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NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Poor machine maintenance blamed for fire at Akron business
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Indians add 7 players to 40-man roster
Body with gunshot wounds found in Canton Township creek
Man charged with raping, killing N.C. girl, 5
Union president says Akron saved only $21,000 with firefighter layoffs
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Sick Pets Get High-tech Health Care
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Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Dealing with the Irish disappointment
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Preview — Akron vs. Bowling Green
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Hey, somebody's gotta stick up for the Browns
Kent State Sports:
Kent State @ Temple | Preview
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Washington Wizards
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Attention Haters, Palin And Hannity Together
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Muslim McCarthyism & Death Prayers
Akron Law Café:
NEW- Case Law on Google!
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Norma asks if Barkitecture is still at Stan Hywet.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
International News
Fingers, tooth said to be Galileo's are found
ROME: A Florence museum says two fingers and a tooth believed to belong to Galileo Galilei have been found and will go on display next spring.
Pakistan demands U.S. share Afghan blueprint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan expressed fear today that a large increase in foreign troops in Afghanistan could push militants across the border into its territory and called on the U.S. to factor in that concern as part of its new war strategy.
Russian ship frees itself from ice in Antarctic
MOSCOW: A Russian ship reached open water off Antarctica after struggling through a huge mass of sea ice for days, a Russian shipping company and a British travel agency said today.
Italian prosecutor: American student hated murder victim
PERUGIA, ITALY: An American student accused of fatally stabbing her British roommate in Italy had a growing hatred for the victim and killed her in retaliation during a drug-fueled sex game, a prosecutor contended today in closing arguments at her murder trial.
Afghan police are weak link in security force
KABUL: Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home.
Gunman opens fire on Pacific island Saipan; 5 dead
SAIPAN, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS: A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan today, first at a shooting range and then at a World War II historical site, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said.
Researcher says she found text on Shroud of Turin
A Vatican researcher claims she has found a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin and says the discovery proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth.
Karzai vows Afghanistan will be freed of corruption
President calls for tight security so foreign troops can go home
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: For his critics, President Hamid Karzai's inaugural speech Thursday struck all the right notes — sober pledges to get tough on corruption and strengthen his own security forces so foreign troops can start going home. The question now is whether he has the will and ability to deliver.
World news briefs - Nov. 20
U.N. says more children in school and fewer dying
UNITED NATIONS: Twenty years after the U.N. adopted a treaty guaranteeing children's rights, fewer youngsters are dying and more are going to school — but an estimated 1 billion still lack services essential to their survival and development, UNICEF said today.
Nation gives soldiers onions, garlic to ward off swine flu
CHISINAU, MOLDOVA: Moldova's army is feeding its soldiers onions and garlic to help them ward off swine flu.
Afghan president sworn in to second 5-year term
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated today for a second term, pledging that Afghanistan will prosecute corrupt officials and control its own security within five years.
U.S. soldier prime suspect in fatal Japan hit-and-run
TOKYO: Japanese police identified an American soldier today as the prime suspect in a fatal-hit-and-run accident on the southern island of Okinawa and asked the U.S. Army to bring him in for further questioning.
Experts say radical measures won't stop swine flu
LONDON: Health experts say extraordinary measures against swine flu — most notably quarantines imposed by China, where entire planeloads of passengers were isolated if one traveler had symptoms — have failed to contain the disease.
Obama says U.S., allies discussing Iran sanctions
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Showing impatience with Iranian foot-dragging, President Barack Obama said today that the U.S. and its allies are discussing possible new penalties to bring fresh pressure on Iran for defying international attempts to halt its contested nuclear program.
Iraq faces delay of national vote
Vice president wants key part of election law amended by parliament
BAGHDAD: Iraq's path toward political stability after years of war threatened to veer off course Wednesday when a vice president vetoed part of a key election law, a move likely to delay a national vote slated for January.
World news briefs - Nov. 19
Troubled Afghan president to start second term today
His speech expected to address corruption, urge insurgents to lay down weapons
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Under intense pressure to fix his corrupt government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought to strike a balance in his second inaugural speech today: Answer international demands for reform while appeasing his political allies who returned him to power.
Defiant Israelis break ground
Demands from Europe, U.S. not halting project
JERUSALEM: Israel broke ground on a housing complex for Jews in east Jerusalem on Wednesday, brushing off President Barack Obama's criticism that construction in the disputed part of the holy city undermines efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks.
