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Robbers order bar patrons to empty pockets
Family found dead in Ohio home
Akron man turns himself in after authorities turn up heat
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Sex-toy study at Duke University raises some eyebrows
Akron police follow blood trail to murder suspect
Boy tells 911 operator he shot father in anger
Man appears alive at own funeral
Blogs:
Pets:
Not 101 Dalmations…but close!
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
We interrupt today's entertainment …
Akron Zips:
UA adds Euton, a former Kentucky men's basketball recruit
Tribe Matters:
Tribe makes roster moves
Cleveland Browns:
Lewis doesn't like boycott
Kent State Sports:
Kent State @ Akron | Preview
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Knicks
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Wrestling, bowling teams prepare for season
All Da King's Men:
Bigger And Better Boondoggles
Blog of Mass Destruction:
The Shooter
Akron Law Café:
NEW U.S. Supreme Court Database
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Perfect Weather for an Autumn Drive
Let's Talk Real Estate:
RUMORS: Downtown Restaurant Explosion
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
International News
Britain's Brown gives Afghanistan reform ultimatum
Prime minister threatens to cut support if Karzai doesn't target corruption
LONDON: Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Washington's closest ally in Afghanistan, toughened his tone Friday with this harsh message for the Afghan leadership: Clean up your act — for real this time — or risk a cutoff of support.
World news briefs - Nov. 7
PAKISTAN
Troops target stronghold
The Pakistani army entered the last of three militant strongholds targeted by a major offensive in the northwest on Friday, as gunmen wounded a senior army officer and a soldier in the capital. The operation in South Waziristan, the main Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuary in Pakistan, has sparked a wave of retaliatory attacks that have killed about 300 civilians and security forces in the past month. The shooting in Islamabad was the third such attack in about two weeks.
Honduras power accord dissolves in acrimony
Leadership in limbo as Zelaya and Micheletti engage in political struggle
TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS: They can't both be right. Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says a deal that could have returned him to power is defunct. Roberto Micheletti, who took power after a coup, says the same deal has been successfully accomplished.
U.N. says Americans delaying food aid in Somalia
U.S. government fears needed contributions are going to terrorists
NAIROBI, KENYA: U.N. officials said Friday that the supply of critical food aid to Somalia had been interrupted and that rations to starving people needed to be cut, partly because the U.S. government has delayed food contributions out of fears that they would be diverted to terrorists.
Zelaya: U.S.-brokered pact for Honduran crisis fails
TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said today that a U.S.-brokered pact failed to end a four-month political crisis after a deadline for forming a unity government passed.
2 coalition service members missing in Afghanistan
KABUL: Two NATO soldiers are missing in western Afghanistan from a routine resupply mission, the alliance said today.
World news briefs - Nov. 6
Leader of Fatah eschews election
Abbas' speech leaves room for him to change mind
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK: The Palestinian president said Thursday he does not want to run for another term in the January elections, blaming a stalemate in Mideast peace talks on Israel and the United States.
U.N. rethinking its Afghanistan, Pakistan role
World body moves 600 staffers from danger areas because of recent attacks
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: The United Nations is sending about 600 foreign staff out of the country or into secure compounds because of the deadly Taliban attack on U.N. workers, warning the Afghan government Thursday that international support will wane unless it cracks down on corruption fueling the insurgency.
U.N. relocating about 600 staff after Afghan attack
KABUL: The United Nations said today that it will send more than half its international staff either out of Afghanistan or into more secure compounds following last week's deadly Taliban attack against U.N. workers — the most direct targeting of its employees during decades of work in the country.
Israel accuses Iran of war crime over arms ship
JERUSALEM: Israel's prime minister charged today that Iran's goal was to kill as many civilians as possible by giving Hezbollah what the military said were enough weapons to extend any war against Israel for one month.
World news briefs - Nov. 5
MEXICO
U.S. airman killed in bar
Israel seizes ship with Iranian arms
Government says rockets, missiles and grenades were bound for Lebanon
Associated Press
JERUSALEM: Open crates from a cargo ship seized Wednesday by Israel revealed dark green missiles inside. Containers from the vessel bore writing in English that said ''I.R. Iranian Shipping Lines Group.''
Vetting of Afghan policemen in doubt
Five British soldiers killed in surprise attack
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: The killing of five British soldiers by a rogue Afghan policeman underlines concerns about training and discipline within the ranks and possible insurgent infiltration of a police force that the United States hopes will be its ticket out of Afghanistan someday.
Man appears alive at own funeral
RIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral.
U.S. officials visit isolated Myanmar, meet Suu Kyi
YANGON, MYANMAR: The highest-ranking American diplomat to visit Myanmar in 14 years offered improved relations today if its military regime moves toward democracy, putting into action the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with the isolated country.
Afghan policeman kills 5 British soldiers
KABUL: An Afghan policeman opened fire on British soldiers in the volatile southern province of Helmand, killing five before fleeing, authorities said today, raising concerns about discipline within the Afghan forces and possible infiltration by insurgents.
Clinton says U.S. wants Israel settlement halt 'forever'
CAIRO: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton defended the U.S. stance toward Israeli settlement building to worried Arab allies today, saying Washington does not accept the legitimacy of the West Bank enclaves and wants to see their construction halted ''forever.''
Italian judge convicts 23 in CIA kidnap case
MILAN: An Italian judge today convicted 23 Americans of the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric on a Milan street, in a landmark case involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition program in the war on terrorism.
Iran police, protesters clash at U.S. Embassy rally
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iranian security forces beat anti-government protesters with batons today on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover. The counter-demonstrations were the opposition's first major show of force on Tehran's streets in nearly two months.
Boycotts at climate talks signal rough road ahead
African nations walk out in Spain; GOP absent from debate in Washington
Boycotts on either side of the Atlantic on Tuesday showed just how difficult it will be to clinch an agreement on global warming next month.
World news briefs - Nov. 4
Afghanistan's corrupt powers tough to fight
Bribery, extortion still are common despite promises of change
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai promised to stamp out corruption. The image suggested otherwise. Standing at Karzai's side on Tuesday were his two vice presidents — both former warlords widely believed to have looted Afghanistan for years.
Tokyo train stations use lights to try to reduce rising suicides
Associated Press
TOKYO: Alarmed by a rise in people jumping to their deaths in front of trains, some Japanese railway operators are installing special blue lights above station platforms they hope will have a soothing effect and reduce suicides.
Africans end boycott during U.N. climate talks
BARCELONA, SPAIN: African countries say they are ending a boycott of meetings at U.N. climate negotiations after winning promises for more in-depth talks on greenhouse gas emissions.
North Korea claims to expand arsenal of atomic bombs
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea claimed today that it has successfully weaponized more plutonium for atomic bombs, a day after warning Washington to agree quickly to direct talks or face the prospect of a growing North Korean nuclear arsenal.
New video on missing British girl
LONDON: British police today released a new video imagining what missing girl Madeleine McCann would look like now, at age six, and urged Internet users to spread the pictures as widely as they can.
WHO: Syphilis boom in China is driven by economy
GENEVA: A senior Chinese public health official says the tenfold growth in the number of syphilis cases over the past decade in China has been driven by the country's rapid economic growth.
European court: No crucifixes in Italian schools
ROME: Europe's court of human rights said today the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and education freedoms, prompting an angry reaction from the Catholic Church and government officials in Rome.
North Korea raises threat to get U.S. into direct talks
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea said today it has reprocessed 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods and extracted enough plutonium to bolster its atomic stockpile, raising the stakes in an apparent effort to push the U.S. into direct negotiations.
Tropical storm kills 23 in Vietnam
HANOI, VIETNAM: Tropical Storm Mirinae unleashed severe flooding in parts of central Vietnam, killing 23 people, leaving two missing and stranding families on rooftops, disaster officials said today.
Senior U.S. officials visit Myanmar
YANGON, MYANMAR: The United States embarked on a new policy of engagement with Myanmar's military government today, sending two senior diplomats for the highest-level visit in more than a decade.
Clinton urges restraint in push for Mideast peace
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today urged Arabs and Israelis to set aside their historical differences, avoid inflammatory rhetoric and recommit to attaining a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
New vaccine offers hope in Africa's malaria battle
SIAYA, KENYA: A mother watched with dread as a nurse inserted a tube in her baby's head. Blood streamed into the anemic 4-month-old who already has malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills a million African children every year.
Obama presses leader for Afghan reforms
Confirmed President Karzai urged to take on rampant corruption, drug trade
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Monday admonished President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan that he must take on what U.S. officials have said he avoided during his first term: the rampant corruption and drug trade that has fueled the resurgence of the Taliban.
Iran asked to clarify response on nukes
Proposal would export most enriched uranium to process it for fuel
UNITED NATIONS: The head of the U.N. nuclear agency urged Iran on Monday to clarify its response amid mixed signals over a U.S.-backed proposal that would have Tehran ship most of its nuclear material abroad for processing.
World news briefs - Nov. 3
Clinton tweaks comments on settlements by Israelis
Secretary of state responds to Arab criticism of plan to restrict building
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO: In the face of Arab criticism of the administration's recalibrated Mideast peace tack, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton moderated her praise Monday for Israel's offer to restrain building settlements in Palestinian areas.
Iran sends mixed signals on enrichment plan
VIENNA: Iranian officials sent mixed signals on a plan that would have Tehran ship out most of the material it would need to make a nuclear weapon, with the foreign minister saying today that option still exists and a senior diplomat suggesting the opposite.
13 injured when German soldier's car hits troops
BERLIN: A soldier drove his car into a group of soldiers on a German army base before dawn today, injuring 13 people, a military official said.
EU seeks clear U.S. position on climate change
STOCKHOLM: European Union leaders want President Barack Obama to clarify the U.S. position on climate change as they meet in Washington this week.
Afghan election commission declares Karzai winner
KABUL: Afghanistan's election commission proclaimed President Hamid Karzai the victor of the country's tumultuous ballot today, canceling a planned runoff and ending a political crisis two and a half months after a fraud-marred first round.
Rescue under way after boat sinks off Australia
SYDNEY: An Australian military plane dropped an inflatable life raft Monday to survivors clinging to wreckage of a boat that was carrying dozens of apparent asylum seekers when it sank in the Indian Ocean far from shore. Up to 11 were still missing, and one person was confirmed dead.
