London - Ceremonies took place across Britain and Ireland on Sunday to remember the servicemen and women who lost their lives in armed conflict.

Queen Elizabeth II led Remembrance Sunday events by laying a traditional poppy wreath at the Cenotaph in London's Whitehall.

Remembrance services, which take place on the Sunday closest to November 11, the date of the end of World War I, this year fall two days before the 90th anniversary of the end of that conflict.

Military performances are due to take place in London's Trafalgar Square to commemorate the anniversary.

The war dead were also commemorated in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, as well as in other cities and towns across Britain and Ireland.

Damascus - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday spoke out against the signing of the US-Iraqi security pact, saying the presence of US troops in Iraq posed a threat to stability in the region.

"The presence of occupation forces constitutes a permanent threat to Iraq's neighbours," al-Assad told Arab parliamentarians.

The security deal being negotiated between Baghdad and Washington outlines the future of US troops in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year.

Under the deal, al-Bashar said, Iraq would become "a base for attacks on its neighbours."

Iran has also indicated its opposition to the deal, calling it an "assault on the sovereignty of Iraq."

Istanbul - Villagers in the east of Turkey have slaughtered 44 sheep in honour of the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential election, Zaman daily reported Sunday.

Moscow - Investigators said deadly freon gas killed 20 people on a Russian nuclear-powered submarine Sunday when the fire safety system accidentally kicked in during a sea trial in the Sea of Japan.

It was unclear what activated the fire-extinguishing system and the military has launched further investigations, a spokesman for Russia's top investigatory committee, Sergei Markin, was quoted by news agencies as saying.

The system is designed to discharge the Freon gas coolant, which kills instantly, as the most serious of three safety methods to fight fires aboard.

Damascus - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called into question the seriousness of Israel's efforts to make peace in the Middle East on Sunday, saying the country must prove its intentions by action.

Speaking at a gathering of Arab parliamentarians in Damascus, al- Assad said that Israel's current participation in indirect talks with Syria that are being mediated by Turkey are "just a tactic, not a strategic decision for peace."

Syria and Israel have recently held four rounds of talks through Turkish intermediaries, without significant progress.

Islamabad - Pakistani security forces killed at least 43 militants and lost three soldiers in overnight clashes and airstrikes in the conflict-ridden north-western districts near the Afghan border, officials and media reports said on Sunday.

Up to a dozen insurgents were killed on Sunday when Pakistani aircraft pounded militant hideouts in the restive Bajaur tribal district, a known hub of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

"Jets targeted the positions in Khar and Mamoond areas, killing at least 12 militants and leaving many more injured," a security official said on condition of anonymity.

Successive explosions were reported from the bombed locations, suggesting ammunition caches were also hit, the official added.