NATO airstrikes, clashes kill 25 Afghans

NATO airstrikes, clashes kill 25 Afghans (AP)

AP - Taliban militants attacked police posts in southern Afghanistan, triggering NATO airstrikes that left 25 civilians dead, including three infants and the local mullah, a senior police officer said Friday.

Worst disaster for firefighters since 9/11

S.C. warehouse fire kills 9 firefighters (AP)

AP - Fire swept through a furniture warehouse, collapsing the building's roof and claiming the lives of nine firefighters in a disaster the mayor described Tuesday as "difficult to fathom or quantify."

NoKor fires missile - Sokor

South Korea: North Korea fires missile (AP)

AP - North Korea fired a short-range missile toward waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, a South Korean intelligence official said Tuesday, amid signs of progress in ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Olmert begins US visit to bolster Abbas

Israel's Olmert begins U.S. visit to bolster Abbas (Reuters)

Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began a U.S. visit on Sunday saying he considered a new emergency Palestinian government shorn of Islamist Hamas a partner for peace negotiations.

New cabinet

Abbas swears in new Palestinian cabinet (AFP)

AFP - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas swore in his new cabinet on Sunday, further sealing the divide sparked by Hamas's bloody takover of the Gaza Strip, where fears of a humanitarian crisis are mounting.

35 killed in Kabul bus bomb

35 killed in Kabul bus bomb attack (AP)

AP - An enormous bomb ripped through a police academy bus at Kabul's busiest transportation hub Sunday, killing at least 35 people in the deadliest insurgent attack in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Hundreds flee Hamas-run Gaza

Hundreds flee Hamas-run Gaza (Reuters)

Reuters - Hundreds of Palestinians fled Hamas-controlled Gaza by land and sea on Saturday to the West Bank where President Mahmoud Abbas prepared to swear in a new government that will bring an end to a U.S.-led aid embargo.

Bush to veto big spenders

Bush: Will veto big spenders (AP)

AP - President Bush warned Congress on Saturday that he will use his veto power to stop runaway government spending.

In control

Newsvine - Get Smarter Here

Palestinian militants from Hamas stand at the desk of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas inside Abbas' personal office after it was taken over by Hamas in fighting in Gaza City, early Friday, June 15, 2007. Fatah forces collapsed under the...

Complete Story...

Hamas fighters and looters control Gaza

Hamas fighters and looters control Gaza (Reuters)

Reuters - Islamist Hamas fighters and looters ransacked the blood-spattered Palestinian presidential compound in Gaza on Friday as their leader ordered an end to reprisals against their routed, Western-backed Fatah rivals.

Hamas takes offense

Hamas on offensive as Palestinians battle in Gaza (Reuters)

Reuters - Hamas Islamist gunmen pressed on with their Gaza offensive on Wednesday, killing eight fighters loyal to Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas in a Palestinian supremacy struggle escalating steadily into civil war.

Gaza close to civil war

Deadly fighting drives Gaza closer to civil war (AFP)

AFP - Gunmen from rival Palestinian factions fought street battles on Tuesday in a new surge of deadly violence that threatens to topple the government and drive the territory closer to civil war.

Grenade fired at home of Palestinian PM

Grenade fired at home of Palestinian PM (AP)

AP - A rocket-propelled grenade hit the home of the Hamas prime minister Tuesday, while his fighters captured several positions from the rival Fatah movement and threatened to step up the offensive. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused his Hamas rivals of staging a coup and called for a cease-fire.

Bush to push Immigration bill

Bush to push immigration bill at Capitol (AP)

AP - President Bush, wading deeper into an issue that bitterly divides his party, hopes a personal appeal to fellow Republicans at lunch Tuesday can save his immigration bill.

Palestinian infighting flares in Gaza

Palestinian infighting flares in Gaza (AP)

AP - Gunmen fired at the house of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas early Monday and warring factions threw militants to their deaths from high-rise buildings, in a dangerous escalation of infighting in Gaza.