Clinton moderates statement on Israeli settlements
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today moderated her praise for Israel's offer to restrain, but not stop, building settlements in Palestinian areas, but said it still falls short of U.S. expectations.
U.S. Navy says American cargo ship evaded pirate attack
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA: The U.S. Navy says an American-flagged cargo vessel has escaped a brush with armed pirates off the coast of East Africa.
Citing fraud, Karzai rival steps aside before runoff
Obama administration seems to accept Afghanistan outcome after power-sharing idea fails
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai effectively secured a second term Sunday when his only challenger dropped out of the race, and the Obama administration said it was prepared to work with the incumbent to combat corruption and confront the Taliban insurgency.
World news briefs - Nov. 2
Clinton statue unveiled in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Kosovo: Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton today for the unveiling of an 11-foot statue of him on a key boulevard that also bears his name.
Karzai to get second term as Afghan president
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai was effectively handed a second five-year term today when his only challenger dropped out of the race, and the Obama administration said it was prepared to work with him to combat corruption and confront the Taliban insurgency.
Goldman betting on crash, review shows
Investment bank's strategy should be investigated as securities fraud, critics say
WASHINGTON: In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting.
Karzai's rival may boycott vote
Abdullah demands Afghan president agree to his conditions to avoid greater fraud
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai's challenger plans to call for a boycott of next weekend's runoff election in an attempt to force the vote's postponement until spring, his campaign manager said — a move that would dim U.S. hopes for a stable Afghan government for months.
World news briefs - Nov. 1
4th typhoon in a month kills 7 in the Philippines
Storm brings hardship to areas still struggling from previous disasters
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: A typhoon battered the Philippine capital and surrounding provinces still reeling from recent flooding, sending residents of one town climbing onto rooftops Saturday to escape rising waters. Seven people died and at least five were missing.
World news briefs - Oct. 31
Pakistanis accost Clinton over aerial drone attacks
They kill bystanders along with terror leaders on Afghan border, civilians say
ISLAMABAD: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was confronted repeatedly by Pakistanis on Friday as she ended a tense three-day tour of the country, chastised by one woman who said a U.S. program using aerial drones to target terrorists amounts to ''executions without trial.''
Iran digs in its heels on nuclear proposal
Country balks at terms of plan to exchange uranium for fuel rods
Associated Press
TEHRAN: Iran insists on simultaneously exchanging its low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel produced overseas, the state news agency said Friday, calling the demand a ''red line'' that will not be abandoned.
Report says women used for Afghan vote fraud
U.N. finds men casting ballots for female relatives
Associated Press
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: One man cast 35 votes for female relatives. Others lugged in sacks full of voting cards they said were from women. And in a village of just 250 people, 200 women supposedly voted in three hours.
Stimulus program credited with 650,000 jobs
Government says U.S. is on track to meet its goal of 3.5 million next year; teaching spots lead list
WASHINGTON: Nearly 650,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan, the government said Friday, and the White House declared the nation on track to meet the president's goal of 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year.
World news briefs - Oct. 30
Clinton attempts to sway Pakistani public opinion
Secretary of state asks why bin Laden and others haven't been caught
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday pressed her one-woman blitz on Pakistani public opinion, bluntly challenging the country to defend its territory from an onslaught by religious extremists and asking why Pakistan's powerful military was unable to find Saudi-born terrorist Osama bin Laden.
Russia hopes nuclear ship will fly humans to Mars
MOSCOW: Russia should build a new nuclear-powered spaceship for prospective manned missions to Mars and other planets, the nation's space chief said today.
Iraq arrests security officials over Baghdad blast
BAGHDAD: Iraq announced the arrests of dozens of military and security personnel today over Baghdad suicide bombings that killed 155 people, trying to calm public outrage at the government's apparent inability to protect its people ahead of January elections and the pending U.S. troop withdrawal.
U.S. soldier killed in Kuwait accident
KUWAIT CITY: The U.S. military says an American soldier has been killed in an accident in Kuwait. The brief statement says the accident, which took place today, is under investigation. There were no further details.
Somali pirates take British yacht couple ashore
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Somali pirates who hijacked a British couple's yacht brought them to a fishing village on shore Thursday, a fisherman said.
Shots fired accidentally on U.S. ship in Polish port
WARSAW, POLAND: A U.S. official says an American sailor fired three accidental shots from a machine gun aboard a Navy ship moored in a Polish port. No one was injured.
World news briefs - Oct. 29
Car bomb kills 100 at Pakistan market
Attack aims to undercut army offensive support
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: Suspected militants exploded a car bomb in a market crowded with women and children Wednesday, killing 100 people and turning shops selling wedding dresses, toys and jewelry into a mass of burning debris and bodies.
Crowded Londoners face grave decision
Cemeteries suggest being buried with strangers
LONDON: So you think London, population 8 million, is crowded with the living? There are many millions more under the soil of a city that has been inhabited for 2,000 years. And London is rapidly running out of places to put them.
Five U.N. workers killed in attack at Afghan hotel
Staffers scramble over roofs to escape gunbattle with Taliban militants
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: There was no way out for Miles Robertson, working in Afghanistan as a U.N. elections adviser. He was awakened by gunfire and feared he and his wife would be taken hostage.
U.S. contractor says he fought off attack in Kabul
KABUL: Armed with an AK-47, an American contract worker said today he held off militants attacking a guest house in Kabul, allowing about two dozen U.N. election workers to escape.
Afghan president's brother denies getting CIA pay
KABUL: Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president, today denied reports that he has received regular payments from the CIA for much of the past eight years.
Woman dies after being mauled by coyotes in park
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA: Two coyotes attacked a Canadian woman while she was hiking in a national park in eastern Canada, and authorities said she died today of her injuries.
Russian space chief proposes nuclear spaceship
MOSCOW: Russia's space agency is planning to build a new spaceship with a nuclear engine, its chief said today.
Car bomb kills 93 in Pakistani city
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: A car bomb struck a busy market in northwestern Pakistan today, killing 93 people — mostly women and children — as visiting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged U.S. support for Islamabad's campaign against Islamic militants.
Merkel re-elected, sworn in as German chancellor
BERLIN: Angela Merkel was sworn in today for a second term as German chancellor, a month after her party won national elections.
Gunmen storm U.N. guest house in Kabul, 12 dead
KABUL: Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early today, killing 12 people — including six U.N. staff. It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election.
Bombs kill 8 Americans in Afghanistan
October is deadliest month. Service members' vehicles attacked while on patrol
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Roadside bombs — the biggest killer of U.S. soldiers — claimed eight more American lives Tuesday, driving the U.S. death toll to a record level for the third time in four months as President Barack Obama nears a decision on a new strategy for the troubled war.
World news briefs - Oct. 28
Iran to seek changes in U.N.'s uranium plan
France fears leaders want to completely rewrite nuclear deal, warns that agreement 'cannot take forever'
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran will seek ''important changes'' in a U.N.-drafted plan to ship enriched uranium out of the country for processing, state TV reported on Tuesday, raising alarm bells among Western leaders who are pushing the deal in hopes of easing concerns over Iran's nuclear program.
Ex-U.S. diplomat: Russia balks at zero nuke talks
MOSCOW: Russia is not ready to agree to a proposed new round of arms control talks that were to begin after a deal is reached on extending the START 1 nuclear treaty, a U.S. nuclear expert said today.
8 U.S. troops die; new deadliest month in Afghan war
KABUL: Eight American troops were killed in two separate bomb attacks today in southern Afghanistan, making October the deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban.
Experts: Tigers fast dying out despite campaigns
KATMANDU, NEPAL: The world's tiger population is declining fast despite efforts to save them, and new strategies are urgently needed to keep the species from dying out, international wildlife experts said today.
Japan warship collides with commercial vessel
TOKYO: A Japanese navy destroyer has collided with a commercial vessel off southern Japan, starting fires on both ships and injuring one crew member, defense officials said today.
Church of Scientology convicted of fraud in France
PARIS (AP) — A Paris court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud and fined it more than $900,000 today but stopped short of banning the group as prosecutors had demanded.
42 militants killed as Pakistan presses offensive
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's army pushed deeper into a Taliban sanctuary close to the Afghan border today, claiming to have killed 42 militants in the latest stage of an offensive against extremists blamed for relentless attacks in recent weeks .
U.S. losses rise as 14 die Monday
14 deaths make for deadliest day in Afghanistan since '05. Hostile fire not suspected in crashes
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: A U.S. military helicopter crashed Monday while returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans, including three DEA agents in a not-so-noticed war within a war.
U.S. deaths reach 14 in one day
Two helicopters crash for deadliest American toll in Afghanistan since '05. Hostile fire not suspected
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: A U.S. military helicopter crashed Monday while returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans, including three DEA agents in a not-so-noticed war within a war.
World news briefs - Oct. 27
Iraq sustains worst attack in years
Government offices hit by car bombs; 147 dead, 721 hurt
BAGHDAD: Two suicide car bombings Sunday devastated the heart of Iraq's capital, killing at least 147 people in the country's deadliest attack in more than two years. The bombs targeted two government buildings and called into question Iraq's ability to protect its people as U.S. forces withdraw.
Activist shot dead in southern Russia
Human-rights defender is third killed in region
NAZRAN, RUSSIA: A prominent opposition and rights activist in Russia's southern province of Ingushetia was shot dead Sunday in at least the third killing of a human-rights defender in the volatile North Caucasus region in just over three months.
U.N. inspectors visit Iran site
Team will sample soil, see blueprints, talk to employees at nuclear facility
TEHRAN, IRAN: U.N. inspectors entered a once-secret uranium enrichment facility with bunker-like construction and heavy military protection that raised Western suspicions about the extent and intent of Iran's nuclear program.
World news briefs - Oct. 26
Violent clashes break out at Jerusalem's holiest site
Palestinian protesters hole up in Al-Aqsa mosque for hours; 18 arrested
JERUSALEM: Israeli police firing stun grenades faced off Sunday against masked Palestinian protesters hurling stones and plastic chairs outside the Holy Land's most volatile shrine, where past violence has escalated into prolonged conflict.
Vatican to open talks with traditionalists
VATICAN CITY: The Vatican begins talks Monday to bring breakaway traditionalist Catholics back under its wing, nine months after the pope created an uproar by rehabilitating one of their bishops despite his denial of the Holocaust.
