Exiled former leader makes surprise return to Honduras

In a dramatic move that seemed like something out of a Hollywood movie, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya sneaked back into his country and turned up Monday at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the capital. | 09/21/09 18:52:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Alleged 9/11 mastermind given copy of My Lai massacre film

War court prosecutor Robert Swann said Monday that he'd arranged for alleged al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheik Mohammed to get a copy of Judgment: The Court Martial of Lt. William Calley, a 1975 docudrama about an American Army officer held responsible for the murder of Vietnamese civilians by a squad of U.S. soldiers. | 09/21/09 20:29:30 By - Carol Rosenberg

More U.S. troops to Afghanistan? Obama's caught in a vise

With the military and Republicans publicly pressuring him to send more troops to Afghanistan soon and his own administration now deeply divided about how to proceed there, President Obama may be facing a defining moment of his presidency. He can escalate an unpopular and open-ended war and risk a backlash from his liberal base or refuse his commanders and risk being blamed for a military loss that could tar him and his party as weak on national security. | 09/21/09 19:37:00 By - Steven Thomma, Jonathan S. Landay and David Lightman

Guantanamo judge delays 9/11 cases; civilian trials pondered

The military judge overseeing the 9/11 mass murder case on Monday approved a 60-day delay in the proceedings to give the Obama administration time to decide whether to try the cases in U.S. civilian courts. On Sunday, the military's chief prosecutor said four U.S. attorneys in the United States are vying for the right to try the suspects. | 09/21/09 17:14:15 By - Carol Rosenberg

Exiled former leader makes surprise return to Honduras

60 years after revolution, ethnic tension still plagues China

China's leadership says it has calmed this city after almost 200 people were stabbed, bludgeoned or beaten to death in July riots and more violent protests this month forced the removal of top officials. | 09/21/09 00:35:00 By - Tom Lasseter

Latin America pioneers an anti-poverty program that works

Denise de Oliveira lost her job as a janitor in June when she had to stay home to care for her 13-year-old son, who had pneumonia. The 45-year-old single mother of four has kept food on the table, however, thanks to a government program that pays her family $70 per month. | 09/21/09 00:30:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Juanes' Havana concert was about more than music

Hundreds of thousands of revelers filled Havana's Plaza of the Revolution on Sunday for Juanes' historic mega-concert while in Miami, exiles watched on TV with mixed emotions. | 09/21/09 07:19:32 By - Lydia Martin and Jordan Levin

U.N. session will test whether Obama can deliver

President Barack Obama is about to make his first pilgrimage to the United Nations, where he'll be under scrutiny from fellow world leaders, much as he is domestically, to see whether he can deliver results as well as rhetoric. | 09/18/09 18:57:00 By - Warren P. Strobel

Military growing impatient with Obama on Afghanistan

Six months after it announced its strategy for Afghanistan, the Obama administration is sending mixed signals about its objectives there and how many troops are needed to achieve them. | 09/18/09 18:48:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

U.S. ambassador: Pakistan not backing U.S. goals on Taliban

Despite growing U.S. military losses in Afghanistan, Pakistan still refuses to target the extremist groups on its soil that are the biggest threat to the American-led mission there, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan told McClatchy. Pakistan's refusal to act in support of American goals is undermining the U.S. effort to deny al Qaida and other extremist groups a sanctuary in Afghanistan, she said. | 09/18/09 15:30:00 By - Saeed Shah

U.S. drops Hmong leader from newest Laos coup indictment

Hmong leader Vang Pao originally was among those indicted more than two years ago for allegedly plotting the violent overthrow of the communist regime in Laos. But a new indictment drops him from the list of those charged. A leader in the CIA battle in southeast Asia, Vang's indictment had brought widespread protest. | 09/18/09 14:32:24 By -

Cloud of suspicion hangs over Saudi prince's Cowboys-colored airplane

Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, one of the big-money suite holders in the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium, finds himself mired in controversy over his private jet, which is painted in the colors of his beloved Cowboys. | 09/18/09 12:32:34 By - Maria Recio

