World
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May 17, 2008
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Palestine liberation top goal: bin Laden
By Maggie Michael CAIRO, Egypt -- Osama bin Laden vowed Friday to fight Israel for the liberation of the Palestinians, claiming their cause is at the heart of al-Qaida's holy war with the West. <Continued> -
Boy used in Afghan suicide attack
By Murray Brewster KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A boy possibly as young as 10 was used in a suicide-bomb attack against a joint Canadian and Afghan army patrol in Afghanistan on Friday. <Continued> -
Kangaroo-kill has opponents hopping mad
By Rod McGuirk CANBERRA, Australia -- Defence authorities outraged animal rights campaigners Friday by reviving plans to kill 400 kangaroos that are causing environmental damage on the outskirts of Australia's capital. <Continued> -
Trapped victims can live for day
By Stephanie Nano NEW YORK -- A nurse survived eight days in the wreckage of a Turkish hospital destroyed by an earthquake in 1992. A newborn was rescued after more than a week in the rubble of Mexico City's 1985 quake. Now, in China, rescuers are pulling out victims days after they were buried by a powerful earthquake. <Continued> -
Pretty penny for diamond
GENEVA -- A vivid blue, 3.7-carat diamond ring has sold for nearly $5 million at auction in Switzerland, becoming the priciest gemstone per carat ever. <Continued> -
May 16, 2008
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California court OKs gay marriage
By Robert Barnes and Ashley Surdin WASHINGTON -- The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that gays have a constitutional right to marry, striking down state laws that forbade it, in a decision that is likely to reenergize the election-year debate over same-sex marriages and gay rights. <Continued> -
Obama deplores Bush's 'Nazi' talk
By Beth Gorham WASHINGTON -- Democratic front-runner Barack Obama accused President George W. Bush of launching a "sad" and "false" political attack on him Thursday by saying those in favour of talking to terrorists are like Nazi appeasers. <Continued> -
Out of Iraq in 5 years, McCain says
By Sheldon Alberts WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Thursday promised to bring most American combat troops home from Iraq by the end of his first term in the White House, telling U.S. voters the war-torn nation would be a "functioning democracy" within five years. <Continued> -
Logistics key to helping victims of disaster
Learning Curve / By Paul D. Larson and Ron McLachlin <Continued> -
Priority shifts to dealing with the dead
LUOSHUI TOWN, China -- Troops dug burial pits in this quake-shattered town and black smoke poured from crematorium chimneys elsewhere as priorities began shifting Thursday in China from the hunt for survivors to dealing with the dead. Officials said the final death toll could more than double to 50,000. <Continued> -
May 15, 2008
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Obama wins backing of former candidate
By Sheldon Alberts WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama on Wednesday won the endorsement of former presidential candidate John Edwards and seven more Democratic superdelegates, dealing Hillary Clinton a difficult political blow only a day after her big victory in West Virginia's primary. <Continued> -
Republicans glum after loss
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans turned on themselves Wednesday after a third straight loss of a GOP-held House seat in special elections this year left both parties contemplating widespread Democratic gains in November. <Continued> -
Quake survivors applaud pregnant woman's rescue
By Audra Ang HANWANG, China -- For 50 agonizing hours, firefighters worked to free Zhang Xiaoyan, eight months pregnant, from under concrete slabs on the second floor of an earthquake-shattered building. They worked gingerly, fearing the rubble would shift and crush her. <Continued> -
Cyclone toll mounting, aid crucial, UN warns
YANGON, Myanmar -- The Red Cross estimated Wednesday that the cyclone death toll in Myanmar could be as high as 128,000, a much higher figure than the government tally. The UN warned a second wave of deaths will follow unless the military regime lets in more aid quickly. <Continued> -
True-life rocket man flies over Alps
By Frank Jordans BEX, Switzerland -- A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps. <Continued> -
May 14, 2008
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Rescuers stream into quake zone
Within 24 hours of China's 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan province, some 20,000 Chinese troops converged on the disaster area to help dig out the dead and injured. Military planes and trucks were ferrying in another 30,000 reinforcements, although rain blocked access to outlying areas. <Continued> -
In major departure, Chinese media aggressive in covering earthquake