India says it won't restrict Dalai Lama
CHA-AM, Thailand: Tibet's exiled Dalai Lama is an ''honored guest'' in India and will not be barred from visiting a disputed border area, despite China's protests, India's prime minister said today after talks with the Chinese premier.
World news briefs - Oct. 25
Pakistan army seizes Taliban stronghold
Militant chief's hometown falls after dayslong battle; official says some insurgents fleeing
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: Pakistani soldiers captured the hometown of the country's Taliban chief Saturday, a strategic and symbolic initial prize as the army pushes deeper into a militant stronghold along the Afghan border. An army spokesman said the Taliban were in disarray, with many deserting the ranks.
Taliban threaten Afghans if they vote in Nov. 7 runoff
Karzai says no to power-sharing deal. Abdullah backers urge ouster of top three election officials
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Taliban militants threatened Afghans with violence Saturday if they vote in the Nov. 7 runoff presidential election, as President Hamid Karzai's campaign ruled out any power-sharing deal to avoid another ballot.
Two trains collide in Egypt, killing 25
Police say 55 others injured in accident just outside of Cairo
CAIRO: A passenger train collided with the back of a second one just outside of Cairo on Saturday, destroying several passenger cars and killing at least 25 people, a police official said.
Merkel chooses coalition partners
German chancellor picks center-right government, may face challenges with foreign, defense policies
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday announced a center-right government with her new coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats, saying it would ''bravely solve the problems that are lying ahead of us.''
World news briefs
1WEST BANK
Election date set
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday his government would hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 24, regardless of whether it reaches a power-sharing deal with the rival militant Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip. Hamas criticized the announcement, deepening the rift between the Islamic group and Abbas' secular Fatah movement, which have led dueling governments in Gaza and the West Bank for the past two years. The split has complicated efforts at Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Pakistan army seizes Taliban stronghold
Militant chief's hometown falls after dayslong battle; official says some insurgents fleeing
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: Pakistani soldiers captured the hometown of the country's Taliban chief Saturday, a strategic and symbolic initial prize as the army pushes deeper into a militant stronghold along the Afghan border. An army spokesman said the Taliban were in disarray, with many deserting the ranks.
Taliban threaten Afghans if they vote in Nov. 7 runoff
Karzai says no to power-sharing deal. Abdullah backers urge ouster of top three election officials
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Taliban militants threatened Afghans with violence Saturday if they vote in the Nov. 7 runoff presidential election, as President Hamid Karzai's campaign ruled out any power-sharing deal to avoid another ballot.
Two trains collide in Egypt, killing 25
Police say 55 others injured in accident just outside of Cairo
CAIRO: A passenger train collided with the back of a second one just outside of Cairo on Saturday, destroying several passenger cars and killing at least 25 people, a police official said.
Merkel chooses coalition partners
German chancellor picks center-right government, may face challenges with foreign, defense policies
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday announced a center-right government with her new coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats, saying it would ''bravely solve the problems that are lying ahead of us.''
Iran misses deadline to take nuclear deal
Country says it will decide next week whether to follow plan to reduce its stockpile of uranium
WASHINGTON: Iran missed its deadline Friday to declare whether it would accept a nuclear deal that would ship much of its uranium to Russia for processing, but said a decision would be announced next week.
World news briefs - Oct. 24
NATO endorses general's Afghan strategy
Defense ministers wait to commit more troops for counterinsurgency until U.S. reveals plans
WASHINGTON: Top NATO officials suggested Friday that they support Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal's call for a bigger counterinsurgency strategy in that war, but said they may send more troops only after they know how the United States intends to proceed there.
Japan official wants U.S. base to stay on island
Foreign minister says it should be relocated to new site on Okinawa
TOKYO: Japan's new government appeared to bow to intensifying pressure from visiting top U.S. military officials, saying Friday it supports keeping a major U.S. Marine airfield on the southern island of Okinawa.
World news briefs - Oct. 23
SOMALIA
Militants attack airport
Mortars fired by Islamic militants slammed into Somalia's airport as the president was boarding a plane Thursday, sparking battles that killed at least 24 people when return fire hit residential areas and a market, officials said. A militant leader vowed to avenge the civilian deaths and threatened retaliatory attacks in two African countries that supply troops to the African Union peacekeeping mission stationed in Mogadishu. The president was unhurt and his plane took off safely, police said.
Iran lawmaker rejects nuke deal to ship uranium
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran's deputy parliament speaker today dismissed an internationally backed draft plan to have Tehran ship its uranium abroad for enrichment, the official IRNA news agency reported.
NATO chief calls for perseverance in Afghanistan
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA: Afghanistan is the most complex challenge that NATO has ever undertaken, but the alliance must remain engaged there to prevent the country from turning back into an al-Qaida training ground, the organization's top official said today.
U.S. defense secretary says North Korea still a threat
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: The U.S. defense secretary said today that North Korea continues to pose a grave threat to international peace and pledged to protect South Korea with Washington's full military might, including its nuclear weapons.
WHO to fight deadly outbreak in sodden Philippines
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: The World Health Organization will send an emergency team to help the Philippines fight a bacterial disease outbreak that has killed at least 148 people and sickened nearly 2,000 in and around the flood-hit capital, officials said today.
E-mails: U.S. discussed nabbing Polanski in Austria
GENEVA: American prosecutors closely monitored Roman Polanski in Austria and considered seeking his arrest there days before the director's apprehension in Switzerland, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.
Official: No decision on U.S. base before Obama trip to Japan
TOKYO: Japan is unlikely to make a decision on the planned relocation of a major U.S. Marine airfield before President Barack Obama visits next month, officials said today.
Russian ice-skating bear kills trainer
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN: The director of a circus arena says an ice-skating bear turned on its trainers, killing one and seriously wounding another.
World news briefs - Oct. 22
Iranian envoy supports proposal
But Tehran might reject deal that would send 75% of uranium abroad
VIENNA: A top Iranian negotiator on Wednesday praised a plan that would ship most of his country's uranium abroad for enrichment and limit its ability to build a nuclear weapon. There was no guarantee, however, that Tehran's leaders would accept the idea.
Karzai and challenger consider joining forces
State Department official says U.S. would be open to legitimate power-sharing deal in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON: The United States would be receptive to a power-sharing arrangement between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his election challenger if they agreed to it, Obama administration officials said Wednesday.
Pakistan fights to take Taliban leader's hometown
PARACHINAR, PAKISTAN: Soldiers fought for the Pakistani Taliban chief's hometown today as they pressed an offensive along the Afghan border, while intelligence officials said U.S. missiles hit territory controlled by another insurgent, threatening to undermine deals that keep some militants out of the battle.
Israeli police arrest convicted American pedophile
JERUSALEM: Israeli police say they have arrested a convicted American pedophile who had fled the United States.
Poland ready to accept new U.S. missile defense deal
WARSAW, POLAND: Standing alongside U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Poland's prime minister said today his country was ready to participate in the Obama administration's revamped plan for a U.S. missile defense shield in Europe.
Diplomats: Iran backs deal on enriched uranium
VIENNA: Iranian negotiators today expressed support for a deal that — if accepted by their leaders — would delay Tehran's ability to make nuclear weapons by sending most of its existing enriched uranium to Russia for processing, diplomats said.
Swiss defend Polanski tipoff to U.S.
GENEVA: Swiss officials tipped off the United States and set in motion the arrest of director Roman Polanski last month in his decades-old child sex case, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. Today, a top Swiss official defended the move.
Afghan president faces runoff vote after ballot fraud
Karzai agrees to follow panel's recommendation. Election planned Nov. 7
KABUL: Facing Taliban threats and approaching winter snows, Afghan election officials must now scramble to organize a runoff presidential election on Nov. 7 after a grim President Hamid Karzai bowed to intense U.S. pressure and acknowledged Tuesday that he fell short of a majority.
World news briefs - Oct. 21
Iran sentences academic to 12 years in prison
Iranian-American receives longest term yet for alleged role in protests
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran ignored appeals by Hillary Rodham Clinton and even rock star Sting and sentenced an Iranian-American academic to 12 years in prison Tuesday for his alleged role in anti-government protests after the country's disputed presidential election.
BBC's guest upsets British government
TV show to interview leader of far-right party of white supremacists
LONDON: To the outrage of many Britons, a white-supremacist fringe party riding a wave of electoral success has been invited to participate in a BBC prime-time TV show on politics.
Pakistani university blasts kill 4 students, wound 18
Suicide bombers target Islamic school popular with foreigners in capital
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: Suicide bombers attacked an Islamic university popular with foreigners in Pakistan's capital Tuesday, killing four students in apparent retaliation for an escalating army offensive on a Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold near the Afghan border.
Traditionalists welcomed at Vatican
In surprise move, Vatican allows conservative Anglicans to join Catholic Church while retaining aspects of their liturgy and identity, including married priests
The Vatican is making it easier for Anglicans to convert to Roman Catholicism — a surprise move designed to entice traditionalists opposed to women priests, openly gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions.
Iraq clinic deaths probe depicts troubled soldier
BAGHDAD: An American soldier who is accused of killing five fellow troops at a counseling center in Iraq had been unraveling for nearly two weeks but the U.S. military lacked clear procedures to monitor him or deal with the deadly shooting spree once it began to unfold, a military report found.
Leech leads Australian police to armed robber
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA: A leech found at a crime scene eight years ago led Australian police to a man who admitted robbing an elderly woman in 2001, officials said today.
U.S.: Russia not complying with Georgia war truce
TBILISI, GEORGIA: Russia is not complying with the cease-fire that ended last year's war with Georgia, a U.S. defense official said today, adding that Washington wants international observers in Russian-controlled territories.
Iranian-American academic gets 12 years for unrest
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran has convicted an Iranian-American academic for his alleged role in the post-election unrest in the country and sentenced him to more than 12 years in prison, the state news agency said today.
Afghan election commission orders runoff
KABUL: Afghanistan's election commission has ordered a runoff election for Nov. 7 after a fraud investigation dropped President Hamid Karzai's votes below 50 percent of the total.
Afghan audit shows rampant voter fraud
Karzai to accept findings. Runoff election likely
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Afghan President Hamid Karzai was expected to announce today his acceptance of a U.N.-backed fraud audit reducing his vote in the August election to less than 50 percent, U.S. officials said Monday.