Some Cubans questioning politics behind Juanes' Havana concert

To many people here in Cuba, the concert for peace, organized by Colombian rocker Juanes, is much more than an afternoon of music and good times. Many Cubans say it's a desperate attempt by a government losing its grasp on the hearts of its people, a government that this week finally began to show its inevitable human vulnerability when one of its aging, beloved leaders died. | 09/18/09 07:13:19 By - Miami Herald Staff Report

Yet another Kuwaiti at Guantanamo is ordered freed

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly late Thursday ordered the Obama administration to released Fouad al Rabia, a 50-year-old Kuwaiti aeronautics engineer who's been held at Guantanamo since 2002. He is the 30th detainee ordered released since prisoners at the U.S. detention center in Cuba won the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. civilian courts. | 09/17/09 23:35:37 By - Carol Rosenberg

Karzai says he'll accept outcome of election fraud probes

After winning 54.6 percent of the vote in the initial tally of a fraud-tainted election, President Hamid Karzai, said Thursday that he hoped to serve another five years but would accept the results of investigations that could force him into a runoff. | 09/17/09 18:06:00 By - Hal Bernton

Suicide bomber attacks Italian convoy in Kabul, killing at least 6

A powerful suicide bomb attack struck an Italian convoy of NATO soldiers on Thursday along a major roadway in the heart of Kabul. By early afternoon, the Afghan Defense Ministry reported 10 civilian deaths and more than 50 wounded, while officials at NATO's International Security Assistance Force reported that six service members had been killed but didn't identify their nationalities. | 09/17/09 08:47:11 By - Hal Bernton

White House issues yardsticks for success in Afghanistan

The White House Wednesday presented Congress with eight general yardsticks to measure success in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but didn't say how they'd help the administration determine how well U.S. policy in the region is working. | 09/16/09 20:23:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

'Old friends' Cuba, China strengthen ties

Why is the world's third-largest economy spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Cuba, an impoverished island with few natural resources and a history of making things difficult for foreign investors? | 09/16/09 20:23:35 By - Tom Lasseter

U.S. military closes huge prison in southern Iraq

The U.S. military on Wednesday announced the closing of the sprawling Camp Bucca prison in southern Iraq, transferring $50 million in infrastructure and custody of all but 180 of the site's detainees to the Iraqi government. | 09/16/09 18:18:00 By - Hannah Allam

Can a Kosher Israeli wine become grand cru?

For the past six years, Yitzhak Cohen has supervised the grape harvest as Druze and Thai workers carefully separate the clusters from the vines and ready them for transport to his Ramot Naftali winery in northern Israel. | 09/16/09 17:49:00 By - Cliff Churgin

Karzai 'wins' 2-1, but fraud charges block victory claim

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission announced Wednesday that President Hamid Karzai won 54.6 percent of the vote in the national elections Aug. 20, but European Union election observers said that 1.5 million votes should be investigated under fraud standards the commission approved this summer. | 09/16/09 17:32:00 By - Hal Bernton

Iraqi baseball team finally in uniform, thanks to U.S. donors

Smiles broke out earlier this week as members of the Iraqi national baseball team tore into boxes filled with brand-new uniforms, courtesy of a Seattle-based company that donated the gear after a profile of the fledgling team by McClatchy and a national appeal by MSNBC. | 09/16/09 15:39:00 By - Laith Hammoudi

Fatal shootings of 14 Iraqis came after Blackwater was put on notice

Federal authorities had warned Blackwater that its private security employees had committed violent acts against innocent Iraqi civilians long before a 2007 shooting incident that killed at least 14 people, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in North Carolina. | 09/16/09 11:26:22 By - Fred Clasen-Kelly

U.N. commission accuses Israel, Hamas of Gaza war crimes

After a six-month investigation, the U.N.'s Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict has concluded there's evidence that Israeli forces and Palestinian militants committed war crimes during Israel's recent military operations in Gaza. The 554-page report released Tuesday has detailed investigations into 36 incidents, including some that McClatchy reported previously. | 09/15/09 19:03:00 By - Cliff Churgin

Top U.S. officer: Afghan war 'probably' needs more troops

Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the U.S. "probably" needs to send more troops to Afghanistan to support the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, which he called a large part of the problem there. | 09/15/09 17:52:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

