World
UN says world economy will only grow by 1.8 percent
The U.N. says the world economy is "teetering on the brink" of a severe downturn and will grow by only 1.8 percent in 2008.
Security Council wants UN peacekeepers in Somalia
The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday calling for a U.N. political presence in conflict-wracked Somalia for the first time in years and setting conditions for the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers.
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,078
As of Thursday, May 15, 2008, at least 4,078 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
French workers strike in protest of job cuts
Teachers, postal workers and other public servants staged a one-day strike and tens of thousands marched through French cities Thursday, a widespread protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's planned job cuts.
Leader to apologize to Canadian Indians
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will deliver a public apology for a decades-long government policy requiring Canadian Indians to attend state-funded church schools - often scenes of physical and sexual abuse.
Failed Haiti PM nominee lashes out
An international banker whose nomination for Haiti's No. 2 political post was rejected by the lower house of Parliament said Thursday he was hamstrung by corrupt legislators.
Web site: Bin Laden to release Israel message
Osama bin Laden, who has threatened to extend al-Qaida's terror to Israel, will release a new Internet message dealing with Israelis and Palestinians, a terrorism monitoring group said Thursday.
Moroccan court broadens terrorism investigations
A Moroccan court broadened investigations Thursday into two alleged terrorism cells, one accused of supporting insurgents in Iraq and the other of plotting suicide bombings in Casablanca last year.
Feuding Lebanese factions agree to begin dialogue
The Hezbollah-led opposition and U.S.-backed government reached a deal Thursday to end Lebanon's worst violence since the 1975-90 civil war, now that the Cabinet has reversed measures aimed at reining in the Iranian-backed militants.
Canada eyes OTC sale of Plan B `morning-after' pill
Canada's national pharmacy regulation body is recommending that "morning-after" contraceptive pills be sold over the counter.
Clashes lead UN to pull staff from Sudan oil area
The United Nations said Thursday it had evacuated 250 civilian staff from the town of Abyei following three days of clashes in the oil-rich region between Sudan's army and former southern rebels.
Chavez ridicules Interpol report on rebels
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is denouncing as "ridiculous" an Interpol report on documents that Colombia says were retrieved from the computers of slain rebels.
Russia, Georgia joust over talk on Abkhazia base
Tensions between Georgia and Russia got a jolt Thursday when a news agency quoted the head of the Russian air force as saying he favored putting military bases in a breakaway region of this former Soviet republic.
Italy arrests nearly 400 in security crackdown
Italian police have arrested nearly 400 people - mostly foreigners from Romania and North Africa - in a weeklong crackdown on street crime and illegal immigration, authorities said Thursday.
China OKs 4 foreign rescue teams for quake zone
After days of refusing foreign relief workers, China has accepted offers from four countries to send in rescue teams.
Algeria issues rare kidnapping tally
Algeria recorded 115 kidnappings last year "relating to terrorism" or involving demands for ransom, the interior minister said Thursday in a rare public tally of abductions.
Iran calls UN sanctions illegal, offers a proposal for talks
Iran's new offer for international talks touches on a broad range of topics, but fails to address U.N. Security Council calls for Tehran to give up uranium enrichment, according to a copy of the offer obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
UN hopes to send top aid coordinator to Myanmar
The United Nations wants to send its top emergency relief coordinator to Myanmar - if he can get a visa from the ruling military junta.
Survivors from apartment building recount quake
Tang Xiaomin had just left her fourth-floor apartment to buy groceries when the building started crumbling around her. An upstairs neighbor was thrown against the kitchen table and grabbed her purse before rushing out. Another resident, who was expecting a baby, was resting and became trapped.
Long wait for medical care after China quake
After 11-year-old Zhang Jiazhi crawled free of the rubble that remained of his middle school, his parents began a 20-hour ordeal to get medical care for their son, whose arms were crushed to a pulp.