World news briefs - Oct. 20
Pakistan cuts side deal
Anti-American chiefs agree not to join fight between army, Taliban
Associated Press
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, PAKISTAN: Pakistan's army, in the midst of a major new offensive against Taliban militants, has struck deals to keep two powerful, anti-U.S. tribal chiefs from joining the battle against the government, officials said Monday.
Iran pledges reprisals after bombing kills 42
Official accuses U.S., Pakistan and Britain of assisting militants
Associated Press
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran vowed retaliation Monday after accusing Pakistan, the U.S. and Britain of aiding Sunni militants who stunned the Islamic regime with a suicide bombing that killed top Revolutionary Guard commanders and dozens of others.
Hurricane Rick weakens to Category 3 storm
MIAMI: Hurricane Rick has decreased to a Category 3 storm as it swirls off Mexico's Pacific coast but is still a dangerous storm that forecasters say could veer into resorts at the tip of the Baja California peninsula.
Afghan fraud panel voids thousands of Karzai votes
KABUL: Fraud investigators threw out hundreds of thousands of votes for President Hamid Karzai in the country's disputed August election, according to a report released today. The findings set the stage for a runoff between him and his top challenger.
No winner for $5 million African leadership prize
LONDON: In a snub to recent ex-presidents and heads of state in Africa, organizers of a multimillion-dollar annual prize for good governance on the continent said today they had decided not to give out the award this year.
Police stop driver for 15 violations in 11 minutes
GOSSAU, SWITZERLAND: Authorities say an Italian man took reckless driving to new heights in 11 frantic minutes of traffic violations in eastern Switzerland.
Showdown looms over Afghan election
KABUL: The Afghan electoral crisis intensified today as officials responsible for declaring final results from the August presidential ballot refused to accept findings of a U.N.-backed investigative panel that would force a runoff, those involved in the process said.
BRAZIL Police patrol city
BRAZIL
Police patrol city
At least 2,000 police officers patrolled Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and Brazilian officials pledged to host a violence-free 2016 Olympics despite drug gang shootouts that left 14 people dead. A firefight between rival gangs Saturday in a slum injured six and saw a police helicopter shot down and eight buses set on fire. Two officers on the helicopter were among the dead.
Afghan president accused of stalling on fraud report
U.S. says it won't add troops until government becomes stable partner
KABUL: Afghanistan's political opposition accused President Hamid Karzai on Sunday of delaying release of a U.N.-backed investigation into fraud in the August presidential balloting and pressuring election officials to declare him the winner.
Taliban militants vow to defeat Pakistan army
Both sides claim victory as troops battle insurgents near Afghan border
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, PAKISTAN: Pakistani troops and the Taliban fought fierce battles Sunday in a militant sanctuary near the Afghan border, with both sides claiming early victories in an army campaign that could shape the future of the country's battle against extremism.
Bombing in Iran kills five leaders of military group
37 others die, more hurt near Pakistani border. Retaliation is promised
TEHRAN, IRAN: A suicide bomber killed five senior commanders of the powerful Revolutionary Guard and at least 37 others Sunday near the Pakistani border in the heartland of a potentially escalating Sunni insurgency.
Russian supplies land at space station
MOSCOW: A cargo ship has delivered food, fuel, oxygen and other supplies to the International Space Station. Russia's space agency says the unmanned Progress M-03M docked with the orbital station today after a two-day trip from Earth.
World news briefs - Oct. 18
New typhoon threatens Philippines this week
Police urging residents to flee landslide areas
Associated Press
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Police went door-to-door urging residents to leave landslide-ravaged areas of the northern Philippines on Saturday in a ''pre-emptive evacuation'' as a new typhoon loomed after recent back-to-back storms killed more than 750 people, officials said.
Pakistan military begins critical attack on Taliban
Operation to clear out insurgents is expected to last for two months
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, PAKISTAN: Pakistani soldiers attacked militant bases in the main al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border Saturday, launching the most critical offensive yet against insurgents threatening the nuclear-armed country's stability.
Afghanistan election crisis deepening
Karzai resisting pressure to accept fraud rulings. 3 U.S. soldiers killed
Associated Press
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan's election crisis deepened Saturday as President Hamid Karzai resisted international pressure to accept fraud rulings that could force him into a runoff with his main challenger.
Iraq OKs oil deal with BP, partner
British giant returning in consortium to develop prized field near Basra
BAGHDAD: The Iraqi government said Saturday it has approved a contract with a British-Chinese consortium to develop a prized oil field in southern Iraq, a significant achievement for a country that has struggled to attract foreign investors despite its vast natural resources.
Gaza war crimes alleged
U.N. panel calls on Israel, Hamas to probe abuses or face world court
GENEVA: The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Friday to endorse a Gaza war crimes report that calls on Israel and Hamas to investigate alleged abuses, or face possible referral to international war crimes prosecutors.
Man opens fire in Iraq mosque
Shooter kills imam, blows self up after running out of ammunition; 15 die
Associated Press
BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber who hid among the Sunni congregation in a northern Iraqi mosque sprayed gunfire at Muslim worshippers Friday and then blew himself up, killing at least 15 people, including the imam leading prayers, officials said.
Political gridlock in Africa persists
Prime minister abandons Zimbabwe's shared rule
HARARE, ZIMBABWE: Citing the ''persecution'' of a top aide, Zimbabwe's prime minister abandoned — at least temporarily — shared rule with President Robert Mugabe, marking a setback to the country's struggle to emerge from political gridlock, economic collapse and international isolation and sanctions.
National news briefs
BOLIVIA
Honduran talks melt down
A top aide of ousted President Manuel Zelaya said talks to resolve the Honduran political crisis have collapsed. Speaking at a summit of Latin American leaders in Bolivia, Patricia Rodas said the dialogue ''has been definitively broken'' because the coup-installed interim government refuses to accept Zelaya's return to his office.
Pakistan targets Taliban zone
With winter's approach, Army has limited time to mount ground attack
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: The Pakistani military is setting its sights on the Taliban's remote sanctuary after nearly two weeks of big bombings across the country, as hundreds flee the Afghan border region each day before what promises to be the army's riskiest offensive yet.
4 U.S. soldiers killed by blast
U.N. panel finishing probe of election fraud
Associated Press
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: A roadside bomb killed four Americans in southern Afghanistan, the United States said Friday, as a U.N.-backed panel finished most of its investigation into whether the level of fraud in the August presidential election would force a runoff.
9 decapitated bodies found in western Mexico
ACAPULCO, MEXICO: Police have found the decapitated bodies of nine men inside a pickup truck abandoned on a highway in the drug-plagued Mexican state of Guerrero.
Rick becomes hurricane off Mexico's Pacific coast
ACAPULCO, MEXICO: Hurricane Rick was swirling today off Mexico's Pacific coast with winds near 75 mph, and forecasters said it could soon become a major hurricane.
Suicide bomber kills 12 worshippers at Iraq mosque
BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber armed with an assault rifle opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in northern Iraq until he ran out of ammunition and then blew himself up, killing 12 people, police and hospital officials said.
Double bombing kills 13 at Pakistan police station
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: Three suicide attackers, including a woman, attacked a police station in northwestern Pakistan, killing 13 people today while army airstrikes killed a dozen suspected militants in a Taliban stronghold ahead of an expected ground offensive.
5 men found guilty of Australian terror plot
SYDNEY: Five Muslim men were convicted today of plotting Australia's largest terrorist conspiracy as part of a bid to force the government to change its policy on Middle East conflicts.
4 Americans die in Afghanistan blast
KABUL: A U.N.-backed panel has completed most of its investigation into whether the level of fraud in Afghanistan's presidential election will require a runoff, a spokeswoman said today as the U.S. military announced the deaths of four more American troops.
Strong earthquake rocks western Indonesia
JAKARTA, INDONESIA: A strong undersea earthquake caused minor damage and made buildings in Indonesia's capital sway today, but there were no immediate reports injuries.
Baby OK after train hits stroller in Australia
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Police in Australia say a 6-month-old baby has miraculously survived a train hitting his stroller that had rolled onto the tracks.
Insurgents attack police as U.S. urges offensive
Gunmen in Pakistan wear explosives, say jihad will continue
LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Islamist militants launched coordinated assaults on three police compounds in Pakistan's second largest city Thursday, the latest in a wave of attacks by insurgents bringing the war to the country's heartland ahead of an expected offensive against their Afghan border sanctuary.
World news briefs - Oct. 16
Afghan candidate trusts election panel
Challenger could face runoff vote with Karzai after board gives report
KABUL, AFGANISTAN: President Hamid Karzai's top challenger in Afghanistan's intensely contested presidential election said Thursday he had faith that a U.N.-backed commission working to root out fraudulent votes would announce a fair decision within days.
Reports: Russia warns U.S. on missile defense
MOSCOW: Russian news agencies are quoting a top Russian diplomat as suggesting the U.S. should not talk with non-NATO nations about a prospective missile shield.
U.N. says Israel, Palestinians committed war crimes
GENEVA: The U.N.'s top human rights official backed a report today accusing Israeli forces and Palestinian militants of war crimes during their conflict in Gaza last winter.
Gunmen, bombs hit 5 sites in Pakistan, 39 die
LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Teams of gunmen launched coordinated attacks on three law enforcement facilities in Pakistan's second-largest city of Lahore, and car bombs exploded in two cities near the Afghan border today, killing 39 people in an escalating wave of anti-government violence.
U.S. condemns Vietnam's treatment of activists
HANOI, VIETNAM: The United States has condemned Vietnam's recent conviction of nine democracy activists, the arrest of a writer and the expulsion of Buddhist monks from a monastery where they practiced the teachings of a renowned Zen master.
American accused of grabbing his own kids freed in Japan
TOKYO: Japanese police released an American man held for 18 days today, pending an investigation into accusations he snatched his children from his ex-wife.
Auschwitz memorial launches Facebook page
WARSAW, POLAND: The memorial museum at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz has launched a Facebook page, hoping that the popular social networking site will help it reach young people around the globe.
Iraqis' four-year toll estimated at 85,000
Death tally doesn't include 2003 invasion, foreigners or U.S. military casualties
Associated Press
BAGHDAD: Iraq's government said at least 85,000 Iraqis were killed from 2004 to 2008, officially answering one of the biggest questions of the conflict — how many perished in the sectarian violence that nearly led to a civil war.
