ALMATY (AFP) - At least 25 people have died after two dams burst in southern Kazakhstan causing massive flooding, Almaty regional government spokesman Ilyas Biyakhmetov told AFP on Friday.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's bloc has a slender lead over its rivals in the mainly Shiite southern Iraqi province of Muthanna, partial election results showed on Friday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama, will delay leaving on his trip to Indonesia and Australia until Sunday March 21, his spokesman said Friday, as the White House battles for health care reform.

LONDON (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy criticised the United States on Friday over bidding rules for a tanker jet contract, saying it was "not the way" for Washington to treat its European allies.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.3 percent in February, despite severe winter storms that hammered large regions of the country, official data showed Friday.