GOP senator signals fading hopes on health care

WASHINGTON – A leading GOP negotiator on health care struck a further blow to fading chances of a bipartisan compromise by saying Democrati

Japan's ruling heads to elections as underdog

TOKYO – Japan's ruling conservative party, battered by a laggard economy and voter desire for change after more than half a century of virt

Peacekeeping civilians kidnapped in Darfur

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Armed men seized two foreign civilians working for Darfur's peacekeeping force on Saturday, the fourth kidnapping in

EU signs trade pact with southeast African nations

BAGHDAD – Two truck bombs struck separate communities north of Iraq's capital on Saturday, killing at least 16 people in t

Karzai increases lead to 46 pct in Afghan election

KABUL – President Hamid Karzai widened his lead in Afghanistan's presidential race as new vote tallies were released Satur

Stocks edge higher after jump in home sales

NEW YORK – Reports showing jumps in home sales and factory orders are keeping stocks afloat. Major stock indicators reverse

July new US home sales up 9.6 percent

WASHINGTON – New U.S. home sales surged 9.6 percent in July, rising for the fourth straight month and beating expectations as the housing m

Israel PM: progress made with US on settlements

BERLIN – The Israeli and Palestinian leaders are likely to hold their first meeting in the coming weeks, both sides indica

Powerful Iraqi Shiite leader dies in Iran

BAGHDAD – Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the scion of a revered clerical family who channeled rising Shiite Muslim power after the f

Sen. Edward Kennedy, 77, dies after cancer battle

HYANNIS PORT, Mass. – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty

Miss Universe 2009

Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez, winner of the Miss Universe 2009 annual pagean

Scotland defends Lockerbie bomber release

LONDON (AFP) – Scotland's first minister on Sunday defended his government's decision to free the Lockerbie bomber after a

Outbursts disrupt Baghdad bank robbery trial

BAGHDAD – Five members of Iraq's security forces charged in a deadly bank robbery went on trial Sunday, as relatives of th

Mullen: Afghan fight 'serious and deteriorating'

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. military officer described the situation in Afghanistan as "serious and deteriorating," but refu