U.N. panel orders recounts of 1 in 10 Afghan polling stations

Amid continuing charges of massive fraud in Afghanistan's presidential elections, a United Nations-backed complaints commission has ordered a recount of 10 percent of the 26,000 polling stations, U.N. officials said Tuesday. | 09/15/09 17:12:00 By - Hal Bernton

Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush freed, welcomed as hero

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-President Bush last year was freed from prison Tuesday, expressing no remorse for hurling what he called "my flower to the occupier." His colleagues slaughtered sheep and danced in celebration of his release. | 09/15/09 10:06:00 By - Hannah Allam

Obama signs Cuban trade embargo extension

President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of the law used to impose the trade embargo on Cuba, disappointing those who favored allowing the law to expire as a friendly nod to Havana while reassuring others who oppose easing the sanctions. | 09/15/09 06:59:15 By - Juan O. Tamayo

What Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at Bush had to say

Muntadhar al Zaidi, the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at former President Bush last year in an act of protest that gained international notoriety, was freed from an Iraqi prison Tuesday after nine months behind bars. He gave a news conference after his release that included a lengthy explanation for his actions. | 09/15/09 08:16:06 By -

Karzai rival warns: Vote fraud would doom U.S. involvement

Abdullah Abdullah, the leading challenger in Afghanistan's national elections, warned Monday that if President Hamid Karzai wins another term based on a fraudulent vote, the U.S.-led war against al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan will fail. | 09/14/09 17:03:00 By - Hal Bernton and Jonathan S. Landay

Argentine stuns Federer to take U.S. Open tennis title

Juan Martin del Potro, a soft-spoken 20-year-old Argentine, rallied from two sets down to stun the top-ranked Swiss Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 and win his first grand slam title. Federer was going for a sixth straight title here and had won 40 consecutive U.S. Open matches dating to 2003, when he lost to another Argentine, David Nalbandian. | 09/14/09 21:21:45 By - Michelle Kaufman

Terror group builds big base under Pakistani officials' noses

A Pakistani terrorist group that's allied with al Qaida and sends jihadists to Afghanistan to fight U.S. and government troops is building a huge new base in full view of the authorities in Pakistan's most heavily populated province. | 09/13/09 15:21:00 By - Saeed Shah

Cahir's widow receives Purple Heart, thanks from Marines

Bill Cahir, a Bellefonte, Pa., native, was a Penn State graduate who worked for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and former Sen. Harris Wofford, D-Pa. He was a newspaper reporter. Then at 34, moved by 9/11, he joined the military and served two tours in Iraq then returned to run for Congress. He was called back to active service and was sent to Afghanistan, where he died last month. Sunday, he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. | 09/13/09 17:41:00 By - David Lightman

If Cuba embargo ended, U.S. businesses ready, but not island

While U.S. companies dream of a post-embargo Cuba, infrastructure woes, a lack of financing and Cuba's legal system may present challenges. | 09/13/09 08:57:58 By - Jim Wyss and John Dorschner

Deadly Afghan ambush shows perils of ill-supplied deployment

An ambush and nearly nine-hour battle in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan that left a sailor and three marines dead illustrated many of the toughest challenges U.S. forces face. Inadequate intelligence and a shortage of helicopters played major roles in the one of the deadliest days for U.S. trainers and Afghan troops. | 09/12/09 22:00:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

For reporter, no doubt: 'I'd use the rifle if I had to'

Last Tuesday, Jonathan S. Landay was embedded with a unit of Marine and Army trainers that walked into a carefully laid trap in Afghanistan. "As bullets zapped above and around us," Landay writes, "Fabayo grabbed the wounded Westbrook's M-4 and threw it to me. 'This is your rifle now,' he yelled. Then he turned to fire bursts from his own rifle." | 09/12/09 22:00:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Afghan election panel relaxed fraud rules to avoid runoff

Last week, after it determined that excluding questionable ballots in Afghanistan's August presidential election would force President Hamid Karzai into a runoff, the country's Independent Election Commission voted to allow them to be counted, according to commission and Western officials. This allowed hundreds of thousands of questionable ballots to be included in the results, according to a commission official. | 09/12/09 17:43:00 By - Hal Bernton and Jonathan S. Landay

