International

Police: Gunmen Kidnap American in North Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Gunmen kidnapped an American man in the northern Somali town of Galkayo on Saturday, officials said.The gunmen surrounded the man's car shortly after the man left the airport, said policeman Abdi Hassan Nur, who witnessed the incident. He said they...

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6.2 Quake Hits off Coast of Southern Mexico
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit off the coast of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas on Saturday, shaking the state from the capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez to Tapachula on the border with Guatemala.The quake, which hit at 12:47 p.m. local time (1:47 p.m....

Appeals Court Refuses to Delay Blagojevich Trial
A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected the latest defense efforts to delay former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impending corruption trial and at least one attorney said the team would take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.The decision appeared to all but wipe out any defense...

Feds Open Criminal Probe of Goldman
Stepping up the pressure on Goldman Sachs two days after its executives were grilled and publicly rebuked by lawmakers, the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of the Wall Street powerhouse over mortgage securities deals it arranged.The criminal inquiry...

In Texas, Fear Follows Mexicans Who Flee Drug War
When black SUVs trail school buses around here, no one dismisses it as routine traffic. And when three tough-looking Mexican men pace around the high school gym during a basketball game, no one assumes they're just fans.Fear has settled over this border town of 1,700, about...

Class-Action Lawsuits Could Cost Toyota $3B-Plus
Toyota owners claiming that massive safety recalls are causing the value of their vehicles to plummet have filed at least 89 class-action lawsuits that could cost the Japanese auto giant $3 billion or more, according to an Associated Press review of cases, legal precedent...

Obama tells climate meeting he came 'not to talk but to act'...

Pakistan's President Under Pressure After Ruling
Pakistan's president faced fresh calls to step down Thursday after the Supreme Court struck down an amnesty that had protected the increasingly unpopular leader and several of his political allies from corruption charges.The decision late Wednesday sharpened political...

Britain Says Livni Welcome Despite Arrest Warrant
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown phoned former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Wednesday to say she is still welcome in Britain, despite a recent attempt by pro-Palestinian activists to have her arrested during a planned visit to London.Livni's office said the...

Report: Pakistan Voids Amnesty Covering President
State-run TV and private channels are reporting that Pakistan's top court has declared that an amnesty that had protected the president from corruption charges is illegal.Wednesday's ruling paves the way for challenges to President Asif Ali Zardari's already shaky rule. It...

Terror Monitor: Tape of Captured US Soldier Due
The Taliban have announced they will release a new video of a U.S. soldier captured in Afghanistan, a U.S-based terrorism monitoring group said Wednesday.SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based terrorist tracking organization, said the media arm of the Afghan Taliban made the...

Taliban Sneak Past Marines in Southern Afghanistan
Only a few hundred American troops are policing the southern border of one of Afghanistan's major smuggling areas, leaving open a vast expanse of desert that the Taliban use to shuttle in weapons and fighters from Pakistan.This dusty hamlet 75 miles (120 kilometers) north...

Iran Says It Test Fired Upgraded Sajjil-2 Missile
Iran announced Wednesday it has successfully test fired an upgraded version of its longest-range, solid-fuel missile which it said is faster and harder to shoot down.State television broke the news in a one-sentence report accompanied by a brief clip of the test.Defense...

Berlusconi Attacker Apologizes to Premier
The man who attacked Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi apologized to him for his "superficial, cowardly and uncontrolled" attack as a judge considered whether he should be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.Massimo Tartaglia, a 42-year-old with a history of psychological...

Israel: British Arrest Warrant Threatens Ties
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected on Tuesday the issuing in Britain of an arrest warrant against Israel's former foreign minister for alleged war crimes, part of a Palestinian campaign against Israeli officials and soldiers.Netanyahu had his top aide tell the...

Plane Seized by Thais Linked to Alleged Smugglers
A weapons-laden cargo plane impounded in Bangkok has links to at least two men accused of global arms trafficking, including one fighting extradition to the U.S. from Thailand, an analyst said Tuesday.The five-man crew of the aircraft that arrived from North Korea four...

Israel: British Arrest Warrant Threatens Ties
An arrest warrant issued in Britain against Israel's former foreign minister was a "diplomatic offense" against the country, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday, warning that attempts in Britain to pursue war crimes charges against Israeli leaders was harming relations between...

Report: Nkorea Ups Limit for Currency Exchange
North Korea raised the amount of old currency that citizens can turn in for new bills after merchants rioted against the rules, a news report said Tuesday.North Korea redenominated its national currency, the won, late last month, limited the maximum amount of old bills that...

Eiffel Tower's First Stairs Sold at Paris Auction
A section of the Eiffel Tower's original staircase has sold for euro105,400 ($154,380) in an auction of Paris memorabilia.The 40 painted iron steps had been estimated at a much lower price, euro50,000-euro60,000. Organizers of the Paris auction say Gustave Eiffel himself...

Hamas Mobilizes Mass Rally in Show of Strength
Hamas mobilized tens of thousands of supporters on Monday for an anniversary rally meant to show the Islamic militant group has not lost support despite Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza a year ago.The crowd responded with chants of "We won't recognize Israel"...

Top US Officer Fears Taliban-Pakistan Militants
America's top military officer expressed concern Monday about the "growing level of collusion" between Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and al-Qaida and other militant groups taking refuge across the border in Pakistan.Adm. Mike Mullen, in Kabul to discuss the upcoming...

Berlusconi in Pain, Will Remain Hospitalized
Premier Silvio Berlusconi is in pain and will remain hospitalized until at least Tuesday with a fractured nose and two broken teeth from an attack by a mentally disturbed man who hit him in the face with a statuette, doctors and aides said.A government official said he...

Iran to Try 3 Americans Who Crossed Iraqi Border
Iran said Monday it would try three Americans jailed since crossing the border from Iraq in July, a step certain to aggravate the U.S. at a time when Tehran is locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear program.Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki did not say when...

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