Latest world news
Going vertical: Brothers live on building's wall
Two brothers in Rio are living over the edge -- literally: sleeping, working and eating on the side of a building 33 feet (10 meters) up in the air. Twenty-seven-year-old Tiago Primo and his 20-year-old brother Gabriel spend 12 hours a day in the bed, hammock, chair and dining table they've attached to a bright red-and-yellow wall as part of ... (AP, 5:03 p.m.)
More than 300 injured by strong quake in China
An earthquake rocked southwest China on Thursday evening, injuring at least 336 people and collapsing 10,000 homes, state media said. The magnitude-6.0 temblor centered in Yunnan province's Yao'an county damaged some 30,000 homes, the Xinhua News Agency said. (AP, 5:12 p.m.)
Rape culture condemned in South Africa
Dumisani Rebombo wasn't circumcised, did chores considered girls' work and was sick of being taunted for not being a man. So at age 15, he took the only course considered "manly" in his rural South African village: He raped a girl. (Associated Press Writer, 4:22 p.m.)
Oil rises, snaps six-day slide on gasoline buying
Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday as talk of refinery shutdowns spurred stirred gasoline supply concerns, ending a six-day slide. (Reuters, 4:41 p.m.)
U.S. hands over Iranian officials detained in Iraq
Five Iranian officials detained by the U.S. military in Iraq for up to two years were released on Thursday and handed over to Iranian embassy staff by Iraqi authorities, an Iranian embassy official said. (Reuters, 4:01 p.m.)
Blast outside school in Afghanistan kills 25
An explosion outside a school south of the Afghan capital on Thursday killed at least 25 people, including 15 students, officials said, and Taliban fighters overran a district near the Pakistan border after heavy fighting. (Reuters, 4:01 p.m.)
Analysis: Obama's global reach only goes so far
Barack Obama is finding that even the reach of a globally popular president goes only so far, leaving him to snatch partial victories as he can. For all his effort, his strategy also banks heavily on the commodity that helped get him elected: hope. (Associated Press Writers, 4:55 p.m.)
Bombs kill 50 in Iraq as violence flares
Bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed at least 50 people on Thursday, police said, underscoring doubts about local forces' ability to keep Iraqis safe after U.S. troops pulled out of city centers. (Reuters, 3:20 p.m.)
Hospital: 12-year-old crash survivor has surgery
A Paris hospital says a 12-year-old girl who was the only known survivor of the Yemenia Airways flight that crashed in the Indian Ocean has undergone facial surgery. (AP, 2:42 p.m.)
Venezuela steps up control of television, radio
Venezuela is taking dozens of radio stations off the air and putting stricter rules on cable and satellite television, a minister said on Thursday, part of President Hugo Chavez's battle with private media firms. (Reuters, 3:01 p.m.)
Mexican police find 4 mutilated bodies in bags
Police in western Mexico have found four hacked-up bodies in plastic bags on the side of a highway. (AP, 2:30 p.m.)
U.S. seeks "full partnership" with Russia on missiles
The Obama administration is seeking "full partnership" with Moscow to bridge ballistic missile-defense differences that have strained U.S.-Russian ties for years, the head of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said Thursday. (Reuters, 3:01 p.m.)
US to launch $15 billion food initiative at G-8
President Barack Obama is expected to announce a $15 billion agricultural investment initiative to help small farmers feed themselves, delegates at a Group of Eight summit said Thursday. (Associated Press Writer, 1:50 p.m.)
US to launch $15 billion food initiative at G-8
President Barack Obama is expected to announce a $15 billion agricultural investment initiative to help small farmers feed themselves, delegates at a Group of Eight summit said Thursday. (Associated Press Writer, 1:34 p.m.)
UK PM to set out plan for nuclear talks
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday he will soon propose sweeping changes to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that would require states suspected of seeking to build nuclear weapons to prove that they are not. (AP Business Writer, 1:22 p.m.)
Gloom in Yangon as Aung San Suu Kyi trial resumes
Along the shores of artificial Inya Lake, the empty compound of Aung San Suu Kyi lies within plain sight as couples stroll the path. Her home also is a curious attraction to onlookers from a hotel a minute's walk away. (Associated Press Writer, 2 p.m.)
