Syrian govt to take part in peace conference
MOSCOW (AP) -- The Syrian government has agreed to a conference on the country's future proposed by Russia and the United States, Russia's foreign ministry said Friday...

WHO: Scientific red tape mars efforts vs. virus
GENEVA (AP) -- International efforts to combat a new pneumonia-like virus that has now killed 22 people are being slowed by unclear rules and competition for the potentially profitable rights to disease samples, the head of the World Health Organization warned Thursday....

Foreign preacher takes rare turn on Vietnam stage
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- The 25,000 people at the soccer stadium and the millions more watching at home waited 90 minutes before the Australian evangelical preacher got to the message he had come to Communist-ruled Vietnam to deliver....

Sweden's riots raise questions about inequality
HUSBY, Sweden (AP) -- Sweden has long been a bastion of generous social welfare and an egalitarian political culture. So many people were shocked when scores of youths hurled rocks at police and set cars ablaze during rioting in several largely immigrant areas near Stockholm this week....

Police: Suicidal jumper's fall kills SKorean girl
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korean police say a suicidal man jumping to his death killed a 5-year-old girl by falling on her as she walked with her parents outside the apartment building....

No guarantee of peace, NKorean envoy warns China
BEIJING (AP) -- China's state media says an envoy from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned there is no guarantee of peace on the Korean Peninsula, but also stressed that his country is willing to hold talks with all sides to find a solution....

Britain braces for possible copycat attacks
LONDON (AP) -- Britain is bracing for clashes with right-wing extremists and possible copycat terror attacks after the slaying of a young soldier, adding some 1,200 police to potential trouble spots....

Earthquake hits Russia's Far East
MOSCOW (AP) -- A powerful earthquake on Friday hit Russia's Far East with tremors felt as far away as Moscow, about 7,000 kilometers (4,400 miles) west of the epicenter....

Obama's drone speech welcomed in Pakistan, Yemen
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- President Barack Obama's speech on the use of drones to kill Islamic militants was well-received in two countries most affected by the strikes - Pakistan and Yemen - but criticism of the U.S. policy remains strong....

Stricken Japan nuke plant struggles to keep staff
TOKYO (AP) -- Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it....