Syrian opposition urges rebels to join key battle
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syria's main opposition alliance on Wednesday urged fighters from around the country to reinforce a rebel-held town under attack by President Bashar Assad's troops and their allies from the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group....

Iran's Ahmadinejad denounces election decision
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that a decision by election overseers to disqualify his top aide from next month's presidential race is an act of "oppression" and that he will take the case to the country's supreme leader....

EU bid to label Hezbollah wing terror group
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union is reassessing whether to declare the Lebanese party Hezbollah's military wing a terrorist organization, a move it has long shied away from despite pressure from the United States, officials said Wednesday....

Trial for captain in deadly shipwreck in Italy
ROME (AP) -- An Italian judge has ordered the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship to stand trial for manslaughter in the vessel's shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany, which killed 32 people....

Irishman charged with 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing
DUBLIN (AP) -- British prosecutors have charged a 61-year-old Irishman with the Irish Republican Army bombing of the queen's cavalry in Hyde Park in 1982, a strike at a top London tourist attraction that killed four soldiers and seven horses....

North Korean leader sends special envoy to China
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- After months of ignoring China's warnings to give up its nuclear program, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a high-level confidant to Beijing on Wednesday, in a possible effort to mend strained ties with its most important ally and the latest sign that Pyongyang may be giving diplomacy a chance....

Life-saving face transplant performed in Poland
WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- A 33-year-old Polish man received a life-saving total face transplant just three weeks after being disfigured in a workplace accident, in what his doctors said Wednesday is the fastest timeframe to date for such an operation....

Octogenarians race to be oldest Everest climber
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years ago, but just missed becoming the oldest man to reach the summit, was back on the mountain Wednesday to make another attempt at the title....

Chinese premier visits Pakistan, praises ties
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- China's premier began a two-day visit to Pakistan on Wednesday by signing economic agreements and praising Islamabad in glowing terms that underscored the importance of the longstanding alliance to the two Asian powers....

Vienna official: Looted Nazi goods returned
VIENNA (AP) -- An official for the city of Vienna says the Austrian capital has handed over nearly 6,000 valuable objects looted by the Nazis to their rightful owners or their heirs since it started taking inventory of them 14 years ago....