WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain issued a statement of support for resigning Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Saturday, saying she will play a leadership role in the Republican Party and in America.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Organisation of American States was likely to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore President Manuel Zelaya who was toppled in a military coup last weekend.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq Saturday ruled out foreign involvement in its efforts to reconcile rival factions, just after visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden urged Iraqis to do more to bury grievances and stave off renewed conflict.

KABUL (AFP) - Two US soldiers and seven Afghan policemen were killed in separate explosions Saturday, highlighting the level of violence faced by Marines pressing one of the biggest assaults in eight years.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met U.S. troops preparing to mark their Independence Day holiday on Saturday, on the third day of a visit he has used to urge Iraqi politicians to do more to reconcile rival factions.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama urged Americans, who celebrate Independence Day Saturday, to implement broad economic and social reforms, expressing confidence the country will be able to overcome the challenges it is facing.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Sarah Palin, the brash, deeply conservative governor of Alaska who crashed onto the U.S. national political scene last year as the Republican candidate for U.S. vice president, announced abruptly on Friday she was resigning as governor.

KHOST, Afghanistan (AFP) - Two US soldiers and up to 32 militants died in fighting in eastern Afghanistan , as Marines battling in the south pressed one of their biggest assaults of the eight-year war.

MOSCOW (AFP) - President Dmitry Medvedev said he expected the visit to Moscow next week of his US counterpart Barack Obama to open up new prospects for US-Russia relations.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AFP) - Sarah Palin, who sought the US vice presidency in 2008, has announced she is stepping down as Alaska governor, fueling swift speculation of a possible 2012 White House bid.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's interim rulers spurned a demand from the Organisation of American States on Friday to restore leftist President Manuel Zelaya to power and said they would no longer recognise the OAS charter, deepening Central America's worst political crisis in decades.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's interim rulers spurned a demand from the Organisation of American States on Friday to restore leftist President Manuel Zelaya to power, deepening Central America's worst political crisis in decades.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Organization of American States tried to convince Honduras on Friday to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya, but it hit a wall as the country's Supreme Court warned the leftist would be arrested if he came home.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin , the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate in 2008, said on Friday she will resign this month, an unexpected move that could signal a run for higher office.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Organisation of American States tried to convince Honduras on Friday to restore toppled President Manuel Zelaya or suffer a diplomatic sanction from the Western Hemisphere.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has rejected criticism from US President Barack Obama that his thinking is still influenced by Cold War attitudes.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States and its Western allies are sounding out Arab governments to see if they might ease sanctions on Israel if it stopped building Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory, diplomats said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Obama administration is planning to use the National Security Agency to screen Internet traffic between government agencies and the private sector, the Washington Post reported Friday.