Miners' families want answers in China mine blast
HEGANG, China (AP) -- Grieving family members demanded answers Monday from mining officials about the underground gas explosion that left at least 104 men dead in northeastern China....

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....

Search on for Indonesian ferry accident survivors
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Rescuers returned to choppy waters off Indonesia's Sumatra island Monday to search for 21 passengers still missing after a ferry sank in a storm. Officials say 254 survivors were pulled from the sea and at least 29 other people drowned....

Romania's president, rival in runoff election
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- Romania's centrist president will face a socialist former foreign minister in a Dec. 6 runoff election, partial results showed Monday, in a race key to helping the country emerge from a political and economic crisis....

Chinese critic on quake response gets 3 years
BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese court on Monday sentenced to three years in prison a veteran dissident who had criticized the government's response to a 2008 earthquake that killed about 90,000 people....

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....

US sailor cleared of assaulting Sydney prostitute
SYDNEY (AP) -- A U.S. Navy serviceman was found not guilty Monday of sexually assaulting a prostitute at a brothel while on shore leave in Australia's biggest city....

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....

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....