Russia president criticizes ruling party over vote

By IRINA TITOVA

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday sharply criticized officials in the ruling Kremlin-backed party for manipulating recent regional votes, saying it must learn to win fairly.

New Nov 21, 2009 | 5:45 am

Sentence request for US woman in Italy murder case

By MARTA FALCONI

Prosecutors on Saturday were expected to request life in prison for an American student and her former boyfriend accused of killing a young British woman in Italy.

Nov 21, 2009 | 2:45 am

Bangladeshi mom wants twins to stay in Australia

By JULHAS ALAM

The mother who gave up conjoined Bangladeshi newborn twins for adoption said Saturday she is overjoyed the toddlers have been successfully separated and wants them to grow up in Australia.

Nov 21, 2009 | 2:05 am

Chavez praises Carlos the Jackal

By IAN JAMES

Hugo Chavez has defended the alleged terrorist mastermind Carlos the Jackal, saying the Venezuelan imprisoned in France was an important "revolutionary fighter" who supported the cause of the Palestinians.

Nov 20, 2009 | 11:55 pm

Argentina forces dirty war orphans to provide DNA

By MAYRA PERTOSSI

Valuing truth over the right to privacy, Argentina's Congress has authorized the forced extraction of DNA from people who may have been born to political prisoners slain a quarter-century ago _ even when they don't want to know their birth parents.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:30 pm

Afghan police are weak link in security force

By ELENA BECATOROS

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.

Nov 20, 2009 | 2:10 pm

6 world powers press Iran on nuclear issue

By SLOBODAN LEKIC

Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute.

Nov 20, 2009 | 1:45 pm

Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates may kill them

By DAVID STRINGER

A British couple being held hostage by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday that they fear they will be killed or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom is not paid soon.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:35 pm

The new EU chiefs: Rompuy-pumpy and Cathy Who?

By JILL LAWLESS

Catherine Ashton: International woman of mystery.

Nov 20, 2009 | 10:40 am

Russian ship frees itself from ice in Antarctic

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 Friday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 9:50 am

Researcher says text proves Shroud of Turin real

By ARIEL DAVID

A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth.

Nov 20, 2009 | 8:20 am

Downbeat Dell weighs on world markets

By PAN PYLAS

World stock markets fell Friday amid mounting concerns about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery following a disappointing earnings update from computer maker Dell Inc.

Nov 20, 2009 | 7:15 am

Suicide bomber kills 16 in western Afghanistan

By KATHY GANNON

A suicide bomber killed 16 people and wounded at least 23 others Friday in a busy city square in western Afghanistan, while near Kabul a powerful former warlord narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, officials said.

Nov 20, 2009 | 5:40 am

Peruvian police: Gang killed people for their fat

By ANDREW WHALEN

Police say a gang in the Peruvian jungle has been killing people and draining fat from the corpses to sell on the black market for use in cosmetics, although medical experts say they doubt a major market for fat exists.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:10 am

AP NewsBreak: China holds, mistreats US geologist

By CHARLES HUTZLER

Sometime into his long detention by China's feared state security agents, American geologist Xue Feng had something to show U.S. consular officials on their monthly visit. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the burns where his interrogators pressed lit cigarettes into his arm.

Nov 19, 2009 | 8:50 pm

Honduras interim president may take leave for vote

By KATHIA MARTINEZ

Honduras' interim president said Thursday he may step down temporarily to allow voters to concentrate on the upcoming presidential elections.

Nov 19, 2009 | 8:40 pm

Obama answers questions from top Cuban blogger

By WILL WEISSERT

President Barack Obama has answered questions submitted by a celebrated Cuban blogger, saying he isn't interested in "talking for the sake of talking" with Raul Castro and indicating he won't visit the island until the communist government changes its ways.

Nov 19, 2009 | 8:35 pm

Experts say radical measures won't stop swine flu

By MARIA CHENG

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.

Nov 19, 2009 | 8:25 am

Behind missed Gitmo deadline: No one wants jailees

By BEN FOX

President Barack Obama is now confirming what many have long suspected: He will miss his January deadline to close the Guantanamo prison _ partly because he cannot persuade other nations to take the detainees.

Nov 19, 2009 | 5:20 am

1 conjoined twin talking after separation surgery

A Bangladeshi toddler separated this week from her conjoined twin sister was talking and behaving normally Thursday after waking from a medically induced coma, the head of the surgery team said.

Nov 18, 2009 | 10:35 pm