Pakistan demands US share Afghan blueprint

Pakistan expressed fear Friday that a large increase in foreign troops in Afghanistan could push militants across the border into its territory and called on the U.S. to factor in that concern as part of its new war strategy.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:20 pm

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 | 11:50 am

Downbeat Dell weighs on world markets

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 | 9:15 am

Suicide bomber kills 16 in western Afghanistan

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 | 7:40 am

Police say Afghan lawmaker survives bombing

Afghan police say Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a parliamentarian and powerful former warlord, has narrowly escaped an assassination attempt near Kabul.

Nov 20, 2009 | 6:45 am

Indian boy mirrors plight of millions of kids

Arun Kumar was born to disabled parents, beaten by his grandparents, ran away from home, got a job in a garment factory and had all his savings stolen by the police.

Nov 20, 2009 | 6:30 am

Top SKorean model found hanged in Paris apartment

A 20-year-old top South Korean model who was a fashion week regular in New York, Milan and Paris has been found hanged in her Paris apartment, a police official said Friday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 6:10 am

20 years after UN pact, many children still suffer

EDITOR'S NOTE _ The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child 20 years ago Friday, yet hundreds of millions of children still suffer from violence, hunger and disease. Associated Press correspondents around the globe interviewed children who illustrate the remaining…

Nov 20, 2009 | 5:25 am

Rebel blast derails train in India, killing 2

A passenger train derailed after Maoist rebels blew up a key track in eastern India, killing two people and injuring at least 30 others, a police official said Friday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 5:20 am

Gunman opens fire on Saipan; 5 dead

A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan on Friday, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:15 am

Gunman opens fire on Saipan; 5 dead

A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan on Friday, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said.

Nov 20, 2009 | 2:25 am

French foreign minister visits Afghan village

France's foreign minister walked into a remote Afghan village on Friday to talk with small farmers and local tribal leaders about how to bypass corrupt officials and bring aid directly to those who need it.

Nov 20, 2009 | 2:10 am

Peruvian police: Gang killed people for their fat

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 | 2:10 am

Officials say US missile strike has killed 8 suspected militants in northwestern Pakistan.

Nov 20, 2009 | 1:15 am

Nepal mass animal sacrifice festival to go ahead

A Hindu festival in which hundreds of thousands of animals are expected to be sacrificed will go ahead as scheduled in southern Nepal despite protests, organizers said Friday.

Nov 19, 2009 | 11:45 pm

AP NewsBreak: China holds, mistreats US geologist

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 | 10:50 pm

Honduras interim president may take leave for vote

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

Nov 19, 2009 | 10:40 pm

Obama answers questions from top Cuban blogger

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 | 10:35 pm

AIDS, malaria eclipse the biggest child-killers

Diarrhea doesn't make headlines. Nor does pneumonia. AIDS and malaria tend to get most of the attention.

Nov 19, 2009 | 2:00 pm

Clinton: US will hold Karzai to promises of reform

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton lauded the newly sworn-in Afghan president for outlining a plan to crack down on corruption in his inaugural speech Thursday, but warned that Washington and the international community would hold him to his promises.

Nov 19, 2009 | 12:35 pm

US woos skeptical Pakistanis on Afghan strategy

Faced with an escalating insurgency, Pakistan increasingly views U.S. efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan as critical to its own security _ but is worried enough about the chances of American failure that it continues to hedge its bets.

Nov 19, 2009 | 12:35 pm

Tokyo crowned new gourmet capital by Michelin

The Epicurean king who oversees the Michelin Guide fears he may be banished from France.

Nov 19, 2009 | 8:20 am

Major militant attacks in Pakistan since October

A look at major attacks in Pakistan since the beginning of October:

Nov 19, 2009 | 8:00 am

Behind missed Gitmo deadline: No one wants jailees

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 | 7:20 am

US soldier prime suspect in Okinawa hit-and-run

Japanese police said Thursday that an American soldier is the prime suspect in a fatal-hit-and-run accident on the southern island of Okinawa and asked the U.S. Army to bring him in for further questioning.

Nov 19, 2009 | 6:45 am

Former China student leader tried on fraud charges

An exiled former leader of the 1989 student pro-democracy movement went on trial on financial fraud charges Thursday in southwestern China, a case highlighted by his controversial handover to the mainland from Hong Kong.

Nov 19, 2009 | 6:35 am

2 US service members killed in Afghan explosion

NATO says two U.S. service members have been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.

Nov 19, 2009 | 6:10 am

Afghanistan at a glance

Some basic facts and figures about Afghanistan, where President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated Thursday to a second five-year term:

Nov 19, 2009 | 5:45 am

Philippine gay group fights to contest elections

A Philippine gay rights group is waging a legal battle to be allowed to run in next year's polls after the Elections Commission ruled it cannot register as a political party on grounds that it advocates immorality.

