High radioactivity in water may be result of damage to fuel rods and debrisTOKYO (AP) ― The operator of Japan’s tsunami-flooded nuclear power complex was seeking ways Thursday to pull damaged spent fuel rods out of a storage pool at one of its reactors, citing surging radiation and elevated temperatures as worrisome signs.The troubling signals at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex come as frust

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Cairo (AP) ― Egyptian prosecutors ordered the detention of the former president’s powerful sons for 15 days allegations of corruption and the abuse of their authority are investigated, state television said early Wednesday.The move, the most dramatic in a series of investigations against top regime officials, comes just hours after former President Hosni Mubarak, 82, was hospitali

Detentions authorized as part of inquiry into use of force against protestersCAIRO (AFP) -- Egypt’s ex-president Hosni Mubarak has been placed in detention for 15 days, prosecutors said Wednesday shortly after state media reported his two sons had also been detained.In a statement on the public prosecutor’s Facebook page, a spokesman said the prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud authorized the detentio

 

Fighters still prowl streets even after Gbagbo was arrested by forces backing OuattaraABIDJAN (AP) ― Five generals pledged their loyalty to President Alassane Ouattara on Tuesday following the capture of the country’s strongman leader after a four-month standoff, as French and Ivorian forces worked to eliminate the last pockets of resistance.Ouattara’s spokesman Patrick Achi confirmed that the gen

Veiled muslim women take part in a protest against France banning the wearing of Islamic veils in public, in London Monday, April 11, 2011. (AP-Yonhap News)PARIS (AFP) ― France ― home to Europe’s biggest Muslim population ― on Monday officially banned women from wearing full-face veils in public places. Other European countries have drawn up bans on the burqa and the niqab but France is the first

Opposition says will study proposal but dictator’s 41 year-old rule must endTRIPOLI (AP) ― A delegation of African leaders said Sunday that their Libyan counterpart, Moammar Gadhafi, accepted their “road map” for a cease-fire with rebels, whom they will meet Monday. They met hours after NATO airstrikes battered Gadhafi’s tanks, helping Libyan rebels push back government troops who had been advanci

CAIRO (AP) ― In the first remarks since his dramatic ouster, former President Hosni Mubarak denied that he used his position to amass wealth and property during three decades in power, and issued an emotional defense of his legacy.The statement, broadcast Sunday at the end of a turbulent weekend that saw a deadly military crackdown on protesters, only stoked more public anger in the midst of Egypt

TOKYO (AFP) ― Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday placed a signed advertisement in seven newspapers around the globe, thanking people for supporting Japan in the month since it was hit by a devastating tsunami.Here is the text of the advertisement, entitled Kizuna (the bonds of friendship):Thank you for the Kizuna.One month has passed since an earthquake of unprecedented scale struck Japan, taking

ALPHEN AAN DEN RIJN, Netherlands (AP) ― A man armed with a machine gun opened fire in a crowded shopping mall, killing six people and wounding 15, then committed suicide, officials and witnesses said.Children were among Saturday’s casualties, including an infant who was lightly injured, said Mayor Bas Eenhoorn. Three of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition.The rampage ended when the

JACKSON, Georgia (AP) ― An enormous tree limb that crashed through a Georgia family’s bedroom killed a father and the young son he was holding in his arms Tuesday as a fast-moving storm system pounded the South with tornadoes, hail and spectacular lightning.At least eight people were killed around the region, including several who died on roads made treacherous by downed trees and power lines.Para

U.S. Gen. Petraeus decries burning Quran as ‘extremely disrespectful’JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) ― Demonstrators battled police in southern Afghanistan’s main city on Sunday and took to the streets in the turbulent east for the first time as Western pleas failed to halt a third day of rage over a Florida pastor’s burning of the Quran.An officer was shot dead in a second day of clashes in the city

NEW YORK (AP) ― The price of oil rose to a 30-month high on Thursday as fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi pushed back rebels from key areas in eastern Libya.Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.45, more than 2 percent, to settle at $106.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point it hit $106.83, the highest it’s been since September, 2008. In London, Brent crude rose $

World No. 1 Nadal sets up showdown with FedererMIAMI (AFP) ― World tennis No. 1 Rafael Nadal will square off against Swiss rival Roger Federer in a rare semi-final showdown Friday that will be their first match on American soil in six years.Spain’s Nadal reached the last four at the $9 million WTA and ATP Masters tournament on Thursday by beating Czech Tomas Berdych 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.Third seed Federer barely broke a sweat as his quarter-final match was called off after just 10 minutes when Frenchma

DUBLIN (AFP) ― Ireland’s central bank on Thursday ordered a drastic overhaul of the eurozone nation’s stricken banking sector as the cost of bailing out its lenders was set to top 70 billion euros ($99 billion).The Central Bank of Ireland said in a statement that four lenders needed to raise an extra 24 billion euros after it carried out vital stress tests on their ability to withstand another fin

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― NASA scientists pored Wednesday over stunning new images of Mercury as their MESSENGER probe began a year-long mission to map the surface of the solar system’s least-understood planet.After a 7.9-billion-kilometer journey that took six-and-a-half years, the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft finally entered the planet’s orbit on March 17.MES

BEIJING (AP) ― China said Thursday that its military, under fire for a lack of transparency, will emphasize confidence-building measures and seek more exchanges with foreign militaries.The proposals in a policy white paper issued every two years follow complaints from the United States and other countries that China has not adequately explained the goals of its rapid military expansion in the last

NIHONMATSU, Japan (AFP) ― Farmers are facing the bitter aftermath of Japan’s nuclear emergency, which could see crops left to rot over a vast swathe of the country’s agricultural heartland.Growing national and international unease about the spread of radioactivity from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has led to bans on the sale of produce from four prefectures.Farmers working the soil i

Assad laying out plan to end state of emergency, but decree requires cabinet approvalLATAKIA, Syria (AP) ―Syria’s army was out in force Sunday in a port city scarred by unrest aimed at symbols of the government, which is struggling to put down an unprecedented nationwide outbreak of protest and dissent.President Bashar Assad’s regime has responded by both fatally shooting protesters, and promising