Iran upbeat on more talks with US on Iraq

Iran upbeat on more talks with US on Iraq (AFP)

AFP - Iran said on Sunday it was prepared to "view positively" the prospect of new talks with the United States over Iraq, if the Baghdad government believes it is necessary.

What a show

AP INTERVIEW: Chavez connects with poor (AP)

AP - The Toyota 4Runner pulled to a stop on the country road and a tinted window rolled down. Passers-by gawked, then broke into a run, screaming "president!" when they realized Hugo Chavez was at the wheel. "I love you!" cried a middle-aged woman with tears in her eyes, thrusting a fistful of flowers into the car.

GIs trapped after Iraq bridge bombing

GIs trapped after Iraq bridge bombing (AP)

AP - With a thunderous rumble and cloud of dust and smoke, an apparent suicide vehicle bomb brought down a section of highway bridge south of Baghdad on Sunday, wounding several U.S. soldiers guarding the crossing and blocking traffic on Iraq's main north-south artery.

Bush wraps up Euro trip in Bulgaria

Bush wraps up European trip in Bulgaria (AP)

AP - President Bush faced fresh questions about U.S. plans to build an Europe-based missile defense system on Monday from Bulgarian leaders, who believe their loyalty in Iraq should be rewarded with the rocket shield.

Taliban fire rockets at Afghan president

Taliban fire rockets at Afghan president (AP)

AP - Taliban militants fired rockets near a school yard where President Hamid Karzai was meeting with local leaders and residents on Sunday in central Afghanistan in an apparent assassination attempt, but no one was hurt, officials and witnesses said.

Bush - Kosovo will get independence

Bush says Kosovo will get independence (Reuters)

Reuters - President George W. Bush said on Sunday the United Nations should grant independence quickly to the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo, and if Russia continued to block it the West would act.

UN Security Council refused to condemn Iran

Security Council refuses to condemn Iran (AP)

AP - The U.N. Security Council refused to approve a statement Friday that would condemn remarks about Israel's impending destruction attributed to Iran's hard-line president because of objections from Indonesia, council diplomats said.

Three-year sentence for preacher's wife

Tenn. wife sentenced in preacher's death (AP)

AP - A woman who killed her preacher husband with a shotgun blast to the back as he lay in bed was sentenced Friday to three years in prison, but with time served could be released on probation in a little more than two months.

Bush visits Pope

Bush visits Pope and Prodi in Rome (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush met Pope Benedict on Saturday and told the pontiff he believed the G8 summit in Germany had been a success.

Putin suggests Iraq for missile shield

Putin suggests Iraq for missile shield (AP)

AP - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that U.S. missile defense interceptors could be located in Turkey, or even Iraq or on sea platforms, offering yet another alternative to an American plan for a missile shield in eastern Europe.

Prober: CIA ran secret jails in Europe

Prober: CIA ran secret jails in Europe (AP)

AP - The CIA ran secret jails in Poland and Romania to interrogate key terror suspects, shackling and handcuffing inmates, keeping some naked for weeks and reducing contact with the outer world to masked and silent guards, a European investigator said Friday.

Fujimori under house arrest

Ex-Peruvian president under house arrest (AP)

AP - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was put back under house arrest Friday, a day after a Chilean prosecutor recommended his extradition to face charges of human rights abuses and corruption in his home country.

Bush signals missile shield to go ahead

Bush signals missile shield to go ahead (Reuters)

Reuters - President George W. Bush thanked Poland on Friday for being ready to host the U.S. missile shield and sent a clear signal he would not scrap the plan in the face of an alternative offer from Russia.

G8 pledges US$60B for Africa, warns Iran and N Korea

G8 pledges 60 bln dollars for Africa, warns Iran and N Korea (AFP)

AFP - The Group of Eight industrial powers ended their annual summit Friday by pledging 60 billion dollars to fight AIDS in Africa and warned Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programmes.

Original Lincoln document found

Original Lincoln document found (AP)

AP - The National Archives has unveiled a handwritten note by Abraham Lincoln exhorting his generals to pursue Robert E. Lee's army after the battle of Gettysburg, underscoring one of the great missed opportunities for an early end to the Civil War.

