03/08/2010

Threatened with arrest, Chilean looters surrender spoils
CONCEPCIÓN, Chile – The officers came with bullhorns to impoverished neighborhoods near the epicenter of Chile's devastating earthquake, warning looters to return what they'd stolen or face police raids.

Cartels use intimidation campaign to stifle news coverage in Mexico
REYNOSA, Mexico – In the days since a long-simmering dispute erupted into open warfare between the Gulf drug cartel and its former enforcers, the Zetas, censorship of news developments has reached unprecedented dimensions along much of Mexico's border with Texas. A virtual news blackout has been imposed, several sources said, enforced by threats, abductions and attacks against journalists.

Iraqis defy bombs to vote
BAGHDAD – Iraqis defied insurgents who lobbed hand grenades at voters and bombed a polling station Sunday in an attempt to intimidate those taking part in elections that will determine whether their country can overcome deep sectarian divides as U.S. forces prepare to leave.

03/05/2010

Violence greets early voting in Iraq elections
BAGHDAD – Iraq opened its polls Thursday for early voting by hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police officers responsible for protecting the country's electorate, and they came under assault themselves.

03/08/2010

World briefs
200 die overnight in Nigerian violence

U.S. forces mostly stay out of sight during Iraq elections
BAGHDAD – "You're hearing a lot of booms out there," Lt. Ryan P. Alexander told his soldiers, briefing them ahead of their platoon's anticipated operation as mortars and explosions rained on Baghdad early Sunday while Iraqis began voting in the parliamentary elections.

Al-Qaeda member arrested in Pakistan may be American
ISLAMABAD – A member of al-Qaeda who might be an American has been arrested by Pakistani authorities near Karachi, two Pakistani intelligence officers said Sunday.

Taliban, rival faction battle in northern Afghanistan
KABUL – Simmering divisions between rival Islamist groups erupted into open warfare in northern Afghanistan this weekend as Taliban forces battled fighters from one of their main allies, Afghan officials said Sunday.

03/07/2010

Female Marines set to win over rural women's hearts, minds in Afghanistan
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The Marines scribbled careful notes as the instructor coached them on do's and don'ts when talking to villagers in Afghanistan: Don't start by firing off questions, do break the ice by playing with the children, don't let your interpreter hijack the conversation.

Trash microchips could make British pay for waste
LONDON – It's the new front in the nanny state: microchips placed in garbage bins to monitor how much people throw away.

Communist guerrillas kill 11 soldiers in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines – Eleven soldiers were killed and several others were wounded Saturday in a firefight with communist guerrillas in a province south of Manila, Philippine army officials said.

Russia confirms killing of militant leader
MOSCOW – Russia confirmed Saturday that its forces had killed militant leader Alexander Tikhomirov, who under the name Said Buryatsky is believed to have trained suicide bombers in the North Caucasus.

Criminal record of top Afghan official in Marjah to be probed
MARJAH, Afghanistan – The newly appointed top official in Marjah, Abdul Zahir, is the Afghan face of the U.S.-led military offensive. But his newly disclosed violent criminal record in Germany will be investigated further, officials said Saturday.

Newswoman's unveiled face grabs attention in Iraq campaign
BAGHDAD – At first glance, Fairuz Hatem might seem like the antithesis of the coalition she joined to compete in today's parliamentary elections.

Q&A Iraq elections
Today, Iraqis will vote in parliamentary elections that will shape their country's future.

Key players in Iraq's parliamentary elections

U.S. rewards companies that deal with Iran
The federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in contract payments, grants and loans over the last decade to foreign and multinational U.S. companies while they were doing business in Iran, despite Washington's efforts to discourage investment there, records show.

World briefs

U.S. may resume Indonesian elite unit's training
WASHINGTON – As President Barack Obama prepares to travel to Indonesia, his administration is seeking to reverse a 12-year-old ban on training an elite unit of the Indonesian military whose members have been convicted of beatings, kidnappings and other abuses.

Icelanders reject $5.3 billion plan to pay Britain, Netherlands for failed bank
REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Still furious over the crippling aftermath of the global financial crisis, Iceland's voters on Saturday resoundingly rejected a $5.3 billion plan to pay off Britain and the Netherlands for debts spawned by the collapse of an Icelandic Internet bank, according to initial results.

Along the Chilean coast, fear and desolation
DICHATO, Chile – Barely a building remains standing in this once-pleasant beach resort that slopes up from Dichato Bay, a scenic cove largely shielded from the open Pacific.

