COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday sacked the national parliament and cleared the way for a national election two months ahead of schedule, his spokesman said.

ROME (AFP) - Pro-goverment militia joined protesters Tuesday to try to storm Italy's embassy in Tehran, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told a Senate hearing.

KABUL (AFP) - Avalanches in a strategic pass through treacherous mountains in northern Afghanistan killed 24 people, with up to 40 people missing and feared dead, the interior minister said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Iran's decision to start enriching uranium to higher levels "heightens doubts on the sincerity" of Iran's nuclear intentions, Russia's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

STRASBOURG (AFP) - The European parliament on Tuesday approved EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso's new cabinet, voting in favour of the team by an overwhelming 488 to 137, with 72 abstentions.