Iranian police fire in air to disperse protesters
Riot police fired in the air to disperse pro-reform demonstrators in central Tehran on Thursday, nearly four weeks after a disputed election triggered mass protests across Iran, a witness said. (Reuters, 1:21 p.m.)
Sweden to extradite Rwanda genocide suspect
Sweden will extradite a man accused of taking part in mass slaughter in Rwanda to his homeland, marking the first time an EU nation has sent back a suspect to face charges in the 1994 genocide, officials said Thursday. (Associated Press Writer, 1:01 p.m.)
Judenrein! Israel adopts Nazi term to back settlers
Hosting the German foreign minister this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used an especially tainted term to condemn the Palestinian demand that Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank be removed. (Reuters, 1:21 p.m.)
Olympics minister: 2012 stadium will be downsized
Britain's Olympic minister says the capacity of the main stadium for London 2012 will be reduced from its 80,000 capacity after the Summer Games. (AP Sports Writer, 12:54 p.m.)
Parts of Britain "near an H1N1 epidemic"; 14 dead
Fourteen Britons who had contracted H1N1 flu have died and the rapid spread of infection in two areas of the country is close to epidemic level, health officials said on Thursday. (Reuters, 1 p.m.)
Pakistan to begin return of displaced next week
Pakistan will start bringing people displaced by fighting between security forces and Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley back home from next week, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday. (Reuters, 1 p.m.)
Bank of England slows pace of QE purchases, shocks market
The Bank of England cut the pace at which it pumps money into Britain's economy on Thursday after unexpectedly deciding not to expand its 125 billion pound ($204 billion) asset buying scheme, raising fears it may stop purchases completely. (Reuters, 12:41 p.m.)
More Web attacks hit, North Korea suspected
A fresh wave of cyber attacks that slowed U.S. and South Korean websites this week hit more targets on Thursday, a Web security firm said, while the South's spy agency has said the hacking may be linked to North Korea. (Reuters, 12:22 p.m.)
Irish Catholics say tree stump looks like Mary
Thousands of Irish Catholics have flocked this week to a County Limerick church to pray at the stump of a recently cut willow that many observers say, has the silhouette of the Virgin Mary. (Associated Press Writer, 1:22 p.m.)
Czech president vetoes measures to fight recession
Czech President Vaclav Klaus on Thursday vetoed a series of stimulus measures meant to fight the effects of the global economic crisis in the country. (AP, 11:35 a.m.)
Moscow's Leningrad station getting old name back
Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin has lost another round in the fight over Russia's history. Eighteen years after the city of St. Petersburg shed its Soviet-era name, Leningrad, the Leningrad railway station in Moscow is finally getting its czarist-era name back. (AP, 11:25 a.m.)
Kidnappers in Sudan seek ransom for 2 aid workers
Sudan is negotiating with the kidnappers of two Darfur aid workers for their safe release, preferably without paying the demanded ransom, Sudanese officials said Thursday. (Associated Press Writer, 11:10 a.m.)
3 more possible plane bodies found in Tanzania
Three more bodies were found off Tanzania Thursday, bringing the total to 16, as the French navy arrived to assist in the search for wreckage and remains from a plane that crashed into the Indian Ocean. (Associated Press Writer, 2:56 p.m.)
German exhibit examines Nazi influence on music
Richard Wagner is the classical composer most associated with the Nazis, but Johann Sebastian Bach was the one the party dubbed "the most German of Germans" and whose music was played at rallies to stir up nationalist zeal. (Associated Press Writer, 2 p.m.)
UN chief rebukes G8 over climate failures
The U.N. chief sharply rebuked the Group of Eight leaders on Thursday for failing to make more commitments to reducing climate change in the near term, saying they must do so if the heavily polluting developing world is to follow suit. (Associated Press Writers, 10:50 a.m.)
Iran police use tear gas to disperse demonstrators
Iranian police used tear gas on Thursday to disperse pro-reform demonstrators gathered near Tehran University, a witness said. (Reuters, 11 a.m.)
Karzai pardons five Afghan heroin traffickers
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pardoned five heroin smugglers, at least one of them a relative of a man who heads Karzai's campaign for re-election next month, a source and a government spokesman said. (Reuters, 11 a.m.)