U.S. ship repels pirate attack
Vessel Maersk Alabama uses guns, sound blasts to escape Somali hijacking off the Horn of Africa
NAIROBI, KENYA: Guards aboard the Maersk Alabama used guns and a sound blaster Wednesday to repel the second pirate attack in seven months on the U.S. vessel.
Ship attacked in April when captain held hostage repels second pirate attack
NAIROBI, KENYA: Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama today for the second time in seven months and were thwarted by private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship who fired off guns and a high-decibel noise device.
Iran rejects U.N.-proposed nuclear deal
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran's foreign minister today said his country would not export its enriched uranium for further processing, effectively rejecting the latest U.N. plan aimed at preventing Tehran from building nuclear weapons.
Obama sets sights on climate accord
President hoping deal at summit next month leads way to solution
BEIJING: President Barack Obama, with China's leader at his side, lifted his sights Tuesday for a broad interim accord at next month's climate conference that he said will lead to immediate action and ''rally the world'' toward a solution on global warming.
World news briefs - Nov. 18
Iran says U.N. watchdog has cleared nuclear program
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran's nuclear envoy denied today that the U.N. inspectors' tour of its recently revealed uranium enrichment site has turned up any evidence that the Islamic republic is seeking nuclear weapons.
Obama, Hu vow cooperation but produce few deals
BEIJING: President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao promised a determined, joint effort to tackle climate change, nuclear disarmament and other global troubles yet emerged from their first full-blown summit today with scant progress beyond goodwill.
Twins joined at head successfully separated
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: A team of 16 surgeons and nurses successfully concluded 25 hours of delicate surgery today to separate twin Bangladeshi girls who had been joined at their heads, sharing blood vessels and brain tissue.
Ship with 100 tourists aboard stuck in Antarctic ice
MOSCOW: A Russian icebreaker carrying over 100 tourists, scientists and journalists on a cruise around Antarctica has become stuck in the ice but is not in danger, a shipping company said today.
World news briefs - Nov. 17
Food summit falls short of U.N. funding appeal
Pope Benedict XVI says waste is ''no longer acceptable'' when people are hungry
ROME: Pope Benedict XVI decried the steadily worsening tragedy of world hunger on Monday after a global summit rebuffed a U.N. call to commit billions of dollars a year for a new strategy to help poor countries feed themselves.
U.S.-China talks on world stage, Obama says
President speaks pointedly of nation's Internet controls at student town-hall meeting
BEIJING: President Barack Obama declared Monday the world is urgently watching for a ''meeting of the minds'' between the U.S. and China as he meets with President Hu Jintao on the globe's biggest issues — climate change, economic recession, nuclear proliferation and more.
Afghan civilians die in rocket attack
Tribal council meeting with French general likely target of blast
TAGAB VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN: Rockets slammed into a market northeast of Kabul on Monday, killing 12 civilians but missing their presumed target: a meeting between France's top general in Afghanistan and dozens of tribal elders and senior local officials.
Iran is far along on plant, agency reports
Once-secret site stirs questions of others outside IAEA oversight
VIENNA: Iranian construction of a previously secret uranium enrichment site is at an advanced stage, with high-tech equipment already in place at the fortified facility ahead of its 2011 startup, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report Monday.
12 Afghans dead in attack targeting French general
TAGAB VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN: Insurgents fired two rockets today into a crowded market northeast of Kabul where the head of French forces in Afghanistan was holding a meeting with tribal elders. The attack killed 12 Afghan civilians and wounded at least another 38, the French military said.
Obama prods China to take global role on climate
BEIJING: Aiming beyond mere rivalry, President Barack Obama declared today in his first visit to China that the U.S. and the Chinese carry a ''burden of leadership'' as he meets with President Hu Jintao to confront climate change, nuclear proliferation and other urgent global problems. Economic and trade tensions shadowed their talks.
Brazil leader blames blackouts on short-circuit
SAO PAULO: Brazil's president says last week's massive blackouts in Latin America's largest nation were caused by a short-circuit in a transmission tower. But President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says it's unclear how the short-circuit happened.
Carter defends his handling of Iran hostage crisis
CHIANG MAI, THAILAND: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said today he had no regrets about his handling of the Iran hostage crisis more than 30 years ago, saying he didn't attack the country as his advisers proposed because thousands of people would have died.
Czech, U.S. officials discuss missile defense
PRAGUE: The Obama administration hopes the Czech Republic will play an important role in a reworked U.S. missile defense plan, a top American official said today.
