World News

WASHINGTON, Conn. -- Newly arrived in Moscow on his first foreign assignment, Associated Press correspondent George Krimsky sensed he had a sensational Cold War scoop on his hands and he pounced.

BEIJING -- The death toll from a powerful gas explosion Saturday at a coal mine in northeastern China has risen to 87, with 21 miners still trapped more than a third of a mile underground, according to media reports.

KABUL -- Khalid Khan stares through the dusty window pane, down across the rooftops of the capital, and wonders if they really know where he lives.

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is inviting his mentor Fidel Castro to visit Venezuela during the coming months.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- U.S. Sen. John McCain said Saturday that he enjoyed reading running mate Sarah Palin's new memoir and downplayed any tension between their campaign aides as "no big deal."

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez is praising Carlos the Jackal, the imprisoned Venezuelan once notorious for a series of Cold War-era bombings, assassinations and hostage dramas, saying he was a "revolutionary fighter" and not a terrorist.

PERUGIA, Italy -- Prosecutors on Saturday requested life in prison for an American student and her ex-boyfriend accused in the fatal stabbing of her British roommate during a drug-fueled sex game - charges the U.S. woman dismissed as "pure fantasy."

HEGANG, China (Reuters) - The death toll from China's latest coal mine disaster reached 87 as hopes dimmed on Sunday that more survivors would be found a day after a gas blast at a colliery in the country's far northeast.

HEGANG, China (Reuters) - The death toll from China's latest coal mine disaster reached 87 as hopes dimmed on Sunday that more survivors would be found a day after a gas blast at a colliery in the country's far northeast.

CUCUTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Saturday ruled out any military retaliation against Venezuela after Venezuelan troops dynamited two cross-border footbridges.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli planes carried out air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip Sunday, injuring seven Palestinians, Palestinian medical workers said.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- Sen. John McCain says he has no doubt that "political correctness" played a role in preventing concerns about the alleged Fort Hood gunman from reaching the right people.

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Azerbaijan and Armenia hold talks on Sunday on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with Azeri ally Turkey pressing for progress before it seals an historic rapprochement with neighboring Armenia.

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan authorities have captured a former Colombian official wanted for collaborating with outlawed right-wing paramilitary fighters.

MEXICO CITY -- A top drug cartel suspect who turned state's evidence has been found dead in an apparent suicide, while a body found in Guerrero state was identified as a rebel leader who accused the state governor of drug ties, Mexican law enforcement said Saturday.

BERN, Switzerland -- A bear has attacked a man who entered its enclosure at a new park in Switzerland, and a policeman opened fire on the animal to defend the intruder.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran will begin large-scale air defense war games Sunday aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack, a senior military commander said Saturday, reflecting the country's concern that Israel could make good on threats to strike militarily.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka said on Saturday it will allow greater freedom of movement to refugees held in military-guarded camps from next month, after facing pressure to speed up resettlement of thousands of Tamils displaced by war.

LONDON -- Computer hackers have broken into a server at a well-respected climate change research center in Britain and posted hundreds of private e-mails and documents online - stoking debate over whether some scientists have overstated the case for man-made climate change.

VATICAN CITY -- After offering a home in his church to disaffected Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI assured the archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that he is still committed to seeking closer relations between Catholics and Anglicans.