World news briefs - Oct. 15
U.S., Russia differ on sanctions threat
Moscow's preference for diplomacy with Iran doesn't mean progress can't be made this year
WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's failure to win Russian support for tougher talk on Iran exposed a divide between the two powers on how best to push Iran into accepting limits on its nuclear ambitions.
Lawyers in CIA trial argue for immunity in Italy
MILAN: Lawyers for two high-ranking former CIA operatives in Italy charged in the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric argued today that their clients should be granted diplomatic immunity.
Explorers say North Pole summers to be ice free in 10 years
LONDON: A team of British explorers says that within a decade the North Pole will be virtually ice-free during the summer.
Report: Russia to allow pre-emptive nuclear strikes
MOSCOW: A top Russian security official says Moscow reserves the right to conduct pre-emptive nuclear strikes to safeguard the country against aggression on both a large and a local scale, according to a newspaper interview published today.
Police say 8 killed in Baghdad jewelry store shootout
BAGHDAD: Iraqi police and hospital officials say at least eight people were killed and nine others wounded during a shootout following the robbery of two jewelry stores in Baghdad.
American to stand trial in Myanmar for fraud
YANGON, MYANMAR: A Myanmar-born American jailed for allegedly plotting to incite unrest in the military-ruled country was brought before a court today on charges that carry a sentence of up to 14 years, his lawyer said.
Rev. Moon performs biggest mass wedding in decade
ASAN, SOUTH KOREA: From South Korea to South America, Rev. Sun Myung Moon married tens of thousands of couples in the Unification Church's largest mass wedding in a decade and potentially the last for the 89-year-old leader.
Mussolini paid well as British agent in WWI
LONDON: A historian says Benito Mussolini was well paid as a British agent during World War I. The Guardian newspaper reported today that Peter Martland of Cambridge University discovered that Mussolini was paid 100 pounds a week by Britain in 1917 — equal to about 6,000 pounds ($9,600) today.
Britain sending more troops to Afghanistan
LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered hundreds more troops to Afghanistan today, pledging to bolster the international effort on the condition that Britain's allies also do their fair share to support the war effort.
Government says 85,000 Iraqis killed from 2004-08
BAGHDAD: Iraq says 85,694 people have lost their lives in the country's violence from 2004-2008, in the first official report by the government on the Iraqi death toll since the war began.
Clinton calls for partnership with Russians
MOSCOW: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stressed to Russian university students today that their country's prosperity was dependent on its willingness to cultivate core freedoms, including the freedom to participate in the political process.
U.N. says world hunger on the rise for a decade
ROME: Declining aid and investment in agriculture caused a steady increase in world hunger for more than a decade before the economic crisis pushed the ranks of the hungry to a record 1 billion, a U.N. food agency said today.
World news briefs - Oct. 14
Russia says threats to Iran counterproductive
Foreign minister pushes for negotiations, delivering blow to U.S. hopes for support over new sanctions
MOSCOW: Russia publicly pushed back Tuesday against U.S. efforts to threaten tough new sanctions if Iran fails to prove its nuclear program is peaceful, dealing an apparent setback to President Barack Obama's hopes for Moscow's backing for fresh penalties against Tehran.
Afghan leader defends election vote as victory
August balloting results in limbo; panel probes massive fraud charges
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai acknowledged fraud Tuesday in the still-unresolved August presidential election but defended the vote as a ''victory'' for the Afghan people.
Experts warn glaciers in Indian Kashmir melting
SRINAGAR, INDIA: Indian Kashmir's glaciers are melting fast because of rising temperatures, threatening the water supply of millions of people in the Himalayan region, a new study by Indian scientists says.
UNESCO says drought has forced 100,000 Iraqis from homes
PARIS: Not war but drought has forced more than 100,000 people in northern Iraq to abandon their homes since 2005, with 36,000 more on the verge of leaving, UNESCO said today.
Romanian government falls in confidence vote
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA: Romania's government fell today in a confidence vote in Parliament, with lawmakers saying it has failed to improve the economy after it went into recession following three years of growth.
U.S. pushes Thailand to extradite suspected arms dealer
BANGKOK: A senior U.S. Justice Department official today told Thai officials the extradition of suspected arms dealer Viktor Bout is ''a matter of great importance to the United States.''
Report: More than 1,000 killed in eastern Congo
JOHANNESBURG: More than 1,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 900,000 displaced in eastern Congo by Rwandan Hutu militiamen and Congolese forces since January, humanitarian groups said today.
Market attack shows Pakistani militants' tenacity
Fourth assault in one week kills 41, wounds dozens. Taliban says it's avenging leader's death
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: Militants on Monday launched their fourth assault in a week on strategic targets across Pakistan, this time with a suicide car bombing against a military vehicle in a crowded market in the northwest, killing 41 people and woundingdozens more.
N. Korea reportedly test-fires 5 missiles off coast
Analysts say nation hopes to gain bargaining power ahead of possible talks
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea test-launched five short-range missiles Monday, reports said, in what analysts said was an attempt to improve its bargaining position ahead of possible talks with the United States.
World news briefs - Oct. 13
Security of Pakistan's weapons questioned
Weekend attack on army raises fears of insurgents
ISLAMABAD: An audacious weekend assault by Islamic militants on Pakistan's army headquarters is again raising fears of an insurgent attack on the country's nuclear weapons installation.
World news briefs - Oct. 12
Father Damien, priest of lepers, is now a saint
Thousands of Catholic pilgrims journey to service at St. Peter's Basilica
A 19th-century priest whose courageous work with leprosy patients in Hawaii has been likened to the efforts of those battling the stigma of AIDS was elevated to sainthood Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI.
Pakistan in control of arms, Clinton believes
British leader agrees threat from extremists is high, but nukes safe
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday the Taliban siege of Pakistan's army headquarters showed extremists are a growing threat in the nuclear-armed American ally, but she contended they don't pose a risk to the country's atomic arsenal.
Military's M4 rifles under fire
In wake of Afghanistan attack, some say U.S. soldiers have insufficient weapons
WASHINGTON: It was chaos during the early morning assault last year on a remote U.S. outpost in Afghanistan and Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine had quit firing as militants surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work, either.
Czech president is final obstacle for EU reform treaty
Lone European holdout might delay signing document until next year
PRAGUE: The Irish finally said yes, and the Poles did Saturday, but the EU reform treaty still has a huge hurdle to clear.
Three vehicles explode in Iraq; 19 dead
Bombings in Ramadi disrupt fragile peace in Anbar province
BAGHDAD: A spate of car bombings killed 19 people Sunday in Iraq's western Anbar province, once a hotbed of insurgency that later became a showcase for restoring peace.
Catholic Church adds 5 saints
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI today canonized five new saints, including a 19th-century priest whose work with leprosy patients on a Hawaiian island has been hailed by U.S. President Barack Obama as inspiration to those helping today's AIDS patients.
U.S. envoy leaves Mideast without peace deal
JERUSALEM: Washington's special Mideast envoy wrapped up his latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the region today after again failing to persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks.
Russian spacecraft lands safely in Kazakhstan
MOSCOW: The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two other space travelers landed safely in Kazakhstan today, ending the entertainment tycoon's space odyssey.
World news briefs - Oct. 11
Armenian and Turkish diplomats sign accord
Document's ratification could lead to reopening border after 16 years
Associated Press
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Turkey and Armenia on Saturday signed a landmark agreement to establish diplomatic relations and open their sealed border after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.
Commandos storm Pakistani complex
22 hostages are freed; 3 captives, 4 militants killed in dawn assault
RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN: The Pakistani military said commandos freed 22 hostages held by militants inside army headquarters early today, but three captives died in the dawn raid along with four militants.
Taliban leader has rebuilt Afghanistan insurgency
One-eyed, ill-educated recluse stages comeback after 2001 rout. His movements remain mystery
WASHINGTON: In late 2001, Mullah Muhammad Omar's prospects seemed bleak. The ill-educated, one-eyed leader of the Taliban had fled on a motorbike after his fighters were routed by the Americans invading Afghanistan.
Iraqis demand better living conditions
Fixing infrastructure becomes more important than boosting security forces
Associated Press
BAGHDAD: Hundreds took to the streets Saturday throughout Iraq to demand open elections and improved public services, revealing a growing discontent among Iraqis that is overshadowing concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to take over from withdrawing American troops.
U.S. brings aid to storm victims
Troops distributing supplies in the Philippines as death toll rises; rescuers search for survivors
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: The U.S. military trucked in supplies and marshaled helicopters and Navy ships Saturday as the Philippines struggled with the aftermath of back-to-back storms that have left more than 600 dead.
Obama is weighing Afghan troop levels
President consults top commander, security team about request to increase forces in unpopular war
WASHINGTON: Hours after winning a Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack Obama assembled his war council in the White House basement to talk about how many troops might be needed to right the 8-year-old Afghanistan conflict that military commanders are pressing him to escalate.
Global media leaders call for online usage charges
They want parties who use content without fair compensation to pay up
BEIJING: The message from some of the world's leading news providers at the first Beijing international media summit was clear: It's time to demand payment for online use of content.
World news briefs - Oct. 10
Pakistan planning to launch offensive
Suicide bombing kills 49 at outdoor market; 9 children among dead
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: Pakistan vowed to launch a new offensive against militant strongholds along the Afghan border after a suicide bomber blew up a car near a crowded outdoor market on Friday, killing 49 people in the bloodiest attack to hit the country in six months.
French say physicist, brother tied to al-Qaida
Both men under arrest; scientist has worked at stalled atom smasher
GENEVA: A physicist working at the world's largest atom smasher has been arrested on suspicion of links to al-Qaida, adding to the woes of the $10 billion project that ceased operation a year ago — just days after its celebrated start.
Landslides kill at least 160 in northern Philippines
Heavy rain after back-to-back storms leads to worst flooding in 40 years
Associated Press
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Driving rain on the heels of back-to-back storms triggered dozens of landslides across the northern Philippines on Friday, burying more than 160 people, washing away villages and leaving almost an entire province under water.
World news briefs - Oct. 10
Literature prize won by writer in Europe
Nobel secretary Englund says it isn't a conspiracy; geography to blame for psychological bias
The judges, apparently, could not help themselves. Just two days after a Nobel Prize official worried the literature committee was too ''Eurocentric,'' the winner for 2009 was Herta Mueller, a Romanian-born writer once censored in her native country.
