Al-Qaeda gunmen and the army have left 26 people dead near the jihadists' stronghold of Jaar, and a drone killed two in a strike on a militant vehicle, military and tribal sources said.

Mourning Algerians paid tribute on Saturday to Arab singing legend Warda, whose body was returned to her homeland after she died of a heart attack in Egypt two days earlier.

A car bomb tore through the parking lot of a military compound in an eastern Syrian city on Saturday, killing nine people in the latest in a series of blasts in recent months targeting security installations, the country's state media reported.

A suicide vehicle bomb tore through the parking lot of a military compound in an eastern Syrian city on Saturday, killing nine people in the latest in a series of blasts in recent months targeting security installations, the country's state media reported.

Residents in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the revolt that led to the ouster and death of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, headed to the polls on Saturday to elect a local council.

Iran on Saturday said sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme should be lifted in talks with world powers next week in Baghdad, but maintained the punitive measures would not compel it to abandon its atomic "rights."

A suicide car bomb tore through the parking lot of a military compound in Syria's eastern city of Deir el-Zour on Saturday, the latest in a wave of blasts targeting security agencies in recent months, the country's state media reported.

An Iraqi anti-terror officer, his wife and three children have been shot dead by gunmen in north Baghdad, security and medical officials said on Saturday.

A strong explosion shook Syria's eastern city of Deir el-Zour Saturday, apparently targeting a security agency in the latest of a wave of blasts to hit the country in recent months, state media and opposition activists reported.

A special US military tribunal at Guantanamo is weighing whether to hold separate trials for five accused plotters of the September 11 attacks, a defense lawyer said.