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel

Two Katyusha rockets fired from southern Lebanon struck northern Israel Friday, near the city of Nahariya. There were no injuries or damage, Israeli police said. The Israeli military responded by firing between 12 and 15 artillery shells toward the suspected launching site. | 09/11/09 15:00:00 By - Cliff Churgin

From Moscow to Beijing: A journey from past to future

For passengers flying between Moscow and Beijing, the takeoff and landing are worlds apart. On one end is the Russian capital's shabby, dimly lighted Sheremetyevo airport, where the cigarette smoke can be thick and the seating scanty. At the other is Beijing's new $3.8 billion Terminal 3, a place of soaring glass walls, trickling fountains and an undulating roof meant to resemble a dragon in flight. | 09/11/09 14:34:00 By - Tom Lasseter

Despite continued economic growth, China fears labor unrest

The People's Republic of China is hoping that Long Chengxin keeps his job. The 55-year-old, who has closely cropped hair and the energy of a much younger man, uprooted his family of five from the southwestern province of Sichuan about a decade ago. After a series of odd jobs, he sells traditional Chinese medicine in a suburb of the capital. | 09/11/09 14:39:00 By - Tom Lasseter

Bill Clinton urges donors to fulfill promises to Haiti

Former President Bill Clinton has called on donor countries to make good on financial pledges to help Haiti recover from back-to-back storms last year. Since a donors conference in April, at which $760 million had been pledged, only $21 million has actually been disbursed, said Clinton, the United Nations special envoy for Haiti. | 09/11/09 07:07:46 By - Stewart Stogel

Obama's outreach to Iran could stall over nuclear issue

In its latest offer for talks with the leading world powers, Iran makes no promise to negotiate on its suspected nuclear weapons program, further complicating President Barack Obama's hopes of starting negotiations with Tehran before the end of the month, the State Department and European diplomats said Thursday. | 09/10/09 20:40:00 By - Warren P. Strobel

Cousin had to retrieve Afghan reporter's body after raid

The death of Afghan journalist Sultan Munadi, killed by a volley of bullets as British commandos sought to free him and a New York Times colleague from insurgent kidnappers, was a source of anger for the Afghan press corps that's emerged in the eight years since Taliban rule ended. Journalists demanded an investigation into whether Taliban or British bullets killed Munadi and why his body was left behind after the raid. | 09/10/09 19:07:00 By - Hal Bernton

Another legacy of war: Iraqis losing faith in public schools

Six years ago, before the U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam's dictatorship, the country didn't have a single private school. Over the past two years, the number has more than doubled, from 66 to 175. That trend says as much about diminishing respect for Iraq's public education system as it does about Iraqis' growing enthusiasm for the new schools. | 09/10/09 16:59:00 By - Sahar Issa

In Sudan, a fashion statement that spoke for all women

Lubna Hussein, a Sudanese woman who was arrested for wearing pants in violation of a so-called indecency law and went to jail this week in protest, spent less than 24 hours behind bars. By then, however, she'd already exposed the daily indignities that women suffer in one of the most authoritarian and male-dominated societies in Africa. | 09/10/09 16:28:00 By - Shashank Bengali

U.S. names dead from Tuesday's Afghan ambush

Navy medical corpsman James Layton of Riverbank, Calif., was giving first aid to wounded Marine Lt. Michael Johnson of Virginia Beach, Va., when both were killed by a volley of insurgent bullets. Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick of Roswell, Ga., had just radioed that "If we leave this house, the people in the house in front of us will shoot us," when he was killed. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Edwin W. Johnson, Jr. of Columbus, Ga., died with them. | 09/10/09 16:14:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Mexico hijacker's weapon: a juice can with lights

The hijacking of an Aeromexico jetliner from the resort city of Cancun is not likely to hurt Mexico's already damaged safety reputation. The hijacker, a Bolivian national named Jose Flores, was motivated by neither money nor politics, but religious zeal and there was no reason for security officials to have flagged his "weapon." | 09/10/09 14:27:00 By - Sara Miller Llana

Truck bomb kills 20, inflames ethnic tensions in northern Iraq

A suicide truck bomber drove into a Kurdish village in northern Iraq before dawn Thursday, setting off an explosion that killed at least 20 people and wounded 30, local authorities said. | 09/10/09 11:01:00 By - Ali Abbas and Hannah Allam