Imelda Marcos' shoe collection saved from floods
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: When a powerful storm inundated the Philippines last month, most people rushed to save their homes or their lives. Employees of one museum, however, grabbed the shoes.
Pakistani government defends U.S. aid bill
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government fought back against army criticism of a proposed multibillion dollar U.S. aid package today, arguing that the military had no reservations about taking such assistance when it ruled the country two years ago.
Van Gogh's letters show method, not madness
AMSTERDAM: While Vincent van Gogh has become almost as famed for his troubled mind as for his paintings, a new exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum seeks to remind us there was more method than madness to his style.
Demjanjuk attorney will appeal case to high court
BERLIN: John Demjanjuk's attorney says he plans to ask Germany's high court to block his trial on charges of being an accessory to the murder of thousands at a Nazi death camp.
Families exiled by Saddam return to Iraq
BAGHDAD: Twenty families who were sent into exile in Iran by Saddam Hussein following a failed uprising almost 20 years ago returned to Iraq today, another sign of Baghdad's warming relations with Tehran.
Powerful typhoon slams into Japan, 2 die
TOKYO: A powerful typhoon tore through Japan's main island today, peeling roofs off houses, cutting electricity to hundreds of thousands and forcing flight cancellations before turning back toward the sea. Two men died.
Italy's premier says he'll defend himself on TV, in courtrooms
ROME: Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said today he will go on TV and appear in courtrooms to prove that corruption and tax fraud charges in two trials against him are false.
U.S. encounters stumbling blocks in training Afghans
LASHKAR GAH, AFGHANISTAN: Even before the American paratroopers entered the Afghan barracks, the lack of discipline was evident: torn screens, trash collecting in the hallways, bedrooms and bushes. The checkpoints were even worse, they said, with used syringes littering the ground.
Herta Mueller wins 2009 Nobel literature prize
STOCKHOLM: Herta Mueller, a member of Romania's ethnic German minority who was persecuted for her critical depictions of life behind the Iron Curtain, won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature today in an award seen as a nod to the 20th anniversary of communism's collapse.
World news briefs - Oct. 8
Cell research wins Nobel
2 Americans and Israeli share chemistry prize for ribosome blueprints
NEW YORK: Two Americans and an Israeli won a Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for creating detailed blueprints of the protein-making machinery within cells, research that's being used to develop antibiotics.
Big dinosaur footprints found in Jurassic park in France
PARIS: Now that's one big foot. Paleontologists in eastern France have reported the discovery of some of the largest dinosaur footprints ever documented, measuring nearly 5 feet in diameter.
Top court overturns Italian premier's immunity
ROME: A top Italian court today overturned a law granting Premier Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution, allowing prosecutors to resume a corruption trial that could increase pressure on him to resign.
U.S.: Insurgents breached base during deadly Afghanistan battle
KABUL: Insurgents who conducted one of the deadliest attacks against American troops in Afghanistan breached the perimeter of a U.S. outpost before being repelled, a U.S. official said today as new details emerged of the battle.
Iranian official accuses U.S. in nuclear scientist's disappearance
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran's foreign minister accused the United States today of involvement in the disappearance of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
2 Americans, 1 Israeli win Nobel chemistry prize
STOCKHOLM: Two Americans and an Israeli scientist won the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry today for atom-by-atom mapping of the protein-making factories within cells — a feat that has spurred the development of antibiotics.
Ex-president Carter seeks to rid Caribbean of malaria
OUANAMINTHE, HAITI: Former President Jimmy Carter is visiting Haiti and the Dominican Republic to urge their leaders to forge a pact to rid the island of Hispaniola of malaria.
French envoy calls for substantial nuclear talks
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: The French special envoy on North Korea said today there should be ''real and concrete discussions'' if international talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programs resume.
World news briefs - Oct. 7
U.S. leery of direct talks on N. Korea disarming
Obama administration wants to involve other nations to gain leverage
WASHINGTON: North Korea's suggestion that it may return to nuclear negotiations could open the way to its first talks with the Obama administration, but there are warning signs that the North has no intention of fully disarming.
U.S. troops ramp up Indonesia quake relief
PADANG, INDONESIA: American troops set up a field hospital today and rerouted ships to aid victims of a powerful earthquake that left hundreds of thousands homeless, in their largest relief operation in Muslim-majority Indonesia since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
South African son accused of ordering mom's killing
JOHANNESBURG: South African authorities say police have arrested a man accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill his mother.
Demjanjuk trial in Germany to start Nov. 30
MUNICH: John Demjanjuk's trial on charges of being an accessory to the murder of thousands at a Nazi death camp will begin on Nov. 30, his German lawyer said today.
Iran plans new centrifuges for second enrichment site
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran plans to install a more advanced type of centrifuge at its newly revealed uranium enrichment site, an Iranian newspaper reported today, a development certain to add to international concerns about the country's nuclear work.
Report: 2 million babies and mothers die at birth
JOHANNESBURG: Researchers say that more than 2 million babies and mothers die each year as a result of complications during childbirth.
Swiss reject Polanski's bid for prison release
BERN, SWITZERLAND: The Swiss Justice Ministry says it has rejected an appeal from Roman Polanski to be released from prison pending his possible extradition to the United States.
3 Americans share 2009 Nobel physics prize
STOCKHOLM: Three Americans who created the technology behind digital photography and helped link the world through fiber-optic networks shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in physics today.
World news briefs - Oct. 6
Americans share 2009 Nobel prize
Three professors honored for key discoveries that inspired new lines of research into cancer
STOCKHOLM: Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer.
Bathroom break a ploy to carry out suicide attack
Bomber at U.N. food agency in Pakistan is dressed as security
ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber who killed five staffers at the U.N. food agency's headquarters in Pakistan on Monday was dressed as a security officer and allowed to enter the heavily guarded building after he asked to use the bathroom.
British man gets 18 years in prison for $85 million robbery
LONDON: A British man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in a robbery of about $85 million nearly three years ago.
Suicide bomber kills 5 at U.N. office in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber disguised as a security officer struck the lobby of the U.N. food agency's Pakistan headquarters today, killing five people a day after the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban vowed fresh assaults, authorities and witnesses said.
3 Americans share 2009 Nobel medicine prize
STOCKHOLM: Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine today for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer.
Russia's population falls by 6.6 million since 1993
U.N. report says nation must adapt to shortages
Associated Press
MOSCOW: Russia's population has fallen by 6.6 million since 1993, despite the influx of millions of immigrants, a United Nations report said today, and by 2025 the country could lose 11 million more people.
Mighty caribou herds dwindle in Yukon Territory
Biologists believe climate is to blame for decrease in animals across tundra
ON THE PORCUPINE RIVER TUNDRA, YUKON TERRITORY: On the endlessly rolling and tussocky terrain of northwest Canada, where man has hunted caribou since the Stone Age, the vast antlered herds are growing thin. And it's not just here.
Afghan fighting claims 8 U.S. soldiers
Attack by insurgents leads to capture of 20 in security forces during outpost battle
KABUL: Hundreds of insurgents armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades stormed a pair of remote outposts near the Pakistan border, killing eight U.S. soldiers and capturing more than 20 Afghan security troops in the deadliest assault against U.S. forces in more than a year, military officials said.
1 million babies born premature die each year
Study shows North America has the second highest rate of early births in the world
They call it kangaroo care: A premature baby nestles skin-to-skin against mom's bare, warm chest. In Malawi, mothers' bodies take the place of pricey incubators to keep these fragile newborns alive.
World news briefs - Oct. 5
U.N. nuclear watchdog sees turning point in Iran
Obama's national security adviser also pleased with level of cooperation
TEHRAN, IRAN: The visiting head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog set Oct. 25 as the date for his inspectors to check Iran's newly revealed uranium enrichment site and struck an upbeat note Sunday, saying Tehran's confrontation with the West is shifting gears to more cooperation and transparency.
Rain slows search for more bodies buried after quake
Fears of fresh landslides force residents, aid workers to flee section of Indonesia
JUMANAK, INDONESIA: Search teams lost hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble left by a massive earthquake, as torrential rains on Sunday held up aid delivery in the remote hills of western Indonesia where several villages were wiped out.
Pope opens Catholic summit on Africa
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI opened a special meeting of clerics about Africa today by praising the continent as a font of spirituality but lamenting that it is afflicted by materialism and religious fundamentalism.
Voters oust Greek prime minister
ATHENS, Greece: Early returns show Greek voters, angered by repeated scandals and a faltering economy, ousted Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis today.
Former Japanese finance minister found dead
TOKYO: A former Japanese finance minister who stepped down after appearing to be drunk at an overseas news conference was found dead in his home today, but police ruled out foul play.
World news briefs - Oct. 4
Iran denies hiding construction, says it reported facility
U.N. analysts believe nation has sufficient knowledge to develop nuclear weapon
From Beacon Journal wire services
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran's president hit back Saturday at President Barack Obama's accusation that his country had sought to hide its construction of a new nuclear site, arguing that Tehran reported the facility to the U.N. even earlier than required.
Afghan policeman fires at U.S. troops, killing 2
The shooting is raising questions about the Taliban's insurgent infiltration
KABUL: An Afghan policeman on patrol with U.S. soldiers opened fire on the Americans, killing two of them before fleeing, officials said Saturday, raising questions about discipline in the ranks of the Afghan forces and possible infiltration by insurgents.
Drought ravages Guatemala's young
Hard-hit region faces severe food shortages; over a dozen kids die
DEVISADERO, GUATEMALA: Victoria Lopez cradles her 2-year-old granddaughter Jennifer, whose chubby cheeks, bloated legs and stunted growth make her look much younger than healthy children her age.
Canada withdraws threat of U.S. supplier boycott
Associated Press
TORONTO: Canada's mayors said Saturday that they are withdrawing their threat to boycott suppliers from the United States in retaliation for Buy American provisions involving U.S.-funded stimulus projects.
Landslides bury Indonesian villages
Lack of electricity, fuel, communication hampers cleanup, medical effort
PADANG, INDONESIA: The death toll from Indonesia's massive earthquake will likely double as officials on Saturday reached rural communities wiped out by landslides that buried more than 600 people under mountains of mud, most of them guests at a wedding celebration.
Windy City's defeat bigger loss for Obama
Some say president trying to do too much
WASHINGTON: OK, so it wasn't health care, climate change or war. Still, President Barack Obama's high-profile failure to win the Olympics for Chicago could feed negative narratives already nipping at his heels — that he's a better talker than closer, more celebrity than statesman.
