World News

BEIJING - Call me a lecher but don't call me a crook, an ex-city official at the heart of a sex tape scandal has said in his unusually spirited courtroom defense against corruption charges.

SINGAPORE Singapore urged people to remain indoors amid unprecedented levels of air pollution Thursday as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically.

Al-Qaida's Iraq arm is gaining strength in the restive northern city of Mosul, reviving its fundraising efforts through gangland-style shakedowns, feeding off anti-government anger and increasingly carrying out attacks with impunity.

Monsoon flooding that has stranded thousands of people and caused landslides in northern India has killed almost 120 people, and the prime minister said the toll could rise substantially.

His announcement that the Fed will likely end its extraordinary bond-buying program next year sends the Dow down more than 200 points.

In this photo released by Venezuela's Civil Protection Press Office, a rescue worker looks through a helicopter window at a coral reef in Los Roques, north of Caracas, on Jan. 5, 2008.

The defendants operated an illegal Internet and telephone sports betting business involving millions of dollars, the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego said in its announcement of the arrests.

With Prince William and the former Kate Middleton expecting their first child in mid-July - and much of the world interested in the birth of a future monarch - officials at Clarence House have released some of the couple's plans, although many details are still being kept private.

A state security prosecutor in the United Arab Emirates says 30 Egyptian and UAE suspects have been charged with plotting a coup linked to a network of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, in a case likely to further strain relations with Cairo.

The attack took place just hours after the insurgent group announced it would hold talks with the US on finding a political solution to ending the nearly 12-year war in the country.

Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement.

Airborne laser technology has uncovered a network of roadways and canals, illustrating a bustling ancient city linking Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

An East Texas man has pleaded guilty to smuggling snakes on several planes from South America to the United States.

Many exchange shops closed in Damascus on Tuesday, fearing more chaos a day after the Syrian currency plunged to a new record low, reflecting growing fears in the capital following a U.S. decision to arm rebel groups fighting to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.

In this June 1, 2013 photo, Paraguayans returning from shopping in Clorinda, Argentina carry boxes and bags across the international bridge over the Pilcomayo River into the town of Nanawa, Paraguay.

A double suicide bombing attack at a Shiite mosque in Baghdad has killed at least 24 people and wounded dozens more.

Media in Mozambique say at least five government troops were killed and two others were wounded in fighting with alleged members of an opposition group.

The transition is a major milestone in the war, with the coalition insisting Afghan security forces are strong enough to fight the Taliban (AP At least three people have been killed as a large bomb exploded in the Afghan capital - the day the international military coalition hands over responsibility for fighting the Taliban insurgency to the ... (more)

Thailand's Buddhism body said it is monitoring monks nationwide for any inappropriate behavior after a video showed monks using luxurious personal items while flying on a private jet.

In this Sunday, March 3, 2013 file photo, A Kurdish female member of the Popular Protection Units stands guard at a check point near the northeastern city of Qamishli, Syria.