Vladimir Putin will travel to China next week to cement long-standing ties with the world's top energy consumer, the prime minister's first trip abroad since he announced his planned Kremlin comeback.

President Hugo Chavez has said he would return to Cuba within a week for a checkup to "confirm" that "there are no malignant cells" in his body.

Protesters clashed with security staff when they tried to enter a museum in the US capital Saturday, prompting one guard to use pepper spray and leading to at least one arrest, a spokeswoman said.

Chart-toppers, soul singers and three generations of Michael Jackson's family, including his children, celebrated the King of Pop at an energetic tribute concert Saturday, urging fans to focus on the late star's music rather than his death.

At least 17 people were killed and 300 wounded in two days of clashes as Libya's new regime fighters struggled to take full control of Muammer Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, medics said.

A computer virus that captures the strokes on a keyboard has infected networks used by pilots who control US Air Force drones flown on the warfront, according to a published report.

Vandals defaced graves in two cemeteries, one Muslim and the other Christian, with anti-Arab graffiti in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, Israeli police said on Saturday.

China is built on lies and its officials are hypocrites, the Dalai Lama said on today, speaking via videophone.