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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Sunday President Barack Obama would issue an order reaffirming a ban on using federal funds for abortion in a deal with holdout Democrats that could clear the way for passage of a healthcare overhaul.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles into an al Qaeda and Taliban hideout in northwest Pakistan on the Afghan border on Sunday, killing eight militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

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NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank were buried on Sunday following violence that has exacerbated growing tensions.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Washington's actions contradict its call for friendly ties, a day after a renewed offer of dialogue by President Barack Obama.

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Vatican has to take cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy more seriously, the abbot of a Swiss monastery at the center of an abuse scandal told a Swiss Sunday paper.

PARIS (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's apology to Ireland went further than any other papal statement on child sex abuse by priests, but still fell far too short for many victims of the scandals shaking the Roman Catholic Church across Europe.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday urged Israel to end a three year-long blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and called on Palestinians to heal their political rifts.

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TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliament could finally accede to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's demands for radical subsidy cuts after blocking the plan for months, a senior lawmaker said on Sunday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had informed Washington in writing that Israel would not stop Jewish settlement in and around Jerusalem, setting the stage for a defiant visit to the United States this week.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the House of Representatives neared final passage on Sunday of a sweeping healthcare overhaul that would create the biggest health policy changes in four decades and hand President Barack Obama a landmark victory.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The California governor's race is on track to be the most expensive nonpresidential election in U.S. history, sparking a debate over money and influence that could become the campaign's defining issue.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed two Palestinians who tried to stab a soldier on Sunday, the Israeli army said, in West Bank violence that placed further strain on U.S. efforts to get indirect peace talks under way.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Secularist challenger Iyad Allawi retained a slim lead in Iraq's tight election race after a preliminary count of 95 percent of votes released on Sunday.

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian youth shot by Israeli forces died from his wounds Sunday, Palestinian medics said, the second death from the same incident Saturday that may fuel tensions in the occupied West Bank.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Opposition activists in Thailand rejected a government offer for dialogue on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out dissolving parliament and assigned a junior minister to attend the talks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the House of Representatives said on Saturday they had secured enough support to pass a sweeping healthcare overhaul and would dump a controversial plan to avoid a direct vote on the Senate bill.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the House of Representatives said on Saturday they had secured enough support to pass a sweeping healthcare overhaul and would dump a controversial plan to avoid a direct vote on the Senate bill.

HAVANA (Reuters) - A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck near Guantanamo city in eastern Cuba on Saturday, sending residents fleeing into the streets but a local government official said there were no casualties.