Iraq PM ramps up attacks on Baathists before vote BAGHDAD (AP) -- A stepped-up campaign by Iraq's prime minister against Saddam Hussein loyalists is alienating Sunni Muslims and stoking tensions between them and the majority Shiites ahead of key national elections....
Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel....
Israeli aircraft strike Gaza targets JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli aircraft attacked two suspected weapons-making factories and a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel....
Iran releases ex-official on bail in mass trial TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran released a former vice president on a $700,000 bail Sunday after his lawyer said he had been sentenced to six years in prison in the mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the post-election unrest....
Survivors recount China mine disaster; 92 dead HEGANG, China (AP) -- When gas levels suddenly spiked deep in the Xinxing coal mine, Wang Jiguo grabbed two co-workers and they ran for their lives. Minutes later, there was a huge bang, a torrent of hot air and the earth shuddered....
Police: IRA dissidents plant car bomb in Belfast DUBLIN (AP) -- Irish Republican Army dissidents left a 400-pound (180-kilogram) car bomb outside police reform headquarters in Belfast but the homemade device failed to detonate, Northern Ireland's police commander said Sunday....
Denmark: 65 world leaders for UN climate summit COPENHAGEN (AP) -- Sixty-five world leaders have said they will attend the Copenhagen climate summit in December, and several more have responded positively to invitations, Danish officials said Sunday....
Indonesian ferry sinks; 29 dead, some 240 rescued JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Rescuers saved more than 240 people aboard a crowded Indonesian passenger ferry that sank Sunday in rough waters off Sumatra island, but 29 people have died and at least 17 others were missing, officials said....
Canadian woman loses benefits over Facebook photo BROMONT, Quebec (AP) -- A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun....
Rare Charles Darwin book found on toilet bookshelf LONDON (AP) -- An auction house says it is selling a rare first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" found in a family's guest lavatory in southern England....
