Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki called for a national dialogue Sunday after President Jalal Talabani said his rivals lacked the votes to oust him, but a protracted political row looked set to drag on.

Opponents of the prime minister have for months accused him of monopolizing decision-making, with a political crisis that began in December worsening in recent weeks with open calls from multiple political parties to withdraw confidence from Maliki's national unity government.

Dozens of Kuwaitis are fighting with the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) after crossing from Turkey, the Gulf emirate's al-Qabas newspaper reported on Sunday, citing the fighters' relatives.

The daily said that "dozens of Kuwaitis have crossed the Turkish-Syrian border with the aim of fighting alongside the FSA against Syrian regime forces."

North Korea Sunday criticized the arrests of two men in South Korea for allegedly collecting military secrets for Pyongyang and accused Seoul of staging a "fascist crackdown.”

A 74-year-old South Korean man surnamed Lee and another with New Zealand citizenship were arrested in May for allegedly collecting information on army equipment capable of disrupting global positioning system (GPS) signals.

Israeli President Shimon Peres urged the international community on Sunday to bolster efforts to stop the bloodshed in Syria, and said he hoped the rebels "will win" their struggle.

In an interview with Israeli public radio, Peres said the "efforts of the international community are insufficient."

France's defense minister arrived in Afghanistan Sunday, the day after an attack that killed four French soldiers and an announcement that France would begin withdrawing troops in July.

Shortly after touching down, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian attended a ceremony to honor the dead soldiers, whose coffins -- draped in flags -- were at Kabul's heavily fortified military airport.

The government of President Bashar Assad is on its "last legs" and has lost control of several cities, the new opposition Syrian National Council leader, Abdel Basset Sayda, told Agence France Presse on Sunday.

"We are entering a sensitive phase. The regime is on its last legs," Sayda said a few hours after he was named as the new SNC president.

France votes Sunday in round one of elections tipped to give Socialist President Francois Hollande the parliamentary majority he needs to steer the country through financial crisis, rising joblessness and a stagnant economy.

Hollande defeated right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy in last month's presidential election and is now calling for voters to turn out en masse to give him the mandate he needs to implement his tax-and-spend program.

At least 25 people were arrested late Saturday after hundreds took to Montreal's streets, protesting against plans to raise tuition fees -- as well as against Canada's hosting of the Formula One Grand Prix.

The march began peacefully, with some of the 500 protesters banging pots and pans and some wearing carnival masks.

A strong 6.0-magnitude quake struck off Taiwan early on Sunday, U.S. seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 70 kilometers (40 miles) and hit around 5 am (2100 GMT Saturday), some 50 kilometers east of Su-ao in the northeastern Yilan county.

A second-half header from striker Mario Gomez was enough to give Germany a 1-0 win over Portugal on Saturday in their opening Euro 2012 match.

After victories both in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 and the third-place play-off at the 2006 World Cup, this was the German's third straight win over Portugal in major tournaments to give Germany a winning start in Group B.