Stem cell bill passes, faces new veto

Stem cell bill passes, faces new veto (AP)

AP - The Democratic-controlled Congress passed legislation Thursday to loosen restraints on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, but the bill's supporters lacked the votes needed to override President Bush's threatened veto.

Veto fight on stem cells

Democrats push veto fight on stem cells (AP)

AP - Congressional Democrats are spoiling for their second veto fight of the spring with President Bush, this one centered on embryonic stem cell research and its disease-fighting potential.

Costa Rica breaks relations with Taiwan in favor of Mainland

Costa Rica breaks relations with Taiwan (AP)

AP - President Oscar Arias announced Wednesday that Costa Rica has broken diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established relations with China, delivering a blow to the Asian island's fragile international standing.

Bush: Russia not our enemy

Bush says Russia "not our enemy" (AFP)

AFP - President George W. Bush insisted Tuesday that Russia had nothing to fear from a planned US missile shield in Central Europe, and invited Moscow's skeptical military brass to inspect the system.

Israeli tank in Gaza Strip

Newsvine - Get Smarter Here

An Israeli tank maneuvers along the the border of Gaza Strip with Israel Tuesday, June 5, 2007. Israeli tanks and infantry pulled out of the southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday, halting the largest ground operation in the area in months. (AP Photo/...

Complete Story..

Bush defends missile defense shield

Bush defends missile defense shield (AP)

AP - President Bush and the Czech Republic's leaders on Tuesday defended plans to base part of a U.S. missile shield here despite fierce opposition from Russia.

Wind power by 2030

Wind to make 20 percent of power by 2030: advocates (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. wind power industry will see half a trillion dollars of investment by 2030 to take the renewable source up to 20 percent of U.S. electricity generation, an industry conference heard on Monday.

23 days in jail

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton arrives at the Metropolitan Branch ...

(AFP/File) - Hotel heiress Paris Hilton arrives at the Metropolitan Branch Courthouse in Los Angeles, May 2007. Hilton, known for her non-stop partying and high-society romps, has surrendered herself to prison authorities to begin serving a 23-day jail sentence for violating her probation.(AFP/File/Gabriel Bouys)

Cracks on climate as G8 leaders meet in Germany

Cracks on climate as G8 leaders meet in Germany (Reuters)

Reuters - Leaders from the world's major industrialized nations will try to paper over deep divisions on global warming and a range of foreign policy issues when they meet on the Baltic coast this week for a G8 summit.

Fighting continues in Lebanon

Newsvine - Fighting Continues in Lebanon Camp

Lebanese army soldiers from navy commandos units, stand alert as they prepare to replace another unit at the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared during clashes with fighters from the Fatah Islam militant group, in the northern city of Tripoli, Saturday June 2, 2007. Lebanon's army suffered more casualties as it pressed ahead with an offensive to uproot al-Qaida-inspired militants, pounding their hideouts in a Palestinian refugee camp with artillery a day after sending tanks and armored vehicles to seize positions in the camp's outer neighborhoods.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Fighting Continues in Lebanon Camp

(AP) White smoke rose from a Palestinian refugee camp Sunday as the Lebanese army resumed its bombardment of Islamic militants holed up there, the third day of a military offensive aimed at crushing the al-Qaida-inspired fighters. After an overnight lull, artillery shelling could be heard in the morning.

But unlike the first two days of the offensive against Fatah Islam when the army targeted areas on the edges of the Nahr el-Bared camp, Sunday's artillery fire was directed at militant positions deep inside the camp, indicating that troops were advancing further inside.

Castro meets with Vietnamese chief

Newsvine - Get Smarter Here

(AP/Newsvine) In this photo released by Cuba's Juventud Rebelde newspaper, Cuba's President Fidel Castro is seen with Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh in Havana, Saturday, June 2,2007.Convalescing leader Fidel Castro received visiting Vietnamese...

Complete Story...

