Aid on the way to devastated Myanmar but so is heavy rain
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- More aid is on the way to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar - but so is the heavy rain. A week after Cyclone Nargis flattened low-lying villages and killed whole families at a time, the military junta finally agreed Friday to allow a U.S. cargo plane to bring in food and other supplies to the isolated country. Myanmar gave the green light after confiscating other shipments, prompting the U.N. to order a temporary freeze in shipments....
Mexico blames gangs for killing top cop
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico's top security official blamed organized crime for the brazen killing of an acting federal police chief, saying Friday his death shows a nationwide crackdown is hurting gangs....
UN seeks $187 million to aid cyclone survivors in Myanmar
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations is seeking $187 million to help an estimated 1.5 million cyclone survivors in Myanmar over the next three months, U.N. officials said Friday....
Rocket hits BBC bureau in Baghdad
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Shiite militants launched rockets toward the fortified Green Zone on Friday, taking advantage of a sandstorm that gave cover from attacks by U.S. aircraft. Some rockets fell short, including one that damaged the British Broadcasting Corp. bureau....
US offering to help China in fight against viral infection
BEIJING (AP) -- The United States is offering to help China in its fight against a viral infection that has killed 34 children, including two reported Friday, and sickened thousands of others....
Experts: Myanmar cannot run aid effort alone after cyclone
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- With only a few aging helicopters and little disaster experience, Myanmar's junta is risking the lives of millions of cyclone survivors by running the relief operation alone, aid experts said Friday....
Train quarantined in Ontario with mystery illness
TORONTO (AP) -- Canadian authorities quarantined a train in northern Ontario Friday after a woman died and several other people came down with an undetermined illness....
Witnesses: 6 killed in Somalia gunbattle with insurgents
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Insurgents attacked a Somali military base near the presidential palace in Mogadishu on Friday, and an ensuing gunbattle left at least six people dead and 13 wounded, witnesses said....
Calls mount for Olmert's resignation
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Calls for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's resignation mounted on Friday as police probed allegations that he accepted hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars in cash-stuffed envelopes from a U.S. citizen....
Zimbabwe opposition won't meet with visiting mediator Mbeki
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwe's opposition declined to meet with visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki on Friday and said that he should be replaced as mediator in the country's political crisis....
Guantanamo detainees spead word to boycott trials
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- The message travels among Guantanamo detainees in whispers between recreation areas and shouts through slots in cell doors: Don't trust the Americans. Boycott....
Deadly cyclone overshadows Myanmar's vote on constitution
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar's military junta pushed ahead Saturday with a referendum on a proposed constitution despite a devastating cyclone that killed tens of thousands....
France plans for possible Lebanon evacuation
PARIS (AP) -- France is creating a plan to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon in case the country's sectarian violence spreads, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday....
Cease-fire in Pakistan's Swat Valley
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani authorities and pro-Taliban militants declared a cease-fire Friday in the volatile Swat Valley in the latest bid to curtail an explosion of violence along the Afghan border, officials said....
Hezbollah gunmen seize control of Beirut neighborhoods
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- Shiite Hezbollah gunmen seized control of key parts of Beirut from Sunnis loyal to the U.S.-backed government Friday, a dramatic show-of-force certain to strengthen the Iranian-allied group's hand as it fights for dominance in Lebanon's political deadlock....
Sri Lanka election draws complaints
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (AP) -- A bomb blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels ripped through a cafe in eastern Sri Lanka Friday, killing 11 people and casting a cloud over pivotal provincial elections scheduled for Saturday....
Russia puts tanks and missiles back in Red Square parade
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia showcased its military might and youthful new president to the world Friday, as heavy tanks and missile launchers rumbled across Red Square in a Victory Day parade for the first time since the Soviet era....
