Pakistan: Drones kill 13, including top militant

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani intelligence officials say two U.S. drone strikes in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan have killed 13 people, including a senior militant commander who had a truce with Pakistan's military.The five officials say two missile strikes occurred early Thursday in the South and North Waziristan tribal areas.They say the commander, Maulvi Nazir, was reportedly among...

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1 Indian gang rape suspect may be juvenile

NEW DELHI (AP) — A bone test is being conducted to confirm the age of a young suspect in custody in the fatal assault and gang rape of a woman on a bus in India's capital, while prosecutors will seek the death penalty for five other men arrested with him, police said.The six will be formally charged in court on Thursday on accusations that they kidnapped, gang raped and murdered the 23-year-old woman...

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US, Europe hope the new year brings better times

NEW YORK (AP) — From the glittering New Year's ball dropping in Times Square to joyous fireworks in London and cheers in a once-isolated Asian country, the world did its best to ring in 2013 with hope for renewal after a year of economic uncertainty, searing violence and natural disasters."With all the sadness in the country, we're looking for some good changes in 2013," Laura Concannon, of Hingham,...

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Afghan violence falls in 2012, insider attacks up

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Violence in Afghanistan fell in 2012, but more Afghan troops and police who now shoulder most of the combat were killed, according to statistics compiled by The Associated Press.At the same time, insider killings by uniformed Afghans against their foreign allies rose dramatically, eroding confidence between the sides at a crucial turning point in the war and when NATO troops...

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Body of Georgian soldier found in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO says the body of a Georgian soldier who was reported missing earlier this month has been found in southern Afghanistan. The coalition says he had been captured, without providing further details.A statement Sunday says Afghan police found the body and turned it over to NATO forces Saturday. He went missing Dec. 18 in the restive province of Helmand.The solider from the...

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Indian gang-rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

SINGAPORE (AP) — An Indian woman who was gang-raped and beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at a Singapore hospital, after her ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection for women from sexual violence that impacts thousands of them every day.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was aware of the emotions the attack has stirred and that it was up to all Indians to ensure that...

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Sweater knit by Myanmar's Suu Kyi sells for $49K

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A hand-knit woolen sweater made by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has sold at an auction in Myanmar for $49,000.A Myanmar-based radio station won a bidding war for the sweater during an auction Thursday night held by Suu Kyi's opposition party. The bidding started at $6,000.Suu Kyi knitted the sweater — a red, green and blue V-neck — almost 30 years ago when she was living...

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India gang-rape victim in Singapore for treatment

SINGAPORE (AP) — A young woman who was gang-raped and assaulted on a moving bus in the Indian capital was flown Thursday to a Singapore hospital for treatment of severe internal injuries that could last several weeks, officials said.The 23-year-old student, who is in critical condition, arrived in Singapore on an air ambulance and was admitted to the Mount Elizabeth hospital, renowned for multi-organ...

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Shinzo Abe elected as Japan's prime minister

TOKYO (AP) — The lower house of Parliament has named conservative Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay) as Japan's new prime minister.The rise of Abe, whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors, ends more than three years at the helm for the left-leaning Democratic Party of Japan and brings back the conservative, pro-big business Liberal Democratic Party that governed for most of...

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policewoman walked into a high-security compound in Kabul Monday and killed an American contractor with a single bullet to the chest, the first such shooting by a woman in a spate of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies.Afghan officials who provided details identified the attacker as police Sgt. Nargas, a mother of four with a clean record. The...

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Taliban not demanding Afghan power monopoly

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban representatives at a conference did not insist on total power in Afghanistan and pledged to grant rights to women that the militant Islamist group itself brutally suppressed in the past, according to a Taliban statement received Sunday.The pledges emerged from a rare meeting last week involving Taliban and Kabul government representatives.The less strident substance...

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Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said.The rally in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban.Among the dead...

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NKorea says it has detained a US citizen

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday that an American citizen has been detained after confessing to unspecified crimes, confirming news reports about his arrest at a time when Pyongyang is facing criticism from Washington for launching a long-range rocket last week.The American was identified as Pae Jun Ho in a brief dispatch issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang....

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Asia stocks fall as US budget negotiations stall

BANGKOK (AP) — Heightened uncertainty about the outcome of budget negotiations in Washington among President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican lawmakers drove Asian stock markets lower Friday.If a compromise is not in place by Jan. 1, the Bush-era tax cuts will expire and spending cuts will kick in automatically — a one-two punch to the economy that many experts fear will...

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Thailand to extradite Italian accused of mob ties

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court on Thursday ordered the extradition of a fugitive Italian banker found guilty of laundering money for some of Italy's top mobsters through New York pizzerias in the 1970s and '80s.Handcuffed and dressed in an orange prison uniform, Vito Roberto Palazzolo told a judge, "This is not the rule of law!" Guards then escorted him to a prison van where he commented to reporters,...

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Huge crowds vote in SKorean presidential election

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Huge crowds turned out Wednesday to vote in a tight presidential race pitting the son of North Korean refugees against the conservative daughter of a late dictator who both favor greater engagement with rival North Korea.Despite bitter cold, turnout was higher than past elections, which political analysts said might provide a slight boost to liberal Moon Jae-in over conservative...

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Crippled NKorean probe could orbit for years

TOKYO (AP) — A North Korean satellite launched into space last week appears to be malfunctioning but could remain in orbit for several years, a leading expert in the United States said Tuesday.North Korea says the satellite is working. Even if it isn't, its successful launch into space marks a milestone in the impoverished country's technological advances, especially given accusations that the rocket...

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North Koreans mourn Kim Jong Il 1 year later

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Koreans stopped in their tracks at midday to silently honor former ruler Kim Jong Il, whose death one year ago Monday swept his 20-something son to power.The son, Kim Jong Un, led top military and government officials in reopening the sprawling mausoleum where his father's body now lies in state near that of his grandfather, the nation's founder Kim Il Sung. The...

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Rocket still centerpiece as NKoreans mourn Kim

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea's top leadership is calling the successful launch of a satellite proof that Kim Jong Un has the strength to lead the country one year after his father's death.A solemn Kim Jong Un joined top political, government and military officials Sunday in a national memorial service at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium on the eve of the anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death.The...

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Sympathy over US school shooting stretches globe

BANGKOK (AP) — Shock and sympathy were the initial reactions from around the world to a shooting rampage in Connecticut that left 28 people dead, including 20 children at an elementary school. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the attack as a "senseless and incomprehensible act of evil.""Like President Obama and his fellow Americans, our hearts too are broken," Gillard said in a statement.The...

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