Clinton says U.S. expects more from Afghan leaders
Focus on battling corruption, she explains, means civilian aid will be harder to get
WASHINGTON: The United States is limiting its goals in Afghanistan and demanding better accountability from that country's underperforming leader, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday, and she tied additional U.S. civilian help to results from Kabul.
Palestinians go to U.N. to make bid for statehood
Israeli leaders react sharply, saying peace deals threatened
JERUSALEM: A Palestinian drive to ask the U.N. Security Council to endorse a state unilaterally, put forward by a top negotiator Sunday, appeared more an expression of frustration with U.S. and Israeli policies and stalled peace talks than a real effort to go it alone.
World news briefs - Nov. 16
Obama visits China, focuses on strengths
President is expected to seek nation's help, discuss sensitive issues only in private talks
SHANGHAI: President Barack Obama is walking a tightrope on his first trip to China, seeking to enlist help in tackling urgent global problems while weighing when and how — or if — he should raise traditional human-rights concerns.
Iran's first lady speaks
ROME: Iran's first lady made a rare public appearance and — even rarer — a speech at a Rome forum today on the eve of a U.N. summit to fight hunger.
Serb Patriarch Pavle dies
BELGRADE, Serbia: Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle, who called for peace and conciliation during the Balkan ethnic wars of the 1990s but didn't openly condemn extreme Serb nationalism, died today at age 95.
World news briefs
CHINA
Crackdown on conduct
Chinese officials are being told to dump their mistresses, avoid hostess bars and shun extravagances as part of the Communist party's efforts to clamp down on the corruption that is threatening its rule and sullying its reputation. The language of the new morality push, one of countless such campaigns informally under way, is surprisingly bold, often cutting through bureaucratic jargon to make a clear link between moral lassitude and corruption. One statistic trotted out at a recent speech to bureaucrats: 95 percent of officials investigated for corruption were found to be keeping mistresses.
Iran opposition leaders accuse regime of brutality
They say government is worse than the shah
Associated Press
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran's embattled opposition leaders accused the government of becoming more brutal than the shah's regime in Web statements Saturday, and authorities announced a new Internet crackdown aimed at choking off the reform movement's last real means of keeping its campaign alive.
Kenyan project reversing food shortage
Reviving rice paddies provides work to thousands, illustrating how investing in agriculture helps poor
AHERO, KENYA: Joram Abiero remembers it was not too long ago that his neighbors went to bed hungry. Now they and thousands of others in the lowlands of western Kenya are able to get year-round work as farm laborers or earn money from their once-neglected rice paddies. The government's investment in a rundown irrigation project has revived a rural economy that was in the dumps for years.
Obama calling for closer U.S. bond with Asia
Incentive offered to North Korea
TOKYO: President Barack Obama declared today that an era of American disengagement in the globe's fastest-growing region is over and warned that the U.S. and its Asian partners ''will not be cowed'' by North Korea's continued defiance over its nuclear weapons and other provocations.
World news briefs - Nov. 14
NATO forces in Afghanistan may increase
Britain's prime minister rallies support to send up to 5,000 soldiers
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Europe may send 5,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan, Britain's prime minister said Friday — affirming support for the NATO mission as the Obama administration nears a decision on increasing U.S. troop levels.
Russian accused of throwing twins, 8, from eighth-story window
MOSCOW: A Russian military officer has been accused of attempted murder for allegedly throwing the twin 8-year-old daughters of his common-law wife from their eighth-floor apartment, officials said today. Both girls survived the fall.
British toddler hit by friend gets payout
The mother of Jay Jones, who was 3 years old at the time of the attack, told the BBC her son suffered a gash to his head and spent two days in the hospital in 2007 after another toddler hit him 11 times.
U.S. Army says morale down among troops in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON: Morale has fallen among soldiers in Afghanistan, where troops are seeing record violence in the 8-year-old war, while those in Iraq show much improved mental health amid much lower violence, the Army said Friday.
India to move all zoo elephants to wildlife parks
NEW DELHI: All elephants living in Indian zoos and circuses will be moved to wildlife parks and game sanctuaries where the animals can graze more freely, officials said today.
World news briefs
RUSSIA
President looks to future
President Dmitry Medvedev laid out his plan Thursday to move Russia's economy into the modern age and overcome the grim industrial legacy of the Soviet Union. In his annual state-of-the-nation address, he took a few digs at Vladimir Putin, his predecessor and mentor, but made clear that the tightly controlled political system Putin created is there to stay. Medvedev warned the opposition that any attempts to upset the current order will not be tolerated.