03/06/2010

Boy with same name, birthday as son of Azerbaijan's president owns $44 million in Dubai property
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Even by the standards of a city that celebrates extravagance, it was a spectacular shopping spree: In just two weeks last year, an 11-year-old boy from Azerbaijan became the owner of nine waterfront mansions.

Pirate attacks intensify off coast of East Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya – Signaling a new offensive mind-set, international military officials stepped up the fight against pirates Friday as swarms of Somalis moved into the waters off East Africa.

Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki tries to make case for his re-election
BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki used the last day of Iraq's election campaign Friday to make a detailed and pugnacious case to be re-elected to an office he acknowledged he could lose.

Rival factions threatening stability of Kurdish region in Iraq
SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq – Anywhere else in Iraq, a shootout between political rivals that injured three people would have been unremarkable.

SOME OF THE FACTIONS IN IRAQ'S ELECTION

Iraq vote a test of democracy
BAGHDAD – When Iraqis go to the polls Sunday, they will do more than elect a new government to run a country still reeling seven years after the United States invaded it.

UPDATE: IRAQ

Briefs
Vote blocked on 'genocide' resolution

Strong aftershocks frighten quake-stunned Chileans
CONCEPCIÓN, Chile – The most powerful aftershock in six days sent terrified Chileans fleeing into quake-shattered streets Friday and forced doctors to evacuate patients from a major hospital.

NATO commander's directive curbs night raids in Afghanistan
KABUL – A new directive from NATO's top commander in Afghanistan orders coalition forces to avoid night raids when possible, and to bring Afghan troops with them if they must enter homes after dark.

03/05/2010

Haitian family tries to leave quake behind, but disaster strikes twice
SAN BERNARDO, Chile – The Desarmes family left their native Haiti two weeks after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, joining the oldest son in Chile for what seemed a refuge from the fear and chaos of Port-au-Prince.

Signs of normal life emerge from still-grieving Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Their home is a pile of rubble, their church is in ruins and their honeymoon suite is a tent shared with eight relatives.

Iraq's prime minister facing tough battle to hang on to his post
BAGHDAD – Since taking office in 2006, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has defied expectations, proving to be a canny and often bold leader who has transformed himself from a virtual unknown into possibly the single most popular politician in Iraq.

Envoy urges Afghans to pursue peace
KABUL – The departing U.N. envoy to Afghanistan said Thursday that the nation's leaders must "clean up their own house" and warned that U.S.-led military operations must not jeopardize political efforts toward reconciliation with the Taliban.

Turkey upset with genocide resolution
WASHINGTON – Turkey, a key Muslim ally of the United States, withdrew its ambassador Thursday after a congressional committee narrowly approved a resolution calling the World War I-era killing of Armenians a genocide.

Dozens killed in India temple stampede
KUNDA, India – A handout of free food and clothing set off a stampede of thousands of poor villagers at a Hindu temple Thursday, killing 63 and injuring dozens of others.

Safeguarding its prosperity, China reins in defense spending
BEIJING – China's government on Thursday proposed its smallest increase in defense spending in two decades – a symbolic down payment on efforts to lift public spending and even out a rich-poor gap that is stoking social tensions.

Egyptian real estate mogul will be retried in murder of ex-lover
CAIRO – An Egyptian court on Thursday ordered the retrial of a real estate mogul and former legislator who was sentenced to death for hiring a hit man to murder his former lover, a Lebanese pop star.

03/04/2010

Do-it-yourself aid workers help pitch tents to help Haitians
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A Miami property developer, volunteering after Haiti's earthquake, was horrified to see children sleeping in the dirt under makeshift tents of bed sheets propped up on sticks. A global billion-dollar aid effort should be able to do better, he thought.

In Beijing, security tight for annual fortnight of political meetings
BEIJING – With great fanfare and rigid security, China on Wednesday launched its annual exercise in participatory democracy, socialist-style: The opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress, a 2,252-member body that advises Communist Party leaders on how to run the nation.

Troops, food arrive to help Chile quake victims

String of suicide blasts in Iraq kills 32
BAGHDAD – Suicide bombers struck in quick succession Wednesday in a former insurgent stronghold northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 32 people just days before a crucial election.

International news briefs
Pakistan battle kills 30 militants, 1 soldier

Ex-Gitmo prisoner helps lead Taliban in Afghanistan
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan – A man who was freed from Guantánamo more than two years ago, after claiming that he only wanted to go home and help his family, is now a senior commander running Taliban resistance to the U.S.-led offensive in southern Afghanistan, two senior Afghan intelligence officials say.

02/01/2010

Top World Topics in the News
Browse the latest news on world leaders, World Political Organizations, Global Issues and more

Most Popular Stories