Nov 19, 2009 | 3:10 am

Obama meets with US troops in SKorea

President Barack Obama told U.S. troops stationed in South Korea that their service has ensured peace in Asia and around the world.

Nov 19, 2009 | 1:20 am

Bangladesh court upholds death sentences for coup

The Supreme Court rejected final appeals Thursday by five former soldiers sentenced to death in the 1975 killing of Bangladesh's independence leader in a military coup, a government attorney said.

Nov 18, 2009 | 11:30 pm

Obama says US, allies working on Iran nuclear deal

President Barack Obama says the U.S. and its allies are working on ways to send a "clear message" to Iran on its nuclear program.

Nov 18, 2009 | 10:25 pm

Obama voices commitment to S.Korea trade agreement

President Barack Obama says he is committed to resolving issues that have stalled a free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea.

Nov 18, 2009 | 10:20 pm

Obama says envoy will head to NKorea next month

President Barack Obama says his envoy on North Korea will travel to the country early next month for the first bilateral talks with the communist regime since he took office.

Nov 18, 2009 | 10:10 pm

Afghan official said to take bribe for copper deal

A senior Afghan official allegedly took a $20 million bribe to steer a copper mining project to a Chinese company, a glaring example of the claims of corruption clouding the Obama administration's deliberations over expanding the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan.

Nov 18, 2009 | 10:05 pm

Obama, Lee to seek 'grand bargain' with NKorea

South Korea's president says he and President Barack Obama have agreed to offer North Korea a "grand bargain" aimed at ending the North's nuclear program.

Nov 18, 2009 | 9:45 pm

Standoff with Sri Lankan asylum seekers ends

Dozens of Sri Lankan asylum seekers on Wednesday left an Australian customs vessel anchored off Indonesia after they were promised they would be resettled, ending a monthlong standoff.

Nov 18, 2009 | 5:25 pm

China govt pleased but ordinary folk cool on Obama

State media heralded President Barack Obama's maiden trip to China as a triumph, but ordinary Chinese were largely shielded by their government from his most critical remarks and activists were disappointed by the measured tone of those they did hear.

Nov 18, 2009 | 1:05 pm

Obama says he met with half brother while in China

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he met briefly with a half brother who lives in China and who recently wrote a semi-autobiographical novel about the abusive Kenyan father they share.

Nov 18, 2009 | 9:25 am

Obama warns of a 'double dip' recession

President Barack Obama says he's worried that spending too much money to help revive the economy could undermine a fragile U.S. recovery and throw the economy into a double-dip recession.

Nov 18, 2009 | 9:20 am

Malaysia Muslim preacher charged in factional feud

Islamic authorities in Malaysia charged a popular Muslim scholar Wednesday with delivering an illegal lecture in what critics considered an attempt by conservative clerics to silence a leading moderate preacher.

Nov 18, 2009 | 8:40 am

Cruise ship breaks Antarctic ice, nears open water

A Russian icebreaker carrying over 100 tourists and scientists to see emperor penguins in Antarctica has been crunching through pack ice and should reach clear water soon, a shipping official said Wednesday.

Nov 18, 2009 | 6:20 am

Obama criticizes new Israeli move on settlements

President Barack Obama says Israel's latest move to build hundreds of new apartments in a neighborhood claimed by the Palestinians complicates administration efforts to relaunch peace talks and embitters the Palestinians.

Nov 18, 2009 | 5:35 am

Afghans on hold, awaiting Karzai, Obama decisions

Its protracted presidential election has finally been decided, but Afghanistan is on hold.

Nov 18, 2009 | 5:15 am

Obama: No exact deadline for closing Gitmo

President Barack Obama says he won't set a new deadline for closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison, but does expect the facility to shut down sometime next year.

Nov 18, 2009 | 5:10 am

Obama: Going gray, but not losing weight

President Barack Obama says he feels the pressure of being commander-in-chief but it's not causing him to lose weight.

Nov 18, 2009 | 5:00 am

Obama 'probably won't' read Palin's book

Sarah Palin's new book may already be a best-seller, but President Barack Obama says he probably won't read it.

Nov 18, 2009 | 5:00 am

Meteor showers in Asia disappoint

Thousands of stargazers across Asia stayed awake overnight to catch a glimpse of what was advertised as an intense Leonid meteor shower, but the show fizzled rather than sizzled for many because of cloudy conditions.

Nov 18, 2009 | 4:10 am

AP Interview: Brazil miniskirt student enjoys fame

Fresh from an appearance on one of Brazil's most popular TV shows, the young woman whose short, pink dress got her kicked out of college is enjoying her newfound fame, yet has her eye on getting back to class.

Nov 18, 2009 | 1:00 am

Afghan president's brother is lightning rod

He calls himself a wheeler dealer _ an old-style power broker who maneuvers through a murky, dangerous world of intelligence, tribal intrigue and, some critics allege, guns and drugs.

Nov 18, 2009 | 12:50 am