Palestinians urge delaying election
Without Jan. 24 vote, Abbas could remain in office indefinitely
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK: Palestinian election officials on Thursday recommended calling off January's presidential vote, a step that could result in embattled President Mahmoud Abbas staying in office indefinitely.
Group: Work half done to clear world of land mines
GENEVA: Significant progress has been made in removing land mines around the world, but the hidden devices killed more than 1,260 people last year, the International Campaign to Ban Land mines said today.
Jewish-American charged with killing Palestinians
JERUSALEM: A Jewish-American extremist charged today with shooting to death two Palestinians and trying to kill others with explosive devices and poison said he had no regrets and was sure God approved of his actions.
China cautions Obama over meeting Dalai Lama
BEIJING: On the eve of President Barack Obama's first visit to Asia, China floated a potentially provocative comparison, likening serfdom in Tibet to slavery in the U.S. — an apparent attempt to gain support for its policies in the Himalayan region.
Brazilians blame weather in blackout for 60 million
Power failure raises doubts about ability to host Olympic Games and World Cup
RIO DE JANEIRO: Heavy rain and strong wind caused blackouts that left nearly a third of Brazilians — 60 million people — in the dark, officials said Wednesday as they scrambled to restore confidence in the country's infrastructure before soccer's 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
Afghan strategy remains in flux
Official says Obama not planning to accept any current options
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
World news briefs - Nov. 12
Hezbollah leader lashes out at Obama
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hezbollah's leader on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of absolute bias in favor of Israel and disregard for the dignity of Arabs and Muslims.
Yemeni rebels say Saudis setting up buffer zone
SAN'A, YEMEN: Saudi Arabia is trying to set up a buffer zone inside Yemen after its week-long offensive against the Yemeni Shiite insurgents along the border, a rebel spokesman said today.
UNICEF says nearly 200 million kids have stunted growth due to lack of food
LONDON: Nearly 200 million children in poor countries have stunted growth because they don't get enough to eat, according to a new report published Wednesday by UNICEF.
South Korea troops on high alert after navy skirmish
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: South Korea warned it was ready to deter any retaliation by North Korea following the two countries' first naval clash in seven years, reportedly deploying two warships to the disputed sea border today.
Brazil blackouts hit up to 60 million, spur Olympic fears
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil emerged today from a widespread power outage that plunged as many as 60 million people into darkness for hours, prompting security fears and concern from residents about another black eye for a country hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.
Missing U.S. soldier's body found in Afghan river
KABUL: Military divers have found the body of a U.S. soldier who disappeared last week along with another soldier as the two tried to recover airdropped supplies from a river in western Afghanistan, NATO said today.
Scientists say new dinosaur species found in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG: A newly discovered dinosaur species that roamed the Earth about 200 million years ago may help explain how the creatures evolved into the largest animals on land, scientists in South Africa said today.
Vatican turns toward the heavens
Church gathers experts to study origins of life and whether it exists elsewhere in the universe
E.T., phone Rome. Four hundred years after it locked up Galileo for challenging the view that the Earth was the center of the universe, the Vatican has called in experts to study the possibility of extraterrestrial alien life and its implication for the Catholic Church.
H1N1 flu is springboard for sick leave
Democrats push bill that requires employers to offer seven days paid
WASHINGTON: Against the backdrop of the H1N1 flu pandemic, congressional Democrats are pushing for emergency sick leave legislation and using the crisis to garner support for a wider-ranging bill, both of which they say would help prevent a more rapid spread of the virus by mandating that employers provide workers paid time off.
World news briefs - Nov. 11
North, South Korea fight at sea before Obama visit
One officer dead, 3 hurt. Some analysts say it was message to U.S. leader
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: The navies of North and South Korea clashed at sea Tuesday for the first time in seven years in what some analysts said was a provocation by the communist nation a week before President Barack Obama's visit to Seoul.
Mexican clergy seek global help as violence grows
MEXICO CITY: Gunmen shoot a priest and two seminary students in the back. Federal police storm a Mass to capture a suspected drug kingpin. Priests pray with the families of murdered men, then face killers in the confessional.
Suicide car bomb kills 24 in northwest Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: A suicide car bomber attacked a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan today, killing 24 people and illustrating militants' growing willingness to target civilians in their war against the government.
Brazil college backs down on mini-dress expulsion
SAO PAULO: Brazil's case of the pink mini-dress that has gone viral on the Internet has left many scratching their heads — how could it be that an outfit, no matter how short, would cause such an uproar in a tropical nation where skimpy clothing and tiny bikinis barely raise an eyebrow?