World news briefs - Oct. 3
IRAQ
Crackdown on insurgents
Hamas swaps video for 19 jailed women
Footage shows Israeli soldier looking thin but healthy as he appeals for release from captors
JERUSALEM: In the first video images since he was captured by Palestinian militants in 2006, Israeli Sgt. Gilad Schalit — looking thin but healthy, his hair freshly trimmed — sent love to his family, appealed for his freedom and held up a newspaper to prove the footage was recent.
Aid workers assisting survivors in Samoa
Many residents afraid to go home as bodies continue to be pulled from ocean
LALOMANU, SAMOA: The relief effort in the tsunami-stricken Samoas entered its fourth day Friday as medical teams gave tetanus shots and antibiotics to survivors with infected wounds and some frightened residents who fled to the hills after the disaster vowed never to return to their decimated seaside villages.
Rescuers search rubble after Indonesian quake
Some survivors have been found; 3,000 missing in remains of buildings
PADANG, INDONESIA: Ratna Kurniasari Virgo lay surrounded by death for 40 hours — trapped with a broken leg between the collapsed walls of her college and the bodies of her dead friends.
Mud rivers flood Sicilian city
Officials blame heavy rains for disaster in Messina; at least 20 dead, hundreds driven from homes
Associated Press
ROME: Rivers of mud unleashed by heavy rains overnight flooded parts of the Sicilian city of Messina, killing at least 20 people, sweeping away cars and collapsing buildings. Hundreds were driven from their homes.
Three Americans killed in Afghanistan
Bomber blasts convoy in southern region. Obama meets general
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: A suicide bomber struck a U.S. convoy in southern Afghanistan on Friday, killing two American soldiers, and military officials announced the deaths of two other international troopers — one American and one Briton — the day before.
Iran makes concessions on nuclear fuel site
Inspection of newly revealed plant allowed; most uranium to go to Russia for processing
GENEVA: Iran agreed on Thursday, in talks with the United States and other major powers, to open its newly revealed uranium-enrichment plant near Qum to international inspection in the next two weeks and to send most of its openly declared enriched uranium to Russia to be turned into fuel for a small reactor that produces medical isotopes, senior U.S. and other Western officials said.
Indonesian quake death toll at 1,100
Thousands missing, thought trapped under buildings. Obama pledges support to country of his childhood
PADANG, INDONESIA: As rescue workers searched for survivors in the wreckage of a four-story school Thursday, Mira Utami's mother clawed away, too — looking for the shoes missing from her daughter's body.
Communist China marks 60 years with tanks, kitsch
Parade showcases military muscle with troops, jets, missile-toting trucks
BEIJING: Jets, tanks and missile-toting trucks thundered through Beijing on Thursday in a show of military muscle to celebrate six decades of communist rule and China's transformation from a war-battered regional player into global economic superpower.
Samoa to hold mass funeral after tsunami
Associated Press
APIA, SAMOA: Convoys of military vehicles brought food, water and medicine to the tsunami-stricken Samoas on Thursday as the death toll rose to 160.
World news briefs - Oct. 2
U.S. commander spells out Afghan difficulties
LONDON: The debate over how best to prosecute the faltering Afghan war effort moved from the White House Situation Room to London today as U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal warned Britain that success is not guaranteed.
U.S., Iran meet directly at nuclear talks in Geneva
GENTHOD, SWITZERLAND: A senior U.S. official has met Iran's top atomic negotiator for face-to-face talks — the first such encounter in years of big-power attempts to persuade Tehran to freeze a program that could create nuclear weapons.
Second quake shakes Indonesia after temblor kills 529
PADANG, INDONESIA: Rescue workers used excavators today to pull out victims, some screaming in pain, from the heavy rubble of buildings felled by a powerful earthquake that killed at least 529 people. The death toll was expected to rise.
British coroner says tumor likely killed girl who had just received cervical cancer vaccine
LONDON: A British coroner says a girl who died after receiving a vaccine against cervical cancer was likely killed by a tumor.
World news briefs - Oct. 1
Indonesia quake collapses hundreds of buildings
200 residents killed in early count; officials fear thousands more dead
JAKARTA, INDONESIA: A disaster management official said at least 200 people were killed Wednesday by a powerful earthquake that struck western Indonesia. Authorities were preparing for the possibility of thousands more dead.
Aid flows to tsunami-hit Samoas
Undersea quake triggers waves in South Pacific. 119 die, death toll rising
APIA, SAMOA: Police in green reflective vests searched a ghastly landscape of mud-strewn streets, pulverized homes and bodies scattered in a swamp Wednesday as dazed survivors emerged from the muck and mire of an earthquake and tsunami that killed at least 119 in the South Pacific.
Hamas agrees to give Israel video of captured soldier for 20 prisoners
Associated Press
JERUSALEM: In a surprise deal announced Wednesday, Hamas will give Israel a videotape providing a first glimpse of a captured Israeli soldier to prove he is alive in return for the release of 20 Palestinian women held in Israeli prisons.
China plans huge parade
60th anniversary of communist rule stirs patriotism and some unease
BEIJING: To mark 60 years of communist rule China put together its biggest-ever military parade: hundreds of thousands of marchers, batteries of goose-stepping soldiers and weaponry from drone missiles to amphibious assault vehicles. Everyone else, though, was asked to stay home.
U.S. and allies prepare for Iran talks, sanctions
Washington may seek rare face-to-face meeting on nuclear activity freeze
GENEVA: The United States and five other world powers go to the table with Iran today to demand a freeze of its nuclear activities, and a senior U.S. official said Washington may seek rare face-to-face talks with Iranian diplomats.
Study ties candy to prison time
Associated Press
LONDON: Children who eat too much candy may be more likely to be arrested for violent behavior as adults, new research suggests.
Box of British leaflets kills Afghan girl
LONDON: Britain's Ministry of Defense has confirmed that a box of leaflets dropped from a British plane killed a girl in Afghanistan.
Peru's Fujimori sentenced to 6 yrs for corruption
LIMA, PERU: A court has sentenced Alberto Fujimori to six years in prison after the jailed former president pleaded guilty to authorizing wiretaps and bribes to politicians, journalists and businessmen.
American arrested in Japan for allegedly kidnapping own kids
TOKYO: An American father on a mission to reclaim his young children in Japan was arrested over their alleged abduction while they were walking to school with his ex-wife, officials said today.
Prosecutor says Italy kidnapping too grave to cover up; 26 Americans on trial
MILAN: The kidnapping of a terror suspect is too grave a crime to be covered up just to protect government secrets, a prosecutor declared today in the trial of 26 Americans and seven Italians charged in the abduction of an Egyptian cleric.
Diplomat says U.S. open to dialogue with North Korea
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Washington's No. 2 diplomat said the U.S. is open to dialogue with North Korea if it helps get international nuclear disarmament talks started again, and urged the regime today to take advantage of the opportunity.
Indonesian quake kills dozens, traps thousands
JAKARTA, INDONESIA: Indonesian officials say at least 75 people have been killed and thousands more trapped under flattened buildings in a powerful earthquake off Sumatra island.
U.S. says Iraq budget shortfall poses security challenge
BAGHDAD: Iraq's budget shortfall due to low oil prices presents a challenge to building up the country's army and raises questions about whether it will be able to protect itself when U.S. troops leave, a top American commander said Wednesday.
West goes to Iran talks and readies sanctions
VIENNA: Even as they prepare for new talks Thursday with Iran on its nuclear program, the U.S. and its allies are contemplating new and tighter sanctions on Tehran, in a clear signal of expectations that the negotiations may again end in failure.
Obama declares major disaster for American Samoa after deadly tsunami
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster for American Samoa, a day after an earthquake sent a massive tsunami toward Samoa and American Samoa, leaving at least 99 dead and dozens missing.
World news briefs - Sept. 30
Hospitals using drive-thrus, tents to manage flu patients
Diversions from emergency rooms can save time, avoid infecting others
Fast-food places have them. Banks and pharmacies do, too. Now hospitals are opening drive-thrus and drive-up tent clinics to screen and treat a swelling tide of swine flu patients.
Waves kill dozens after earthquake
Parks workers missing after Samoan villages swamped by tsunami
PAGO PAGO, AMERICAN SAMOA: Towering tsunami waves spawned by a powerful earthquake swept ashore on Samoa and American Samoa early Tuesday, flattening villages, killing at least 39 people and leaving dozens of workers missing at devastated National Park Service facilities.
Iran's enrichment site carved into mountain
Nuclear facility is built near an elite military base equipped with air defense
TEHRAN, IRAN: In an unusually frank disclosure, Iran's nuclear chief said Tuesday the country's new uranium enrichment site was built for maximum protection from aerial attack: carved into a mountain and near a military compound of the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
7.9 quake hits South Pacific, tsunami alert issued
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa: A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.3 struck in the South Pacific between Samoa and American Samoa around dawn Tuesday, sending terrified residents fleeing for higher ground as a tsunami swept ashore, flattening at least one village. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.
Iran put nuclear site near base in case of attack
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran's nuclear chief said today his country built its newly revealed uranium enrichment facility inside a mountain next to a military site to ensure continuity of its nuclear activities in case of an attack — an unusually detailed disclosure that may be intended defuse international pressure.
2 U.S. troops killed in Philippines blast
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Two U.S. sailors and a Filipino marine were killed today in a roadside bomb believed planted by al-Qaida linked militants, the first American troops to die in an attack in the Philippines in seven years.
Iran will allow Swiss access to detained Americans
WASHINGTON: U.S. officials say Iran has notified the Swiss government that it can have access to three Americans who have been detained in Iran since being arrested for illegal entry in late July.
Police say Taiwan teen chopped off dad's hands
TAIPEI, TAIWAN: A 17-year-old Taiwanese boy has been arrested for chopping off his father's hands, allegedly to avenge years of physical abuse, a police official said today.
British girl dies after cervical cancer vaccine
LONDON: Health officials paused a vaccination program in the English city of Coventry today after a 14-year-old girl died a few hours after being vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer.
30 Afghan civilians killed in roadside bomb blast
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: A bus packed with Afghan civilians hit a roadside bomb near the southern city of Kandahar today, killing 30 people and wounding 39, underscoring the dangers civilians face as the eight-year war turns increasingly violent.
