AP - Pakistan's Foreign Ministry insisted Saturday that its nuclear proliferation case was closed, a day after the disgraced architect of its atomic program claimed the army under President Pervez Musharraf helped spread the technology.

AP - An Iranian government spokesman says the country's nuclear program remains unchanged, indicating that Tehran has no plans to stop enriching uranium.

Reuters - A film secretly taken by a Zimbabwe prison guard and smuggled out of the country shows the extent of the rigging that took place for the June 27 presidential run-off vote, the Guardian said on Saturday.

AFP - Sri Lanka's wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara Saturday said Asia leads international cricket as the financial hub and custodian of the game which has pioneered unprecedented globalisation.

AP - Colombian military intelligence agents posing as aid workers and a media crew flew to the jungle aboard a white helicopter, staging a mock humanitarian mission that rebels were told would ferry their hostages to another camp for talks on a prisoner swap.

AP - Gunmen in a dangerous part of southern Afghanistan assassinated an Afghan lawmaker, while a roadside bomb militants were planting detonated prematurely, killing 10 Taliban, officials said Saturday.

AFP - Roger Federer won't be knocked out of his confident stride by Rafael Nadal in Sunday's Wimbledon final even if the Spaniard embarks on a Centre Court go-slow.

AP - Pakistani security forces have halted an operation against militants in the country's volatile northwest to try negotiating peace through tribal elders, officials said Saturday.

AFP - Australia is one of the least religious nations in the western world, research showed Friday, as the country prepares to host Pope Benedict XVI and Catholic World Youth Day celebrations this month.

AP - Expect fewer slices of red, ripe tomatoes next to the grill this holiday weekend.

AP - When staffers at a Brooklyn hospital spotted a middle-aged woman lying face-down on a waiting room floor last month, it hardly seemed like cause for alarm.

AP - A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra — but don't necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks going all night long.

AP - TOKYO (AP) — Master Japanese drummer Daihachi Oguchi, who led the spread of the art of "taiko" drumming to the U.S. and throughout Japan, has died after being hit by a car, an official at his ensemble said. He was 84.

AP - Angel Tavira, a one-handed violinist who dedicated his life to Mexican folk music and won a Cannes Film Festival award for his first movie at age 82, has died. He was 84.

AP - Leonard Pennario, a Grammy-winning pianist and best-selling classical recording artist, has died. He was 83.

AP - Irina Baronova, world renowned in the 1930s as part of a trio of Russian-born dancers dubbed the "Baby Ballerinas," has died at her home in Australia. She was 89.

AP - Home foreclosures will keep rising next year no matter who is elected president in November.

AP - Now that they're allies, Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will help each other raise money in a series of fundraisers in New York next week.

Reuters - Lebanese leaders are finalizing a deal on the formation of a national unity government as stipulated in an agreement that ended the country's political crisis, political sources said on Saturday.

Reuters - Jesse Helms, a die-hard anti-communist firebrand who championed a wide range of conservative causes in his 30 years in the U.S. Senate, died early on Friday, aged 86, his foundation said.

AP - The call girl involved in a scandal that brought down New York's former governor has dropped a lawsuit claiming "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis exploited her image and name on the Internet.

Reuters - Leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations meet this week in northern Japan to grapple with a raft of problems from soaring food and fuel prices to African poverty and global warming amid doubts about how much the annual diplomatic pageant can achieve.

AFP - British police arrested a man on Saturday in connection with the murder of two French students found brutally stabbed to death in a burnt out London flat.

AP - Venus Williams beat sister Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her fifth Wimbledon title and seventh Grand Slam championship.

Reuters - A film secretly taken by a Zimbabwe prison guard and smuggled out of the country shows the extent of the rigging that took place for the June 27 presidential run-off vote, the Guardian said on Saturday.

Reuters - Venus Williams survived a fierce onslaught from Serena Williams to win her fifth Wimbledon singles title on Saturday, finally subduing her younger sister 7-5 6-4.

AP - Chris Duhon verbally agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks on Friday, the point guard and his agent told The Sporting News.

AFP - Former Liverpool star Harry Kewell on Saturday signed a two-year contract with Turkish champions Galatasaray, describing his move as a "new chapter" after five injury-stricken years at Anfield.

AP - Alejandro Valverde of Spain has won the first stage of the Tour de France.

AP - The blasts returned to Coors Field on Friday night, long before the fireworks.