TV footage shows Afghan insurgents with U.S. ammunition
KABUL: Television footage broadcast today showed insurgents handling what appears to be U.S. ammunition in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan that American forces left last month following a deadly firefight that killed eight troops.
Navies of 2 Koreas exchange fire near border
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: A badly damaged North Korean patrol ship retreated in flames today after a skirmish with a South Korean naval vessel along their disputed western coast, South Korean officials said.
Former Liberian president says U.S. sought to oust him from power
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS: Charles Taylor said today he was indicted for war crimes as part of a U.S. ''regime change'' plan to gain control of West African oil reserves, in a typically defiant performance.
King Tut's tomb set for 5-year renovation project
CAIRO: Egypt and the Getty Conservation Institute announced today a five-year project to restore the Tomb of Tutankhamun, the boy king whose golden mask and artifacts have long awed the world.
World news briefs - Nov. 10
Thousands celebrate unity since fall of wall
Dominoes symbolize toppling of communism in Eastern Europe 20 years ago
BERLIN: Ulrich Sauff and his wife stared at the mammoth domino pieces marking the path where the Berlin Wall once stood and reminisced about life in the barrier's shadow.
Afghan troop surge may begin in January
Officials say Obama will likely send fewer than 40,000 requested
Associated Press
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is nearing a decision to add tens of thousands more forces to Afghanistan, though not quite the 40,000 sought by his top general there, as Pentagon planners work to make room for the influx.
Iran accuses 3 detained Americans of spying
U.S. says hikers stumbled into country, charges are baseless. Tehran expected to put them on trial
TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran on Monday accused three detained Americans of spying, signaling that Tehran intends to put them on trial. The United States responded that the charges are baseless because the hikers strayed across the border from Iraq.
Merkel thanks Gorbachev on Berlin Wall anniversary
BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for making change possible in East Germany as she visited what was once a fortified border crossing today — retracing her steps on the night 20 years ago the Berlin Wall fell.
Iran accuses 3 detained Americans of espionage
TEHRAN, IRAN: A senior Iranian prosecutor accused three Americans detained on the border with Iraq of espionage today, the first signal that Tehran intends to put them on trial.
French police find millions stolen from bank
PARIS: A French prosecutor says investigators have found euro9.5 million ($14.25 million) in cash believed stolen from a Lyon branch of France's central bank, a heist that prompted a nationwide search.
Iraq election assured; U.S. pullout on pace
Parliament approves law letting vote move ahead, probably around Jan. 16
BAGHDAD: Iraq's parliament ended weeks of debate Sunday and passed a long-delayed law paving the way for the planned January election to go forward, sidestepping a crisis that could have delayed the U.S. troop withdrawal.
Germany celebrates day Wall fell 20 years ago
1,000 foam dominoes to be tipped over along the former route that divided Berlin
BERLIN: With concerts and memorials today, Germans will celebrate the day the Berlin Wall came crashing down 20 years ago.
World news briefs - Nov. 9
Afghan leader vows to fight corruption in government
Karzai says other nations share blame. American, two Britons die in combat
KABUL: The embattled Afghan president pledged Sunday that there would be no place for corrupt officials in his new administration — a demand made by Washington and its international partners as they ponder sending more troops to confront the Taliban and shore up his government.
National news briefs - Nov. 8
1SCOTLAND
G-20 economic talks
Finance officials from rich and developing countries pledged Saturday to maintain emergency support for their economies until recovery is assured, but failed to reach a clear agreement to bear the cost of fighting climate change. There was also a mixed reaction among the Group of 20 leading rich and emerging nations to a British-led push to consider a fund for bank bailouts, possibly financed by a tax on financial transactions, to ensure that taxpayers don't bear the brunt of any future rescues.
Mexican coastline braces for Ida
Cancun prepares to shelter thousands of tourists if storm hits resort area
Associated Press
CANCUN, MEXICO: Officials prepared storm shelters along Mexico's Caribbean coast Saturday and told fishing boats and tour operators to return to shore amid warnings that Tropical Storm Ida could become a hurricane as it nears the resort city of Cancun.
U.N. to pull about 200 staffers out of Afghanistan
KABUL: The United Nations says hundreds of its staffers will be pulled out of Afghanistan after the Oct. 28 attack that killed five of its workers.
Caribbean braces for Ida
CANCUN, Mexico: Officials prepared storm shelters along Mexico's Caribbean coast today and told fishermen and tour operators to pull in their boats amid warnings that Tropical Storm Ida could become a hurricane as it nears the resort city of Cancun.
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.
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.
