World News: (SERIAL KILLER) Sudan president: I’ll support south if it secedes

• Middle East

Israel focuses its energy on clean technologies

3 hours, 21 minutes ago

(AP) After a successful run of high-tech and computer-related innovation, Israel is focusing its ambitions on the next big thing _ preparing the world for life without coal and oil.Israel is driving to become a world leader in alternative energy, with the government throwing its support to encourage cutting-edge technologies. The …

Asia

Police: Pakistani governor killed in gun attack

3 hours, 45 minutes ago

(AP) Police say the governor of Pakistan’s powerful Punjab province has been killed by his own guard in a gun attack in the Pakistani capital.Police official Mohammad Iftikhar says Salman Taseer was gunned down by one of his elite security force protectors. Five other people were wounded as other security personnel …

Police: Woman fatally stabs lawmaker in east India

3 hours, 45 minutes ago

(AP) A school principal fatally stabbed a Hindu nationalist lawmaker while he was meeting with some of his supporters Tuesday at his residence in an eastern Indian state, police said.Rupan Pathak pulled out a knife hidden in her shawl and stabbed Raj Kishore Kesri, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker, in …

Middle East

Afghan police:1 killed,3 wounded in Afghan bombing

6 hours, 10 minutes ago

(AP) A bomb exploded in central Kabul early Tuesday, killing one police officer and wounding three other people, a government official said, on the one-year anniversary of the country’s constitution.The blast, a rarity in Kabul, served as a grim reminder of the insurgents’ ability to strike at will across the country. …

Asia

Dead fetus found in airplane bathroom in Manila

7 hours, 16 minutes ago

(AP) Police say a dead fetus has been found in the bathroom of a plane that arrived in the Philippine capital. The gruesome discovery comes months after a woman gave birth on another flight to Manila and dumped the live infant in an airplane trash bag.Aviation police investigator Marcelino Peninoy says …

Latin America

5 killed, 10 injured in Guatemala bus fire

7 hours, 56 minutes ago

(AP) Five people are dead and 10 others injured from a fire inside a Guatemalan passenger bus that police say may have been caused by an arson attack.National police spokesman Donald Gonzalez says investigators have not ruled out mechanical causes. But he acknowledges that some witnesses say the bus was attacked.Firefighter …

Asia

Japan PM calls for opening up country, tax debate

9 hours, 43 minutes ago

(AP) The Japanese prime minister said he wants 2011 to be the year Japan opens up to rest of the world and called Tuesday for debate on raising the sales tax to prop up ailing finances as the country’s population shrinks and ages.To revive its economy, Japan needs to embrace free …

Slain Filipino official caught suspect on camera

10 hours, 26 minutes ago

(AP) Philippine police investigating the New Year’s Eve shooting death of a local councilman did not have to look further than the last photograph the victim took. That photo led to the arrest of two suspects.The picture, taken outside the councilman’s house in metropolitan Manila, clearly shows a man aiming his …

Latin America

Argentine thieves tunnel into bank over New Year

12 hours, 1 minute ago

(AP) Thieves dug a 100-foot-long (30-meter-long) ventilated and lit tunnel from a neighboring building into an Argentine bank and emptied the contents of up to 140 safety deposit boxes, officials said Monday.Authorities said three thieves entered a Banco Provincia branch in the Buenos Aires district of Belgrano on New Year’s Eve …

Cuban Santeria priests see ‘reorganization’

13 hours, 54 minutes ago

(AP) Cuba’s Santeria priests say 2011 will be a year of change and "reorganization," characterized by growing economic openness and threats of war and coups d’etat.Their annual New Year’s forecast, released Monday by a panel of Afro-Cuban priests, coincides this year with the communist island’s most significant economic reforms in a …

Europe and Russia

AP Exclusive:Iran invites EU, others to nuke sites

14 hours, 40 minutes ago

(AP) Iran has invited Russia, China, the European Union and its allies among the Arab and developing world to tour its nuclear sites, in an apparent move to gain support ahead of a new round of talks with six world powers.In a letter made available Monday to The Associated Press, senior …

Israel arrests 2 UK consulate workers in Jerusalem

16 hours, 8 minutes ago

(AP) Two local maintenance workers at the U.K. consulate in Jerusalem have been arrested by Israeli authorities on suspicion of selling weapons to Hamas militants, officials said Monday.The arrests come after Israel’s Shin Bet security service on Sunday disclosed that two alleged militants operating in east Jerusalem were arrested in November …

Middle East

2 boats capsize off Yemen coast; 80 feared drowned

17 hours, 52 minutes ago

(AP) Yemen’s Interior Ministry says two boats carrying more than 80 African migrants have capsized off the Yemeni coast. Most of the passengers are feared drowned.The ministry said in a statement Monday that one boat carrying 46 passengers, mostly Ethiopians, overturned in the Red Sea. Authorities found the body of two …

Europe and Russia

Top US architect working on Italian bridge project

17 hours, 54 minutes ago

(AP) Officials of a project to build a bridge linking the Italian mainland to Sicily say the architect for New York’s Ground Zero skyscraper is working on designs for a complex to be built on the Calabrian side of the span.Strait of Messina Bridge executives say they recently met Daniel Libeskind, …

Latin America

Hackers attack Brazilian government’s website

18 hours, 39 minutes ago

(AP) Officials say hackers tried to take the Brazilian government’s website off the air a day after President Dilma Rousseff was sworn in.The government says in a statement that the attack Sunday caused the website to become unstable but it was never off the air. The statement says that hackers overloaded …

rope and Russia

French trial for 8 suspects in terror finance ring

18 hours, 46 minutes ago

(AP) Eight men went on trial on Monday in Paris for their alleged roles in an armed gang accused of using explosives and the threat of violence to finance Islamic terror operations.Prosecutors say the gang set up a restaurant and a cybercafe to try and hide their criminal activities _ an …

