Latest world news
Taiwan demilitarizes picturesque offshore islet
Concrete pilings designed to prevent an invasion no longer dot this tiny Taiwanese islet's shoreline. A formidable marine garrison also has vanished, replaced by laid-back coast guardsmen and marine biologists. (AP, 4:34 a.m.)
NKorea signs ASEAN nonaggression pact
North Korea's reclusive communist regime, long seen as a nuclear threat to the region, signed a nonaggression pact Thursday with Southeast Asia, in a largely symbolic move. (AP, 4:09 a.m.)
Former official: Afghan president hurting drug war
A former top U.S. counter-narcotics official alleges that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is obstructing the fight against the country's narcotics trade. (AP, 4:03 a.m.)
AP NewsAlert
Official says two Italian climbers are safe after helicopter rescue from Pakistan mountain (AP, 4:25 a.m.)
Asia-Pacific eyes coordinated disaster relief work
Asia-Pacific powers on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to pool their military and civilian resources for disaster responses in a region beset by cyclones, earthquakes and floods. (AP, 4:28 a.m.)
Ecuador's draft charter favors leftist president
A proposed new constitution grants Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa broad powers including the ability to dissolve Congress and set monetary policy, and would let him stay in office through 2017. (AP, 3:59 a.m.)
Taiwan opposes Olympics name change
Some Taiwanese lawmakers have called for boycotting the Beijing Olympics unless a dispute over the island's name is resolved. (AP, 4:17 a.m.)
Gunmen in Iraq kill 3 US-allied fighters
A member of a U.S.-allied Sunni group in Iraq says three of its guards have been killed and another wounded in drive-by shootings in northern Baghdad. (AP, 3:53 a.m.)
Turkey bombs 13 Kurdish targets in northern Iraq
Turkish warplanes bombed 13 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, the military said Thursday. Turkey has conducted frequent air raids on suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq. Earlier this year, it also launched a weeklong ground offensive there. (AP, 4:17 a.m.)
Earthquake hits Japan, more than 100 injured
A powerful earthquake rattled parts of northern Japan early Thursday, injuring more than 100 people, triggering landslides and cutting power to thousands of people, officials said. (AP, 3:34 a.m.)
Report: Israel to build settlement in West Bank
Israel radio reports that Israel has given preliminary approval for the construction of a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank. (AP, 2:21 a.m.)
1 dead in Philippine banana farm raid
Communist rebels attacked a banana farm associated with Dole Foods Co. Thursday and a land mine hit a security vehicle rushing to intervene, killing one and wounding three others, the military said. (AP, 1:38 a.m.)
China clamps down on issuing business visas
China has clamped down further on issuing business visas, government officials said Thursday, in the latest expansion of already-tight entry restrictions for next month's Olympic Games. (AP, 4:21 a.m.)
North Korea angrily reacts to 'enemy' remarks
North Korea lashed out Thursday at the South Korean defense chief for labeling the communist state an enemy. (AP, 3:21 a.m.)
Nepal ex-rebels won't form government
Nepal's ex-communists should head the new government, political opponents said Wednesday, a day after the Maoists abandoned plans for leadership because their choice for president had been rejected. (AP, 1:29 a.m.)
27 hurt in explosion aboard Philippine bus
A homemade bomb ripped through a commuter bus in the southern Philippines on Thursday, wounding 27 people, police said. (AP, 3:40 a.m.)
Dolly hammers northern Mexico
Hurricane Dolly toppled trees and sent billboards flying Wednesday in the Mexican city of Matamoros, and authorities south of the U.S. border warned of possible flooding. (AP, 1:35 a.m.)
Canadian teen dies after being shot with Taser
A teenager wielding a knife died after police shot him with a Taser, the latest in a string of deaths linked to the stun guns, officials said Wednesday. (AP, 7/23/08)
Mexico grounds 2 airlines on back bills
Mexico's transportation secretary says it has grounded two airlines for lacking proof they paid for fly rights in the country's air space. (AP, 7/23/08)
Castro cryptic on Russian bomber report
Ailing Fidel Castro said Wednesday that Cuba's president was right to adopt a "dignified silence" over a Moscow newspaper report that Russia may send nuclear bombers to the island, and said Cuba doesn't owe any explanation to Washington about the story. (AP, 7/23/08)
Dollar falls against Swiss franc Wednesday night
The dollar was lower against the Swiss francs late Wednesday night in New York. The U.S. currency traded at 1.0378 Swiss francs, just below 1.0390 francs it traded in the late afternoon. (AP, 7/23/08)
Venezuela denies report of Russian base
Venezuela's government denied on Wednesday that President Hugo Chavez invited Russia to open a military base in his country, disputing a report by Russia's Interfax saying that Russian troops were welcome in the South American nation. (AP, 7/23/08)
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,124
As of Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at least 4,124 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. (AP, 7/23/08)
Drug smugglers get record sentences in Ireland
A trio of English cocaine smugglers who were caught after putting the wrong fuel into their boat received the longest drug-related prison sentences in Irish history Wednesday. (AP, 7/23/08)
DNA tests find stolen baby in Guatemala
DNA tests for the first time have confirmed that a baby was stolen from her mother and adopted for profit in Guatemala. (AP, 7/23/08)
100 employees at French nuclear site contaminated
Radioactive particles spewed from a pipe at a French nuclear reactor on Wednesday, slightly contaminating 100 employees, a spokeswoman for the national electric company said. (AP, 7/23/08)
Correction: Argentine Farm Crisis story
In a July 16 story before the Senate vote on President Cristina Fernandez's grain-export taxes, The Associated Press incorrectly reported the first name of a political analyst. His name is Ricardo Rouvier, not Roberto. (AP, 7/23/08)
Pakistan warns of new nuclear arms race with India
