RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) - A team of medical experts successfully separated Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud on Saturday - the 21st procedure of this type to be performed in the kingdom, the nation's leading surgeon said.

"The twins, almost an hour ago, have been separated for the first time in their lives," said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who also is the Saudi minister of health.

The boys are less than a year old and were brought to the kingdom on February 10.

While the 15-hour delicate surgery has been declared successful, surgeons at the King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh are still in the finishing stages of the procedure, an operation deemed successful, Dr. Al-Rabeeah told CNN.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) - At least one civilian died and four others were wounded when a car bomb in a parked car detonated in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said.

The incident occurred in a commercial area of the Mansour district.

Officials said there also were two roadside bombings in Baghdad that left eight people wounded: six in the southeast neighborhood of Zaafaraniya and two in the southern Dora district.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) - A team of medical experts successfully separated Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud on Saturday - the 21st procedure of this type to be performed in the kingdom, the head surgeon said.

"The twins, almost an hour ago, have been separated for the first time in their lives," said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who also is the Saudi minister of health.

Kristina Yates
CNN
(CNN) - An unemployed woman sits at a computer in a public library in New York. She's not an avid reader, but because it's a way to research job openings and use the Internet for free, she goes to the library.

"It helps me research the different companies and how the different industries work and what's all involved with different industries," said Rebecca Hodges, who's been unemployed for a year.

In times of recession, people take advantage of free services, and the library is among the most popular.

In the past year, libraries across the country have seen dramatic increases in the use of their services, which in addition to free Internet access can include programs such as resume workshops and foreclosure seminars.

From Harmeet Shah Singh
CNN
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) - India has called for a "pause" in the fighting between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil rebels to allow the evacuation of thousands of civilians trapped in the nation's northern war zone.

In a statement issued Saturday, India's external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee, warned that the humanitarian crisis was "building up with every passing day" in Sri Lanka.

Mukherjee referred to the recent rebel offer of a cease-fire as an "opportunity" for the Sri Lankan government to stave off the crisis.

By Al Goodman
Madrid Bureau Chief

MADRID, Spain (CNN) - The Basque separatist group ETA is not running in the Basque regional parliamentary elections Sunday, but the future of the troubled region in northern Spain and the weakened-yet-still-dangerous ETA are utmost on many voters' minds.

Successive Basque votes over the years - to elect the powerful 75-seat regional parliament and the Basque president - are seen as a bellwether of the region's sentiment on how to end decades of ETA violence blamed for more than 800 deaths.

Nearly 1.8 million Basques are eligible to vote. One major poll by the El Pais newspaper predicted a 60 percent turnout, down from the 68 percent in the regional elections four years ago. The polls open at 9 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) and close at 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET). Results are expected late Sunday.

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) - A contractor working for coalition forces died Saturday in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan after an improvised explosive device exploded during a combat reconnaissance patrol, U.S. forces in Afghanistan said.

The person's name and nationality were being withheld until family members could be notified.

Militants have attacked and kidnapped contractors in Afghanistan since the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda began in 2001.

CHINHOYI, Zimbabwe (CNN) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was celebrating his 85th birthday with a lavish all-day party Saturday despite the fact that the country is gripped with an economic and health crisis.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party said it raised at least $250,000 to hold the party in Mugabe's hometown of Chinhoyi, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) outside of the capital, Harare.

Critics of the president say the country is desperate for that amount of money to be spent instead on its citizens, who are suffering from a cholera outbreak, food shortages, and spiraling hyperinflation. On Friday, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai visited a hospital's closed intensive care unit that he said needed $30,000 to resume operating.

Mugabe's birthday falls on February 21 but his party loyalists postponed the celebrations as they were raising money for the event.

"I think it is going to be a great day for the legend and icon whose birthday we are celebrating today here," said Mugabe's nephew Patrick Zhuwawo, one of the fund-raisers for the birthday.

"The country might be having problems, but we need to have a day to honor the sacrifices the president has made for this country."

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) - Iraqi leaders are applauding President Barack Obama's plan to withdraw most U.S. troops from the country by August 2010.

Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi's office released a statement Saturday saying he received a call from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton informing him of Obama's announcement of the withdrawal.

"Mr. al-Hashimi welcomed the American administration's commitment to withdrawing its troops from Iraq according to the agreed-on schedule and stressed that every possible effort should be exerted to increase the readiness of Iraqi security forces and improve their performance," the statement said.

By Manesh Shrestha
For CNN

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) - Authorities said Saturday they have beefed up security near the Chinese Embassy to stop any possible anti-Chinese demonstrations in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight from Tibet.

"The area within 200 meters (218 yards) of the Chinese Embassy visa section has been declared a prohibited area from Friday," Nabaraj Silwal, the chief of the Kathmandu city police, said Saturday. "Rallies, sit-ins and sloganeering will not be allowed within the prohibited area."

The decision comes a day after visiting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue had an hour-long meeting with Nepalese security officials in Kathmandu to discuss prevention of anti-Chinese activities