Birkhead's lawyer sues him

Newsvine - Get Smarter Here

Larry Birkhead's former attorney filed a lawsuit against him Tuesday, claiming he didn't pay his legal bills during a paternity dispute involving his and Anna Nicole Smith's baby.

Debra Opri wants to force binding arbitration under the terms of a contract in which she agreed to represent Birkhead in September, according to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court.

2 earthquakes rock China

3 killed, 290 hurt as 2 earthquakes rock China

(Update) At least three persons were confirmed killed, while at least 290 others were injured after two quakes, one of the measuring magnitude 6.2, rocked Yunnan province in China early Sunday (Manila time).

Car plows into DC festival injuring 35

Car plows into D.C. festival; 35 injured (AP)

AP - A woman plowed her car through a crowded street festival Saturday night, injuring about 35 people, including two police officers who drove their motor scooters into her path attempting to stop her, authorities said.

Britain planning Iraq pullout

Britain planning Iraq pullout within a year, focus on Afghanistan (AFP)

AFP - British military chiefs are preparing to withdraw troops from Iraq within 12 months in order to concentrate on Afghanistan, The Sunday Telegraph said citing a senior military official.

Bomb plot at JFK airport foiled

US authorities foil plot to blow up New York's JFK airport (AFP)

AFP - US authorities said Saturday they foiled a terrorist plot to bomb fuel tanks and pipelines at John F. Kennedy airport, averting an explosion they said would have also devastated large portions of the nearby Queens neighborhood.

Violence at G-8 protest in Germany

Violence mars G-8 protest in Germany

ROSTOCK, Germany - Buses and trains from across Europe streamed into the northern port city of Rostock on Saturday, bringing thousands of protesters to the largest-yet demonstration over the upcoming G-8 meeting of industrialized powers.

Battle rages on

Newsvine - Get Smarter Here

Smoke billows from heavy shelling in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon Saturday, June 2, 2007. The Lebanese army pressed ahead with an offensive to uproot al-Qaida inspired militants, pounding their hideouts in Nahr el-Bared with artillery, a day after sending tanks and armored vehicles to seize positions in the camp's outer neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Battle Rages in Lebanon Refugee Camp

(AP/Newsvine) The Lebanese air force on Saturday joined tanks and artillery in pounding Islamic militant hideouts on the second day of an intensifying offensive to uproot al-Qaida-inspired gunmen barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp.

A French-made Gazelle helicopter fired two missiles and directed machine gun fire at suspected militant hideouts on the western edge of the Noah el-Bared camp near the Mediterranean coastline, in an apparent attempt to block any sea escape route.

US eases tone on Chine

U.S. eases tone on China, Beijing agrees to hotline (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates played down concerns about China's military build-up on Saturday, signaling a shift in the Pentagon's tone intended to ease tensions and draw Beijing toward more transparency.

***Cocka-doodle-dee!

A surveillance photo

A surveillance photo released Wednesday, May 23, 2007, by the ...

(AP) - A surveillance photo released Wednesday, May 23, 2007, by the FBI shows masked gunman, at left, pointing his weapon inside the Illinois Service Federal Savings and Loan during a robbery, in this file photo from May 22, 2007, on Chicago's South Side. Two suspects have been arrested in a South Side bank robbery that exploded into gunfire, leaving a teller dead and two other people seriously wounded, a federal spokesman announced Friday June 1, 2007. (AP Photo/FBI, HO-File)

NW Florida braces for storm

Tropical storm threatens northwest Fla. (AP)

AP - Tropical Storm Barry was headed to northern Florida early Saturday and a tropical storm warning remained in effect for a stretch of the state's northwestern coast.

NW Florida braces for storm

Tropical storm threatens northwest Fla. (AP)

AP - Tropical Storm Barry was headed to northern Florida early Saturday and a tropical storm warning remained in effect for a stretch of the state's northwestern coast.

Scuba in Eiffel

Eiffel Tower hosts scuba diving lessons (AP)

AP - The weather was nippy and overcast and the water just chest-high, but a new scuba-diving pool in Paris has something Bali, Belize and other diving hotspots don't: a terrific view of the Eiffel Tower.