By Tini Tran BEIJING -- The stark images have blanketed Chinese newspapers and television broadcasts for days: bodies buried under mounds of rubble, bloodied survivors pulled from debris, weeping family members begging for information. <Continued> -
'This race isn't over yet'
By Beth Gorham WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton scored a landslide Tuesday in West Virginia, a victory that did little to stop Barack Obama's march to the Democratic nomination but highlighted concerns about his ability to attract white, working-class swing voters. <Continued> -
Trains collide in Bangladesh killing 8
DHAKA, Bangladesh — A spokesman says eight people have been killed in a collision between two trains in eastern Bangladesh. <Continued> -
80 dead, 200 wounded in India bomb blast
JAIPUR, India -- Bombs ripped through crowded parts of this ancient city in western India on Tuesday, killing 60 people and wounding 150, police said. <Continued> -
Gas raffle pays off for church
SNELLVILLE, Ga. -- Praise the Lord and pass the petrol. <Continued> -
May 13, 2008
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17 children hurt as old mortar round explodes in Afghanistan
By Fisnik Abrashi KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S.-led coalition forces called in air strikes against the Taliban, killing a dozen militants during fighting in southern Afghanistan that has displaced many families, officials said Tuesday. Meanwhile, an old mortar round exploded in the north of the country, wounding 17 children. <Continued> -
Victory for Clinton will be cold comfort
By Sheldon Alberts WASHINGTON -- Will West Virginia be Hillary Clinton's last hurrah? <Continued> -
Cars prove deadly during tornadoes
By Alan Scher Zagier SENECA, Mo. -- Nearly half of the 21 people killed by a tornado that smashed parts of Oklahoma and Missouri over the weekend died in cars, troubling experts who say vehicles are among the worst places to be during a twister. <Continued> -
The World
Attack amid truce talks JERUSALEM -- A rocket fired by Palestinian militants killed a 75-year-old Israeli woman Monday, just as an Egyptian mediator was winding up truce talks in Israel, underlining the urgency of working out a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers. <Continued> -
May 12, 2008
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Heavy fighting breaks out again in Lebanese city of Tripoli
BEIRUT -- Lebanese officials say heavy fighting has again broken out in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of the country's U.S.-backed government. <Continued> -
S. Korea kills all poultry in capital after bird flu outbreak
By Hyung-Jin Kim SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean officials say they have killed all poultry in Seoul, the capital, to curb the spread of bird flu following a new outbreak of the disease in the city. <Continued> -
21 people die as storms slash across 3 U.S. states
By Murray Evans PICHER, Okla. -- Crews and search dogs hunted Sunday for survivors or bodies in piles of debris after tornadoes and storms rumbled across the region a day earlier and killed at least 21 people in three states. <Continued> -
Skull legend inspires new Indy Jones flick
PALENQUE, Chiapas -- There is a legend that the ancient Maya possessed 13 crystal skulls which, when united, hold the power to save the Earth -- a tale so strange and fantastic that it inspired the latest Indiana Jones movie. <Continued> -
Bush nuptials nearly free of media circus
By Deb Riechmann WACO, Texas -- President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush didn't share their daughter's wedding with the world on Saturday. <Continued> -
Myanmar faces post-cyclone health disaster
By Aileen McCabe BANGKOK -- Myanmar may be on the brink of a second disaster, "potentially larger than the first," but this time self-inflicted. <Continued> -
GG charms French news media
PARIS -- Gov. Gen. Micha ´lle Jean charmed French media and even had President Nicolas Sarkozy swooning during a visit to France that also saw a significant shift in relations between the two countries. <Continued> -
May 11, 2008
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Party kingpins back Obama
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama has overtaken Hillary Rodham Clinton in superdelegate endorsements for the first time. <Continued> -
Ex-Simpson sycophant says O.J. fessed up
LOS ANGELES -- A memorabilia dealer who profited from O.J. Simpson for many years is the latest former crony to write a tell-all book, this one alleging a groggy Simpson, high on marijuana, confessed to killing his ex-wife after he was acquitted. <Continued> -
Myanmar elections a sham, critics say
YANGON, Myanmar -- Myanmar's military rulers held elections aimed at solidifying their hold on power, while brazenly turning cyclone relief efforts into a propaganda campaign. In some cases, generals' names were scribbled onto boxes of foreign aid before being distributed. <Continued>
