(NECN/CTV: Vatican City) - The Archbishop of Canterbury held his first talks on Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI since the Roman Catholic church's unprecedented invitation to disaffected Anglicans, with the Vatican saying the two sides still want to press ahead for closer relations.

Archbishop Rowan Williams and Benedict met privately for 20 minutes in what the Vatican called "cordial discussions," as part of what has clearly been a difficult visit by the Anglican leader.

(NECN/APTV: Kabul, Afghanistan) - A rocket landed outside the luxury Serena Hotel in Afghanistan's capital Kabul late on Saturday, wounding two people, the Interior Ministry said.

The heavily guarded hotel regularly houses visiting diplomats, officials and international workers. It has been the target of attacks before, most recently in late October when a rocket slammed into a courtyard.

(NECN/AP/CCTV: Harbin, China) - A gas explosion tore through a state-run coal mine in northern China on Saturday, killing 42 people and leaving 66 others trapped underground as rescuers worked hastily to save them.

China's mines are the world's deadliest, and the blast shows the difficulties the government faces in trying to boost safety in an industry where large state-owned coal mines are considered safer than smaller, private ones.

A total of 528 people were working in the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province at the time of the 2:30 a.m. explosion, the

ST.PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday sharply criticized officials in the ruling Kremlin-backed party for manipulating recent regional votes, saying it must learn to win fairly.

Medvedev's statement marked a rare criticism of the United Russia party led by his predecessor and mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. United Russia is a power base for Putin, who has not ruled out a return to the presidency in 2012.

Speaking before a major party meeting in St. Petersburg also

(NECN/AP/ABC News) - President Barack Obama is touting his recent Asian trip as a way to drum up thousands of jobs back home.

In his radio and Internet address, Obama says "Asia is a region where we now buy more goods and do more trade with than any other place in the world." He says that commerce "supports millions of jobs back home."

The president pitched his trip as a way to reintroduce the U.S. to those trading partners, including China.

Obama says if the United States can increase exports to the

(NECN/AuBC) - Australian fire crews were fighting blazes across the state of New South Wales on Saturday after record-breaking hot temperatures, storms and wild winds on Friday sparked and fuelled a series of bushfires.

A total fire ban was imposed statewide as fires burned in the remote Blue Mountains, the Hawksbury region and the state's northeast.

Remote area firefighting crews were deployed to a two hectare fire in the region.

Water bombing aircrafts worked throughout the day.

(NECN/APTN/SKY) - Flood-stricken towns in northern English braced themselves for more rain on Saturday following the wettest day in history, which killed one police officer, left dozens trapped in their homes and brought down bridges.

Police said they were still conducting a search and rescue operation in the hardest-hit town, Cockermouth, where the water was receding.

Emergency services said more than 200 people were rescued from Cockermouth and about 1000 homes were flooded.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A United Nations committee has approved a resolution urging Iran to stop harassing political opponents in the wake of disputed presidential elections.

Citing Iran's use of torture, stoning and executions following the June 12 presidential election, the General Assembly's human rights committee approved the resolution Friday by a vote of 74-48 with 59 abstentions.

Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee called the resolution "politically motivated" and dismissed claims about the election as "entirely misleading and incorrect."

(NECN/ABC) - She has already been in jail for two years. Now, Amanda Knox is preparing to find out if she will spend the rest of her life there -- a fate her mother says she will not accept.

Knox, along with her former boyfriend Raphaelle Sollecito, is charged with the murder and sexual assault of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in November 2007.

Kercher died from multiple stab wounds...the prosecution says the killer or

killers used a kitchen knife later found at Sollecito's house after a sex

game gone wrong. Her parents and lawyers disagree.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates says warnings that politics could push back Iraqi elections scheduled for January aren't affecting his plans for a troop withdrawal now.

Gates told a Pentagon news conference plans are going ahead for a large U.S. pullout next spring.

Iraqi lawmakers will vote Saturday on how to break a deadlock over a key election law after a vice president vetoed the legislation, causing a crisis that could delay a national vote scheduled for January.

The United States has more than 100,000 troops in Iraq, many of