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Associated Press: World News

43 minutes ago

(AP) Syria's leader sent a July 4 message full of praise to President Barack Obama on Friday and invited him to visit Syria _ the latest signs Damascus is hedging its bets in Mideast politics, warming up to its rival the United States at a time when its longtime ally Iran ...

Asia

Myanmar denies UN chief's request to see Suu Kyi

46 minutes ago

(AP) U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon could leave Myanmar empty-handed after failing to win any concessions Friday during a rare meeting with the country's top military ruler or to gain permission to visit opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in jail.Ban talked for two hours with reclusive Senior Gen. Than Shwe in ...

Africa

African leaders approve anti-ICC move

46 minutes ago

(AP) African leaders have approved a contentious decision to denounce the International Criminal Court and refuse to extradite Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir.The final decision by the African Union heads of state summit says AU members "shall not cooperate ... in the arrest and transfer of the President of Sudan to the ...

Asia

Myanmar's frustrated generation looks abroad

1 hour, 37 minutes ago

(AP) Armed with a law degree from the University of East Yangon, 22-year-old Win is clear-eyed about his job prospects: Practically speaking, there are none. For him, the future lies overseas.Abroad there is "some hope, some opportunity. But in our country, there's no hope left," said Win, who is applying to ...

Africa

Protesters block Paris airport over Yemen crash

2 hours, 25 minutes ago

(AP) Protesters linked arms across an entrance at Paris' main airport on Friday to keep passengers off a Yemeni flight to Comoros that saw a deadly crash this week after years of complaints about dangerous conditions en route to the Indian Ocean island nation.Many in the Comoran community in France are ...

Middle East

Gaza aid boat passengers still in Israeli custody

2 hours, 46 minutes ago

(AP) Most members of a group of foreign peace activists seized at sea by the Israeli navy remained in custody Friday, three days after their failed attempt to run Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, relatives and supporters said.In the latest attempt by activists to break a crippling two-year blockade of ...

Europe and Russia

Jill Biden meets troops in Germany

3 hours, 43 minutes ago

(AP) Jill Biden, the Second Lady of the United States, observed U.S. Independence Day by visiting American troops in Germany en route to an education conference in Paris.U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's wife stressed Friday that supporting soldiers and their families was important to her work as Second Lady, as well ...

Mystery surrounds missing Cuban pitcher

3 hours, 43 minutes ago

(AP) A Cuban pitcher considered by many baseball scouts to be the No. 1 left-handed prospect in the world left his hotel and vanished before the first ball was thrown at a tournament in the Netherlands, leaving his whereabouts a mystery, a spokesman for the Dutch team said Friday.Aroldis Chapman, a ...

Latin America

Brazil: Senegal took control of doomed flight

4 hours, 1 minute ago

(AP) Brazil's air force has released a recording it says proves it handed over control of Air France Flight 447 to Senegalese authorities before it crashed.The audio has been posted on the air force Web site after a French official said air traffic controllers in Dakar, Senegal, never officially took control ...

Asia

Official: Helicopter crash kills 26 in NW Pakistan

4 hours, 7 minutes ago

(AP) A military official says 26 security personnel have been killed in a helicopter crash in northwestern Pakistan.The official says the incident took place Friday and that a technical fault was to blame.The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information to the media.Earlier, ...

Africa

$10B deal would ship gas from Africa to Europe

4 hours, 7 minutes ago

(AP) Nigeria's state oil company says that Nigeria, Algeria and Niger have signed an agreement to create a $10 billion trans-Saharan gas pipeline to ship gas to Europe.Managing director Mohammed Barkindo said Friday the project was approved by energy ministers from all three governments.Nigeria's energy minister, Rilwanu Lukmanu, says the countries ...

Europe and Russia

Putin responds to Obama's criticism

4 hours, 7 minutes ago

(AP) Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the U.S. president is wrong to suggest he remains mired in a Cold War mindset.President Barack Obama told The Associated Press on Thursday that he thinks Russian President Dmitry Medvedev understands the need to move away from Cold War-style confrontation, but that "Putin has one ...

Middle East

Syrian president praises Obama

4 hours, 25 minutes ago

(AP) Syria's leader has praised President Barack Obama's outreach for dialogue and invited him to visit Damascus.President Bashar Assad says in a telegram sent to Obama on the occasion of the July 4 Independence Day that the values Obama adopted during his election campaign and after becoming president are values that ...

Europe and Russia

Italian train derailment death toll rises to 22

4 hours, 31 minutes ago

(AP) The death toll from a train explosion in Tuscany rose to 22 Friday after three injured people died in hospital, Italian officials said.The Civil Protection said about a dozen of the injured remained in serious condition.A train carrying liquefied gas derailed around midnight Monday in the seaside town of Viareggio, ...

Russia approves bill easing pressure on NGOs

4 hours, 31 minutes ago

(AP) Russia's lower house of parliament has approved a law easing restrictions on the country's beleaguered non-governmental organizations.The Kremlin-loyal State Duma hurried through the bill's second and third reading Friday. It cleared by a vote of 383 for to 57 against, with no abstentions.The bill needs rubber-stamping by the upper house ...