Latin America

Colombian soldiers accused of killing 3 civilians

19 hours, 49 minutes ago

(AP) Colombian authorities said Monday that they have accused an army major and four other soldiers of killing three civilians and then falsely presenting their bodies as those of guerrillas slain in combat.Maj. Juan Carlos Del Rio Crespo and four other troops were charged in the 2002 killings of three members …

• Pakistani opposition gives government ultimatum

  AP – 20 mins ago

  AP

  ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s main opposition leader has given the government a three-day deadline to accept a list of demands to avert its collapse. Full Story »

  • Slideshow: Pakistan

• Britain’s FTSE leads stock markets higher

  AP – 14 mins ago

  Reuters

  LONDON – The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares outperformed its peers Tuesday, leading European shares higher as traders played catch-up following a belated New Year return. Full Story »

  • Slideshow: Stock Markets
  • Interactive: Is history repeating itself? AP

Middle East

Report: Iran jails nuke scientist after US return

20 hours, 8 minutes ago

(AP) An Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed he slipped away from his CIA captors has not been seen publicly since his heroic return to Tehran last year and could be facing an investigation as a possible turncoat, according to an opposition website.The report on the website Iranbriefing.net says that Shahram Amiri …

Europe and Russia

500 seamen stranded in icebound Russian ships

20 hours, 11 minutes ago

(AP) A Russian icebreaker labored Monday through howling winds and heavy snow as it tried to reach icebound ships in the Sea of Okhotsk where more than 500 seamen are trapped.Three of the vessels have been trapped since Friday in ice estimated to be two meters (6 1/2 feet) thick. The …

Greece considers fence on part of Turkish border

21 hours, 37 minutes ago

(AP) Greece is considering building a fence along a section of its border with Turkey that is the busiest transit point for illegal immigration in Europe, the country’s public order minister said in an interview posted on his web site Monday.Christos Papoutsis said the fence would be part of an effort …

Africa

South Africa lightning strike kills 7 people

22 hours, 1 minute ago

(AP) South African police say seven people from neighboring families have been killed in a lightning strike.Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said the victims were members of two families in adjacent homes.The exact circumstances of the tragedy remained unclear, though police said the victims were burned beyond recognition.Among the dead were four …

Asia

China says has mastered nuclear fuel reprocessing

22 hours, 21 minutes ago

(AP) Chinese scientists have mastered the technology for reprocessing nuclear fuel, potentially yielding additional power sources to keep the country’s economy booming, state television reported Monday.The breakthrough will extend by many times the amount of power that can be generated from China’s nuclear plants by allowing the recovery of fissile and …

Balance of power in Pakistan National Assembly

22 hours, 41 minutes ago

(AP) A look at the balance of parties in Pakistan’s National Assembly, where governments are formed by the prime minister who commands a majority of at least 172 of the 342 seats:_ Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP): The party of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari, widower of …

Europe and Russia

Austria: Cemetery could contain Nazi victims

22 hours, 59 minutes ago

(AP) Officials say a hospital cemetery in western Austria could contain the remains of up to 220 people killed by the Nazis.The hospital holding company says it became aware of the possibility during planning to dig up the cemetery in Hall in Tyrol province to make way for a construction project.It …

Oscar-nominated star Pete Postlethwaite dies at 64

1 day ago

(AP) Oscar-nominated British actor Pete Postlethwaite, described by director Steven Spielberg as "the best actor in the world," has died at age 64 after a long battle with cancer.Longtime friend and journalist Andrew Richardson said Monday that Postlethwaite died in a hospital Sunday.A gritty and powerful actor, Postlethwaite was nominated for …

Middle East

Sudan withdraws from Darfur peace talks

1 day, 1 hour ago

(AP) A Sudanese official says his government has withdrawn from peace talks with Darfur rebel groups, but it is still committed to making peace.Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir threatened to call off the talks in Qatar and return negotiations to Sudan if agreement was not reached by Thursday, and he carried out …

Bombing opens vein of Christian anger in Egypt

1 day, 1 hour ago

(AP) The New Year’s Day suicide bombing of a church that killed 21 people has opened up a vein of fury among Egypt’s Christians, built up over years of what they call government failure to address persistent discrimination and violence against their community.Christian protests spread to Cairo from the northern city …

Asia

7 missing after China fishing boat sinks

1 day, 2 hours ago

(AP) State media report seven crew members are missing and feared drowned after their fishing boat sank in a southern Chinese river.The official Xinhua News Agency says another four people were rescued after it sank early Sunday.The Monday report says rescue boats and divers have been sent to search the area …

Europe and Russia

Aftenposten: Israel gears up for Iran attack

1 day, 2 hours ago

(AP) Israel believes it would have only 10-12 minutes’ warning if Iran launched rockets but that threats from Hamas and Hezbollah are the most pressing, according to leaked U.S. State Department cables published in a Norwegian newspaper.The Aftenposten daily on Sunday cited a cable describing a Nov. 15, 2009, meeting between …

Asia

Sri Lanka to end use of its colonial name Ceylon

1 day, 3 hours ago

(AP) Sri Lanka has decided to remove all remaining references to its British colonial name Ceylon from state institutions.Ceylon gained independence from Britain in 1948 and changed its name to Sri Lanka when it became a republic in 1972. Many state institutions, however, have continued to use the name, including the …