World news briefs - Sept. 29
PUERTO RICO
Detainees up for release
At least 75 Guantanamo detainees have been cleared for release by a task force sorting through the remaining prisoners as part of the Obama administration's effort to shutter the jail, according to a list released Monday by the U.S. military.
Iran tests strongest long-range missiles
Most powerful rockets can reach any place that's deemed threat, nation says
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran tested its longest-range missiles Monday and warned they can reach any place that threatens the country, including Israel, parts of Europe and U.S. military bases in the Mideast.
Australian parents jailed for death of their baby
SYDNEY: A husband and wife were jailed today for the manslaughter of their baby, who died after they chose to use homeopathic remedies rather than conventional medicine to treat her severe skin disorder.
Crash scene overwhelmed by bees in Turkey
ANKARA, TURKEY: A van carrying beehives crashed into a truck today, and huge swarms of bees broke free and stung the injured and rescue workers at the scene.
Filipino actor saves real-life damsel in distress
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: A popular Philippine actress cried out for help from a rooftop as a tropical storm roared and floodwaters rose menacingly. Then an actor emerged from nowhere on a speedboat and swept her to safety.
Iran test-fires missiles to show some muscle
Display of force comes after condemnations from U.S. and its allies about the newly revealed nuclear facility
TEHRAN: Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles Sunday in drills meant to show Tehran is prepared to crush any military threat from another country.
World news briefs - Sept. 28
Swiss officers arrest Roman Polanski for U.S. extradition
Oscar-winning director wanted on 1978 charges of sex with 13-year-old girl
LOS ANGELES: A surprise arrest at the Zurich airport, detention at the hands of Swiss authorities, and a high-profile extradition process that could take weeks or months. The irony is that for Roman Polanski, the acclaimed director accused of child rape three decades ago, this latest ordeal could lead to the one thing he's lacked since: his freedom.
Merkel captures her second term as German leader
New center-right majority bumps main left-wing party out of coalition government
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday won the center-right majority that eluded her four years ago — nudging Europe's biggest economic power to the right as it claws its way out of a deep recession.
U.S. to demand early Iran site survey
Obama will tell Tehran to open newly revealed nuclear enrichment facility to inspectors
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration plans to tell Tehran this week that the nation must open a newly revealed nuclear enrichment site to international inspectors ''within weeks,'' according to senior administration officials. The administration will also seek full access to the key personnel who put together the clandestine plant.
New laws lead Europe to illegally dump trash
Companies exporting waste to poor countries to avoid recycling costs
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS: When two inspectors swung open the doors of a battered red shipping container, they confronted a graveyard of Europe's electronic waste.
World news
GERMANY
Threats hover over voting
Ignoring threats by Islamic militants, Chancellor Angela Merkel and main rival Frank-Walter Steinmeier held their final political rallies Saturday before today's national election, focusing on the key domestic issues of jobs and economic recovery. Two videos surfaced Friday threatening retaliation for Germany's military presence in Afghanistan, and authorities, banned all flights over Oktoberfest until it ends on Oct. 4. The annual 16-day beer festival, which was targeted by a student bomber in 1980, draws some 6 million visitors from around the globe.
American support decreasing for war in Afghanistan
Five more U.S. troops killed in attacks. Death toll hits 214 for year
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Five U.S. troops died in attacks in southern Afghanistan, military officials said Friday, adding to this year's record death toll as American public support is dwindling for operations in the country that once hosted Osama bin Laden.
World news briefs - Sept. 26
SOMALIA
U.S. teen investigated
Violence in north putting military supply route at risk
POL-I-KUMRI, AFGHANISTAN: Growing Taliban influence in northern Afghanistan is threatening a new military supply line painstakingly negotiated by the United States, as rising violence takes hold on the one-time Silk Road route.
Cambodians speak out for war crimes tribunal
Refugees testify about Khmer Rouge atrocities committed during 1970s
LONG BEACH, CALIF.: The tiny Cambodian woman trembled slightly and stared blankly ahead as she told the story that has haunted her for half a lifetime: Her parents and brother died in Khmer Rouge labor camps. Her baby perished in a refugee camp.
G-20 ascends to oversee planet
Global council viewed as better fit for 21st century
PITTSBURGH: For the world, apparently, eight is no longer enough. The G-8 group of powerhouse economies, which expanded from the original G-5 one by one over three decades, stepped off center stage Friday with the ascension of the G-20 into the role of overseeing the global economy. Henceforth, the council of 20 major economies will steer the planetary fiscal ship through its choppiest waters in a generation.
Obama lauds actions on global economy
World leaders agree to keep stimulus programs in place to avoid derailing still-fragile recovery
PITTSBURGH: World leaders on Friday issued sweeping promises to fix a malfunctioning global economic system in hopes of heading off future financial meltdowns. President Barack Obama said actions taken so far ''brought the global economy back from the brink.''
Hondurans pin hopes on vote
Interim leaders say fair election will reinforce democracy in wake of coup
Associated Press
TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS: Honduras' interim leaders are betting the country can vote its way out of a coup, even as presidential candidates struggle to campaign amid nationwide curfews and political turmoil.
Abbas says settlements block relaunch of peace talks
UNITED NATIONS: The Palestinian president tells the U.N. General Assembly that Israel's continued settlement expansion is blocking the resumption of Mideast peace talks.
Bin Laden warns of retaliation against Europe
CAIRO: Osama bin Laden demanded that European countries pull their troops out of Afganistan in a new audiotape today, warning of ''retaliation'' against them for their alliance with the United States in the war.
American claims mistreatment in Myanmar prison
YANGON, MYANMAR: The U.S. Embassy said today it has made a formal complaint to Myanmar's military government after a Myanmar-born American claimed he was mistreated in prison.
Iraq detains 109 in jail break investigation
BAGHDAD: More than 100 prison officials and guards have been detained after 16 prisoners, including five al-Qaida-linked inmates awaiting execution, made a stunning jailbreak in Saddam Hussein's hometown, a police commander said today.
Brazil leader says country should build nuclear arms
BRASILIA, BRAZIL: Brazil's vice president says in an interview published today that his country should develop nuclear weapons. Other officials stressed that his comments were not government policy.
Seattle FBI investigating Somali suicide bombing
NAIROBI, KENYA: FBI agents are investigating whether an American Somali was involved in a suicide bombing on a peacekeeping base in Somalia that killed 21 people, a family friend said today.
Fanged frog, 162 other new species found in Mekong
BANGKOK: A gecko with leopard-like spots on its body and a fanged frog that eats birds are among 163 new species discovered last year in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, an environmental group said today.
New video seeks al-Qaida recruits in Germany
BERLIN: Germany remains on alert after the release of the third al-Qaida message in a week, this time calling on Muslims in Germany to take part in jihad, or holy war, authorities said today.
Giant baby draws spectators to Indonesian hospital
KISARAN, INDONESIA: Indonesia's heaviest-ever newborn drew curious crowds Friday to a hospital where the boy named Akbar — or the Great in Arabic — came into the world at a record 19.2 pounds.
5 U.S. troops killed in southern Afghan attacks
KABUL: Five American troops were killed within 24 hours in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have conducted an unrelenting campaign of bombings and attacks against U.S. and NATO forces.
U.S. says Iran has secret nuclear facility
PITTSBURGH: President Barack Obama and the leaders of France and Britain will accuse Iran at the opening of the G-20 economic summit Friday of building a secret facility to produce nuclear fuel, a senior White House official told The Associated Press.
U.N. backs Obama goal of nuclear disarmament
Major world powers support lofty plans for globe free of atomic weapons
UNITED NATIONS: With President Barack Obama in the chair at an unprecedented meeting of the U.N. Security Council, major world powers on Thursday endorsed his goal of a nuclear-weapons free world and pledged to strengthen the shaky international system for preventing the spread of nuclear arms.
World news briefs - Sept. 25
U.S. diplomat says post-9/11 embassies too fortress-like
WARSAW, POLAND: The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Poland criticized the ''fortress-like'' feel of American embassies built since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, saying today that some are excessively expensive and send an unfriendly message to non-Americans.
Abbas: no return to peace talks at this time
NEW YORK: The Palestinians cannot return to peace talks at this time because of ''fundamental disagreements'' with Israel on what should be on the agenda, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published today.
Al-Qaida-linked inmates break out of Iraq prison
BAGHDAD: U.S. aircraft and Iraqi patrols combined in a massive manhunt today after the escape of 16 prisoners — including five al-Qaida-linked inmates awaiting execution — who apparently crawled through a bathroom window in a makeshift jail on a former compound of Saddam Hussein.
U.S. imposes travel ban on some Kenyan officials
NAIROBI, KENYA: The United States will impose travel bans on Kenyan ministers and other prominent people blocking government reforms aimed at preventing political violence, the American ambassador to Kenya said today.
WHO: Only 3 billion swine flu doses can be made yearly
GENEVA: Pharmaceutical companies will be able to produce about 3 billion doses of swine flu vaccine a year, much less than previously expected, the World Health Organization said today.
New U.N. resolution aims at nuclear-free world
UNITED NATIONS: With U.S. President Barack Obama presiding over an historic session, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a U.S.-drafted resolution today aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons.
26 die in chimney collapse at power plant in India
NEW DELHI: Hundreds of rescuers searched today for at least 20 people still trapped under the rubble of a large chimney that collapsed on workers at a power plant in central India, killing at least 26.
U.S. rejoins nuke-test treaty session 10 years later
UNITED NATIONS: After a 10-year gap, the United States today rejoined a biennial conference designed to win more support — including from the U.S. Senate — for the treaty banning all nuclear bomb tests.
A world first: Vaccine helps prevent HIV infection
BANGKOK: For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible.
World news briefs - Sept. 24
Red dust storm blankets Sydney, grounds planes
Sky turns orange as grit blows in from drought-plagued Australian outback
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Red Outback grit shrouded Australia's largest city Wednesday, blotting out such landmarks as the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge and even reaching underground to coat subway stations. The country's worst dust storm in 70 years diverted planes and produced an eerie orange sky.
Gadhafi lambastes U.N. in rambling speech
Libyan takes floor after Obama, exceeds time limit, talking for 96 minutes on Kennedy, Iraq and more
UNITED NATIONS: Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi read from a small pale-blue copy of the United Nations charter, before tossing it aside and rifling through scrawled notes on yellow notepaper.
