BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say insurgent attacks in separate parts of the country have killed four people including a 7-year-old boy and wounded five others. Police officials say that the first attack took place early Sunday when gunmen attacked an army checkpoint near the city of Samarra north of Baghdad, killing three soldiers and wounding two others. In the western province of Anbar, police said a roadside bomb went off on a security patrol in the city of Fallujah, killing the boy who was walking near the patrol. Three policemen were wounded also in the attack. Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media. Violence has ebbed in Iraq, but insurgent attacks are still frequent.Egypt court grants Mubarak appeal, orders retrial

CAIRO (AP) — A Cairo court on Sunday granted Hosni Mubarak's appeal of his life sentence, ordering a retrial of the ousted Egyptian president convicted of failing to prevent the killing of hundreds of protesters during the uprising that toppled his regime.The ruling read out by judge Ahmed Ali Abdel-Rahman during the brief court session also overturned the conviction of Mubarak's former security...

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Iraq attacks kill 4, including 7-year-old boy

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say insurgent attacks in separate parts of the country have killed four people including a 7-year-old boy and wounded five others.Police officials say that the first attack took place early Sunday when gunmen attacked an army checkpoint near the city of Samarra north of Baghdad, killing three soldiers and wounding two others.In the western province of Anbar, police...

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Israeli PM vows to move ahead with E-1 settlement

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israel's prime minister pledged Sunday to move ahead with construction of a new Jewish settlement in a strategic part of the West Bank, speaking just hours after Israeli troops dragged dozens of Palestinian anti-settlement activists from the area.The activists had pitched more than two dozen tents at the site on Friday, laying claim to the land and drawing attention to...

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Nationals convince LaRoche to extend Washington stay

(Reuters) - The Washington Nationals finally persuaded Adam LaRoche to put pen to paper on Tuesday after spending the first half of the off-season courting their lead slugger.The free agent inked a two-year deal worth $24 million with an option for a third season, adding solidity to an improving Nationals team and rewarding the franchise for their patience.The 33-year-old had earlier declined to...

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Israeli PM says border fence with Syria needed

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister says he will erect a fortified fence on the border with Syria to protect against radical Islamist forces that he claims have taken over the area.Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel needs a barrier like a new Egyptian border fence that he says has stemmed the flow of African migrants. He said the Syrian regime was "unstable" and Israel was concerned about the country's...

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Iran lawmakers seek deeper probe in blogger death

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A powerful group in Iran's parliament called Sunday for expanded investigations into the death of a jailed blogger in a case that has already brought down the chief of the Internet-monitoring police and opened rare public debates over the growing powers of the country's Web watchers.While the blogger, Sattar Beheshti, was not the first suspected opposition activist to die in Iranian...

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Assad outlines new Syria peace plan

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday outlined his vision for a road map to end nearly 22 months of violence in Syria but also struck a defiant tone, calling on his countrymen to unite against "murderous criminals" whom he said are carrying out a foreign plot seeking to tear the nation apart.In a one-hour speech to the nation in which he appeared confident and relaxed, Assad ignored...

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Northern Irish fighting rages on as rioters branded "a disgrace"

 Northern Irish police came under attack by pro-British loyalists on Friday as the province's first minister branded rioters "a disgrace" and said they were playing into the hands of rival militant nationalists.Rioting began a month ago after a vote by mostly nationalist pro-Irish councilors to end the century-old tradition of flying the British flag from Belfast City Hall every day unleashed...

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U.N. Security Council voices worry about Central African Republic rebels

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council voiced alarm on Friday at an advance by rebels in Central African Republic that has brought them within striking distance of the mineral-rich nation's capital, and renewed its call for a negotiated solution to the crisis. Central African Republic President Francois Bozize will refuse to leave power during talks with the Seleka rebel alliance, his...

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India gang-rape victim's friend recounts attack

NEW DELHI (AP) — The companion of a woman who was gang-raped aboard a moving bus in India's capital said Friday that after being attacked for 2 1/2 hours, the pair was thrown on the side of the road, where passersby ignored them and police debated jurisdiction issues before helping them.The male companion, who has not been named, made the comments in a TV interview, the first time he had recounted...

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Venezuela VP: Chavez could be sworn in by court

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president said Friday that President Hugo Chavez could be sworn in by the Supreme Court later on if he's not able to take the oath of office next week before lawmakers because of his struggle with cancer.Vice President Nicolas Maduro made the comment in a televised interview on Friday night, dismissing the argument by some opposition leaders that new elections...

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Chavez swearing-in can be delayed: Venezuelan VP

 President Hugo Chavez's formal swearing-in for a new six-year term scheduled for January 10 can be postponed if he is unable to attend due to his battle to recover from cancer surgery, Venezuela's vice president said on Friday.Nicolas Maduro's comments were the clearest indication yet that the Venezuelan government is preparing to delay the swearing-in while avoiding naming a replacement for...

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Ivory Coast stampede survivors blame barricades

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Survivors of a stampede in Ivory Coast that killed 61 people, most of them children and teenagers, after a New Year's Eve fireworks display said Wednesday that makeshift barricades stopped them from moving along a main boulevard, causing the crush of people.Ivory Coast police said unknown people put tree trunks across the Boulevard de la Republique where the trampling took...

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C. African Republic leader faces rebel threat

DAMARA, Central African Republic (AP) — More than 30 truckloads of troops from Chad line the two-lane highway just outside of Damara, supporting Central African Republic government forces who want to block a new rebel coalition from reaching the capital.In a display of force, the turbaned fighters hold their rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons they threaten to use if the rebels seeking to...

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Venezuela's opposition demands "whole truth" about Chavez health

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition on Wednesday demanded the government tell "the whole truth" about the health of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez, who has not been heard from in three weeks after undergoing a grueling operation in Cuba.Officials have acknowledged the usually garrulous former soldier's health is delicate after his fourth cancer surgery in 18 months, but they have offered...

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Myanmar military admits airstrikes against Kachin

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's military acknowledged launching airstrikes against ethnic Kachin rebels in the north and said it captured a hilltop post from where the insurgents had attacked government supply convoys.The statement broadcast on state television Wednesday contradicted government claims two days earlier that the military was not carrying out offensive air attacks on the Kachin, raising...

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APNewsBreak: Google exec chairman to visit NKorea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Google's executive chairman is preparing to travel to one of the last frontiers of cyberspace: North Korea.Eric Schmidt will be traveling to North Korea on a private, humanitarian mission led by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that could take place as early as this month, sources told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The sources, two people familiar with the group's...

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