Alcoa fails to give world markets much of a lift
European stock markets trimmed gains Thursday after Wall Street failed to react positively to a smaller than expected loss by aluminum company Alcoa Inc. Investors clearly want more evidence before subscribing to the view that businesses may have seen off the worst of the recession. (AP Business Writer, 11:51 a.m.)
Germany calls for ban of neo-Nazi sites abroad
Germany's Justice Minister on Thursday called for foreign Internet service providers to remove neo-Nazi images, text and other content that can be viewed inside this country in violation of laws forbidding any Nazi symbols. (Associated Press Writer, 10:14 a.m.)
Michigan governor: German company plans investment
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has returned from an international trade trip with the announcement that a German battery technology company plans to search for a manufacturing location on the west side of the state. (AP, 10:05 a.m.)
H2-WHOA! Australian town bans bottled water sales
Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country -- and possibly the world -- to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry. (Associated Press Writer, 12:11 p.m.)
Egypt arrests group it says plotted Suez attacks
Egyptian authorities arrested 25 people on suspicion of plotting attacks on oil pipelines and ships in the Suez Canal, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. (Associated Press Writer, 4:51 p.m.)
Remains of Flight 447 en route to France for probe
More than 600 pieces of Air France Flight 447 are being sent from Brazil to France by ship to be studied further for clues into the June 1 crash, Airbus said Thursday. (Associated Press Writers, 11:10 a.m.)
Paris couture shows end after sad adieu to Lacroix
Screen siren glamour, sexy, lacy bodices and a frothy collection of endless would-be bridal gowns brought Paris' winter 2010 haute couture displays to an uneven conclusion on Wednesday, capping three emotional days that saw what's likely to be the last show by Christian Lacroix. (Associated Press Writer, 9:10 a.m.)
Netanyahu adviser raises "MAD" nuclear scenario
Israel must have "tremendously powerful" weapons to deter a nuclear attack or destroy an enemy that dares to launch an atomic strike, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted on Thursday as saying. (Reuters, 9:20 a.m.)
UNESCO: Invasion seriously harmed historic Babylon
Iraq's U.S.-led invaders inflicted serious damage on Babylon, driving heavy machinery over sacred paths, bulldozing hilltops and digging trenches through one of the world's greatest archaeological sites, experts for UNESCO said Thursday. (Associated Press Writer, 5:03 p.m.)
Violence in SAfrica as World Cup workers strike
Hundreds of striking workers demonstrated at World Cup stadiums across South Africa on Thursday, with some stoning cars and passers-by as they demanded higher wages for those building the stadiums and rail stations for Africa's first World Cup. (Associated Press Writer, 12:30 p.m.)
8,000 artists celebrate in Panafrican Festival
From superstars to tribal dancers, thousands of African artists are celebrating their troubled continent's culture and potential in an epic festival -- and looking back at what they've accomplished and squandered in four decades of freedom from colonial rule. (Associated Press Writer, 8:01 a.m.)
China's Hu says maintaining stability paramount
Chinese President Hu Jintao, forced to abandon a G8 summit in Italy by ethnic violence in restive Xinjiang, said that maintaining social stability in the energy-rich region was the "most urgent task," state television reported on Thursday. (Reuters, 8:21 a.m.)
Luxembourg gets EU OK for bank rescue loan
Luxembourg won EU approval Thursday to lend euro320 million ($445 million) to the local branch of collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing. (AP, 7:55 a.m.)
Afghanistan tones down contentious marriage law
Afghanistan's government has revised a law that stirred an international outcry because it essentially legalized marital rape, officials said Thursday. The new version no longer requires a woman submit to sex with her husband, only that she do certain housework. (Associated Press Writers, 3:21 p.m.)
French academic in Iran prison healthy but worried
France's foreign minister says a French academic held in an Iranian prison is in good health but worried. (AP, 7:50 a.m.)
US first lady tours quake-hit city
Michelle Obama and other first spouses toured the center of L' Aquila on Thursday to see the destruction wrought by an earthquake in the Italian city hosting world leaders for the Group of Eight summit this week. (Associated Press Writer, 5:12 p.m.)
ICC given names of Kenya election crisis suspects
Kenya's post-election crisis mediator Kofi Annan said on Thursday he had handed a sealed envelope with the names of top suspects for the violence to the International Criminal Court's prosecutor. (Reuters, 8 a.m.)