World News

UN chief urges SKorea to do more for international community

SEOUL, South Korea - UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on South Korea to contribute more foreign aid and peacekeepers abroad, saying Friday his homeland owes the international community for its help rebuild...

Tropical Storm Bertha forms in the Atlantic

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Bertha has formed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. At 11 p.m. EDT Thursday, Bertha was centred 297 kilometres west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Isla...

China agrees to more talks with Dalai Lama's envoys if he supports Olympics

BEIJING - More talks could be held between envoys of the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities if the Tibetan spiritual leader openly demonstrates his support for the Beijing Olympics, officials said. ...

Drifter pleads in Wisconsin torture-homicide case

MADISON, Wis. - A member of a gang of drifters who was accused of helping to kill another woman in the group and of torturing the woman's 11-year-old son pleaded no contest Thursday to reckless homici...

Most of scenic Big Sur evacuated after wildfire spreads, but some stay behind

BIG SUR, Calif. - An explosive wildfire ravaged the hillsides above this scenic coastal community Thursday, leaving the popular tourist region mostly deserted ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holida...

Daring Colombian rescue operation hinged on rebel disarray, payback

BOGOTA, Colombia - The plan was nothing if not audacious: A turncoat persuades rebels to bring together their most prized hostages and march them some 150 kilometres through Colombia's wilderness. A m...

Obama struggles to avert impression that he's changing stance on Iraq

FARGO, N.D. - Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war. ...

U.S. command says it spent $250 million trying to find American hostages

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military says it flew thousands of spy flights over Colombian jungles trying to find and free three Defence Department contractors every day since their 2003 kidnapping. The cost...

Puerto Rico police rescue 181 dogs, cats and birds, arrest their owners

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Police say they rescued 181 dogs, cats and birds from a farm in southern Puerto Rico where they were found sick and undernourished in dirty cages. Officer Lourdes Ortiz says...

Obama hints he could change his plan to bring U.S. troops home early

FARGO, N.D. - Democrat Barack Obama opened the door Thursday to refining his plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq in 16 months based on what he hears from military commanders during his upcoming t...