World News

LONDON -- A British couple being held hostage by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday that they fear they will be killed or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom is not paid soon.

GENEVA -- The World Health Organization said Friday it is investigating samples of variant swine flu linked to two deaths and one severe case in Norway, but that so far the significance of the mutation is unclear.

CAIRO -- Egyptian soccer fans burned Algerian flags and rioted outside the Algerian Embassy in Cairo, smashing cars and shop windows, in an escalating row between the two countries over a bitter World Cup rivalry.

STOCKHOLM -- Swedish soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom, an international opera star, has died, her husband Sverker Olow says.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Iran on Friday for a violent crackdown on protesters after presidential elections this year that the Iranian opposition says were rigged.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's announcement of a new strategy on Afghanistan will not take place until after the Thanksgiving holiday next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's announcement of a new strategy on Afghanistan will not take place until after the Thanksgiving holiday next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday.

BERNE (Reuters) - Asian champions Iraq have been suspended from international soccer because of political interference in the country's Football Association, world governing body FIFA said on Friday.

GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemalan officials on Friday announced the resumption of international adoptions after a nearly two-year suspension prompted by the discovery that some babies were being sold.

PERUGIA, Italy -- An American student accused of fatally stabbing her British roommate in Italy had a growing hatred for the victim and killed her in retaliation during a drug-fueled sex game, a prosecutor contended Friday in closing arguments at her murder trial.

LONDON (Reuters) - France captain Thierry Henry has agreed a replay against Ireland would be the fairest solution to the controversy surrounding the teams' World Cup playoff.

LONDON -- Catherine Ashton: International woman of mystery.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Herman Van Rompuy's appointment as the first European Union president provoked fears in Turkey that he might hinder Ankara's hopes of joining the bloc, with some media declaring outright that he is anti-Turkish.

BERNE (Reuters) - Asian champions Iraq have been suspended from international football because of political interference in the country's FA, FIFA said Friday.

MOSCOW -- A Russian ship reached open water off Antarctica after struggling through a huge mass of sea ice for days, a Russian shipping company and a British travel agency said Friday.

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian officials announced Friday that a new date for parliamentary and presidential elections will be set next month now that President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to postpone the January vote, though the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers maintain they will boycott the voting.

MOSCOW -- Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized Kremlin policies Friday and toyed with the ambitious idea of attempting a political comeback.

SALVADOR, Brazil -- Brazil's President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is joining his Palestinian counterpart in calling on Israel to stop building new settlements in areas claimed by Palestinians.

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Ugandan officials say the army has killed 34 tribesmen who were stealing cattle in Uganda's volatile northeastern region.

LONDON -- World stock markets fell Friday amid mounting concerns about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery following a disappointing earnings update from computer maker Dell Inc.