Pakistan has warned a deal leading to increased Indian access to nuclear fuel could accelerate the atomic arms race between the rivals, according to a letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. (AP, 7/23/08)
Pentagon plays down fears over Afghan violence
The Pentagon on Wednesday sought to play down the seriousness of growing violence in Afghanistan but declined to say the United States and NATO were winning their fight against Taliban insurgents. (Reuters, 7/23/08)
UN to take up Thai-Cambodian border dispute
With some 4,000 troops massed along the Thai-Cambodian border, United Nations Security Council members say they will try to keep a standoff from escalating into war. (AP, 7/23/08)
Venezuela, Belarus sign oil deal
Venezuela signed over three more oil fields to a joint venture with Belarus on Wednesday, with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declaring that the two nations were strongly united in their resistance to "U.S. imperialism" and Washington's "lackeys." (AP, 7/23/08)
EU threatens to make U.S. diplomats get visas
The European Commission will propose forcing U.S. diplomats to get visas to travel to the European Union from January 2009 unless Washington moves toward granting citizens of all EU states visa-free entry. (Reuters, 7/23/08)
Profit up for Volkswagen, Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat
Three big European mass-market carmakers -- Germany's Volkswagen , Italy's Fiat and France's Peugeot -Citroen -- staved off the impact of higher gas prices and skyrocketing raw materials costs to post higher profits Wednesday even amid growing economic uncertainty. (AP, 7/23/08)
Correction: Guantanamo tribunal story
In a July 22 story about the war crimes tribunal at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, The Associated Press, based on a statement by the prosecutor, erroneously described witness Ali Soufan as an FBI agent. Soufan is a former FBI agent. (AP, 7/23/08)
Why dope? Riders don't fear tests, rewards beckon
Cycling's image is in tatters, and authorities inside and outside the sport are being tougher than ever on doping. Yet it hasn't stopped the drug cheaters at the Tour de France. (AP, 7/23/08)
Porsche gets clearance for VW stake
Porsche SE won European antitrust clearance Wednesday to take control of Europe's biggest car maker, Volkswagen AG . The decision may add pressure on the German state of Lower Saxony to relinquish its veto rights over VW decisions. (AP, 7/23/08)
Senegal lifts final bar to trial of Chad's Habre
Senegal lifted the last constitutional obstacle to its courts trying former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre for human rights crimes, the Senegalese Minister of Justice said on Wednesday. (Reuters, 1:40 a.m.)
Video prompts Canadian soul-searching
Video footage of a young Canadian detainee being interrogated at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay has sparked a fierce debate among Canadians who worry whether the case is hurting their country's image. (AP, 7/23/08)
Karadzic's capture signals big shift for Serbia
Just a few months ago, thugs outraged at Kosovo's independence set part of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade on fire, and ultranationalists prepared to seize power. (AP, 7/23/08)
British investor set to buy Mallorca soccer club
Mallorca chairman Vicente Grande has reached a preliminary agreement to sell the Spanish league club to a British investor for $57 million. (AP, 7/23/08)
US talks with Iraq could stretch years
The next White House will most likely inherit the difficult negotiations over the long-term status of American military forces in Iraq as disputes linger over setting timelines for expected troop withdrawals, U.S. officials say. (AP, 7/23/08)
Libya protesters target Swiss banks over arrest
OPEC member Libya should withdraw deposits in Swiss banks if the Swiss government fails to apologize for the arrest of a son of Muammar Gaddafi, an influential Libyan political group said on Wednesday. (Reuters, 1:40 a.m.)
German motorist crashes gate where Obama to speak
German police detained a motorist on Wednesday who crashed through barricades set up at monument where Barack Obama will hold a speech on Thursday and dumped red paint from his speeding car. (Reuters, 7/23/08)
U.S. abruptly cancels planned meeting with Syrians
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday canceled plans to meet three Syrians making a private visit to Washington and gave no detailed explanation of its abrupt reversal. (Reuters, 7/23/08)
Suspicion, terrain are foes for US in Afghan surge
As violence in Afghanistan escalates, the U.S. is responding by scrambling to get in more troops. But it's far from clear how the strategy will work in a vast, rugged land where hiding places are many and suspicion of foreign forces is deep. (AP, 7/23/08)
Bin Laden happy with September 11 toll, war court told
Osama bin Laden's driver overheard the al Qaeda leader saying he was happy about the death toll in the September 11 attacks and thought the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania was shot down, according to one of the driver's interrogators. (Reuters, 1:39 a.m.)
Continental boards snub Schaeffler's $17.6B offer
Continental AG on Wednesday roundly rejected a takeover offer worth more than 11.2 billion euros ($17.6 billion) from smaller auto parts maker Schaeffler KG, but indicated that it might be interested if Schaeffler ups its offer. (AP, 7/23/08)
Strong quake jolts northern Japan, no tsunami
A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring several people, burying three cars under a landslide and cutting off electric power to at least 10,000 homes, media reports and officials said. (Reuters, 1:39 a.m.)
US, Poland take step forward on missile defense
Poland and the U.S. took a step on Wednesday toward resolving a dispute over Warsaw's demands for defense aid in exchange for accepting part of an American missile defense system. (AP, 7/23/08)
EU freezes aid to Bulgaria, citing corruption
The European Commission froze almost euro500 million ($800 million) in aid to Bulgaria on Wednesday, citing corruption, organized crime, severe spending irregularities and alleged vote-buying in a country that only joined the EU last year. (AP, 7/23/08)