ROME (AP) ― A boat carrying as many as 300 migrants from Libya capsized in rough seas off the Italian coast early Wednesday, leaving 250 people unaccounted for. Survivors told of desperately trying to reach rescue boats as those unable to swim screamed in the darkness and pulled one another under the water.If the number of dead is confirmed, it would prove the deadliest crossing to Italy in recent

Letter to U.S. president also wishes him luck with his re-election bidWASHINGTON (AP) ― Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appealed directly to President Barack Obama on Wednesday to end what Gadhafi called “an unjust war.” He also wished Obama good luck in his bid for re-election next year.“You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action,” Gadhafi wrote in a rambling, three-p

TOKYO (AP) ― Moody’s Investors Service warned Wednesday it may downgrade its credit rating for Toyota Motor Corp. due to the financial fallout from suspended car production following the March 11 quake and tsunami.The rating agency said Toyota’s financial and operating performance will worsen as a result of the disasters, which are causing major disruptions in auto parts supply and have forced Toy

Notes released from March 15 meeting show growing worries about inflationWASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal Reserve officials raised concerns last month that a big jump in energy prices could weaken the economy and unleash inflation, prompting a few to suggest the possibility of tightening credit this year. Such a move usually involves boosting interest rates, although the minutes from the Fed’s closed-doo

WASHINGTON (AP) ― No longer the fresh voice of change, President Barack Obama embarked on a bid for re-election Monday by asking a divided, anxious electorate to let him finish the job he won in 2008. He’s getting an early start against a Republican field that’s still undefined, but he’s saddled with an ailing economy that still isn’t working for millions of voters.Obama began with an effort to re

WASHINGTON (AP) ― A Republican plan for the 2012 U.S. budget would cut more than $4 trillion over the next decade, more than even the president’s debt commission proposed, with spending caps as well as changes in the Medicare and Medicaid health programs, its principal author said Sunday.The spending blueprint from Rep. Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is to be released Tuesd

Economists expect stronger hiring, producing a net gain of about 2.5m jobsWASHINGTON (AP) ― The nation’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in two years in March, and the outlook is brightening as major companies plan to add more jobs.Increased hiring cut the unemployment rate to 8.8 percent ― an encouraging sign for the unemployed and for President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects.

NEW DELHI (AP) ― Pakistan has agreed to host Indian investigators looking into the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks blamed on Pakistan-based militants, the two countries announced Tuesday after talks aimed at building trust between the sides.The agreement in principal was seen a breakthrough after more than two years of impasse over the investigation. India had frozen discussions with Pakistan after the

JERUSALEM (AP) ― Israel is considering annexing major West Bank settlement blocs if the Palestinians unilaterally seek world recognition of a state, an Israeli official said Tuesday ― moves that would deal a grave blow to prospects for negotiating a peace deal between the two sides.Israel has refrained from taking such a diplomatically explosive step for four decades. The fact that it is consideri

Stock movements may seem irrational, but they tend to follow patterns even in times of crisisNEW YORK (AP) ― The threat of severe nuclear contamination from a breached Japanese nuclear reactor still looms. The outcome of the escalating war in Libya is uncertain. Yet The Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended the week up 2.7 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.1 percent. So what happened to

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AFP) ― Marriage in Morocco has an increasingly changing face these days as young men and women in search of lifetime partners head for the souk, in this case a “cyber” marriage souk.In a country where many marriages are still arranged, a click of a computer mouse will take the Internaut to Soukzouaj, a free site where thousands of lonely hearted young Moroccans look for their soul mates“This marriage site was created in June 2010,” Yasser Nejjar, founder of soukzouaj.ma, tol

BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) ― Libyan rebels were pushing their advance on Sunday after recapturing two key towns from Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in their first major victories since the launch of Western-led air strikes.The rebels, who were in danger of losing their eastern stronghold city of Benghazi before the strikes were launched on March 19, on Saturday seized back Ajdabiya and Brega, 160 and 240 kil

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) ― Spencer Levin is atop the leader board after the opening round for the third time this year, so that’s nothing new. It was his score Thursday afternoon at Bay Hill that surprised him and everyone else.In warm, blustery conditions on a course that allowed only three rounds in the 60s and the most rounds in the 80s in nearly two decades, Levin had a 6-under 66 and a three-sho

Volkswagen AG, PSA Peugeot Citroen and other European automakers may be forced to halt production in coming weeks as component suppliers in earthquake-ravaged Japan struggle to restart factories.The recovery to normal production levels may take months and cost the industry “billions of euros” in lost revenue, said Lars Holmqvist, head of the region’s Clepa auto suppliers association in a telephone

EU leaders sign off on new crisis strategy amid fears over Portugal’s finances, Irish banksBRUSSELS (AP) ― On the day that EU leaders presented what they hoped was the final version of their plan to solve the region’s debt troubles, their summit in Brussels was overwhelmed by debate over Portugal’s political crisis.The meeting, which concluded early Friday, was supposed to mark the moment when gov

PEORIA, Arizona (AP) ― Melky Cabrera, Alex Gordon and Lance Zawadzki each hit two-run homers and the Kansas City Royals broke a four-game spring training losing streak with a 9-8 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.The Royals trailed 4-0 before scoring nine straight runs, including five in the sixth. Pedro Feliz added a pair of RBI doubles and Bruce Chen gave up four runs on five hits in six

MIAMI (AFP) ― World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, weekend winner of the Indian Wells WTA title, launched her bid for a second straight crown with a victory at the Miami WTA and ATP Masters tournament.Wozniacki on Thursday reached the third round of the $9 million event with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.“Especially in the first match you want to get going, you want to have the rallies,” said the Dane, who like all the top seeds enjoyed a first-round bye.“But I really couldn’

Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said about 40 component suppliers in Japan remain in difficulty after the nation’s record earthquake, complicating automakers’ efforts to restart car production.Electronic components, plastics and rubber are in short supply and will affect Japanese automakers and rivals outside the country, Ghosn, 57, said in a telephone interview. Carmakers ar

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― We’ve all been to weddings where the bride and groom hand out disposable cameras to capture every angle of their big day. Now, a new application called Color allows you to do something similar with your phone, by sharing your images, videos and comments with anyone who comes within 50 feet of you.The free app figures out if other users are close to you by using a secret blend of

Defiant Gadhafi vows victoryTRIPOLI (AP) ― Moammar Gadhafi’s snipers and tanks are terrorizing civilians in the coastal city of Misrata, a resident said, and the U.S. military warned Tuesday it was “considering all options” in response to dire conditions there that have left people cowering in darkened homes and scrounging for food and rainwater.The U.S. is days away from turning over control of t