KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai inched closer to a  first-round victory as more results came in from an election  last month marred by accusations of fraud.

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama’s top aides said yesterday he still wants a government insurance option in  healthcare legislation but they left room for a compromise that  could disappoint his liberal backers.

URUMQI, China - Nerves remained raw in China’s far western  city of Urumqi, in turmoil over a wave of reported syringe  attacks, and a small band of protesters again called on the  region’s top official to step down.

SEOUL – North Korea’s pursuit of a second path to nuclear  weapons by enriching uranium is a problem likely to persist and  Pyongyang needs to come clean about its intentions, a U.S. envoy  for the reclusive state said yesterday.

LIBREVILLE - Security forces clashed with gangs of  protesters in Gabon’s oil hub Port Gentil overnight in a third  day of unrest since a disputed election brought the son of the  late leader Omar Bongo to power, a resident said.

JERUSALEM – Israel will in the next few days approve  construction of some 500 new settler homes in the occupied West  Bank before a possible settlement freeze demanded by Washington,  a defence ministry official said yesterday.