U.N. update on Haiti cites 'cautious optimism' on future

Following up on a critical assessment made by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last February, the United Nations Security Council met in a special session Wednesday to hear a "status update" on the situation in Haiti. The common thread throughout the presentations was that Haiti could indeed be rebuilt, but only with cooperation between the Haitian government, the international community and the Haitian diaspora. | 09/10/09 07:07:49 By - Stewart Stogel

Algerians, freed from Guantanamo, still paying the price

In 2001, the Bosnian government, at the insistence of American officials, arrested six Algeria-born Bosnians and accused them of plotting to bomb the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo. Despite a Bosnian investigation that found no evidence for the charge, the six were turned over to U.S. authorities who flew them to Guantanamo. Now, five of the six have been released. But their lives have hardly returned to normal. | 09/10/09 06:00:00 By - Seema Jilani, M.D.

U.S. says Iran soon may be able to build one nuclear bomb

U.S. ambassador Glyn Davies told the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program is nearing a "dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity." | 09/09/09 19:48:00 By - Warren P. Strobel

Uruguay will allow gay adoption, a first for Latin America

Uruguay, long-regarded as one of the most progressive countries in Latin America, set a standard for the region by allowing same-sex couples to adopt children with a bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday. While gay rights activists celebrated the passage of the bill, the Roman Catholic Church voiced its opposition. | 09/09/09 17:15:00 By - Federica Narancio

Rare plane hijacking adds to Mexico's sense of insecurity

The Aeromexico flight was seized in Cancun and flown to Mexico City, where all the passengers were let off. At least five suspects are in police custody. Local media reported they were Bolivian nationals threatening to blow up the aircraft if President Felipe Calderon did not speak with them. | 09/09/09 17:24:14 By - Sara Miller Llana

Woman survived Iraq bomb, but now she can't be found

A Baghdad police officer says that he escorted Shadia Abdulbaki away from Iraq's Foreign Ministry on Aug. 19, 10 minutes after a suicide bomber triggered a massive explosion that devastated the building and surrounding area. But she hasn't been seen since. Is she wandering the streets? Did she become an amnesiac? Did someone take her in? No one can say. | 09/09/09 15:43:00 By - Adam Ashton

Afghanistan isn't Vietnam, Washington state's Adam Smith warns

After returning from a three-day trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Wednesday that the U.S. needs to remain engaged in that part of the world and warned that comparisons to Vietnam were too simplistic and that the region doesn't have to become a military quagmire as it has for others. | 09/09/09 13:53:17 By - Les Blumenthal

New photos emerge of alleged 9/11 plotter at Guantanamo

Pictures of accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his nephew posing for Red Cross delegates this summer at Guantanamo turned up on the Web Wednesday, offering a rare glimpse into life inside the prison's secret Camp 7 just days ahead of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The pictures were taken in July under an agreement that lets Red Cross delegates photograph detainees and send photos to family members. | 09/09/09 11:00:58 By - Carol Rosenberg

Interpreter killed in Afghan rescue expected to be released

New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell was rescued by British commandos Wednesday but his interpreter Sultan Munadi was killed. Hours before the raid Munadi had called home to Kabul and told family members he thought he and Farrell'd be released in several days. The two had been taken hostage last Friday while reporting on the aftermath of a NATO air strike in Kunduz province. | 09/09/09 10:49:00 By - Hal Bernton and Hashim Shukoor

Families traveling to Cuba on the rise

Five months after Congress loosened strict Bush-era rules for family visits to Cuba, the numbers of travelers to the island is up dramatically, South Florida travel executives say. | 09/09/09 07:04:42 By - Alfonso Chardy and Rui Ferreira

Defying U.S., Honduras won't let Zelaya return as president

Last week, the U.S. tightened pressure on Honduras' de facto government by canceling $30 million in aid and revoking visas of political leaders who supported the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. Honduras responded by circulating reports that Zelaya had used public funds to keep horses, buy watches and jewelry and repair his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. | 09/08/09 19:42:00 By - Tyler Bridges

'We're pinned down:' 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush

The Taliban were waiting as the U.S.-led patrol of American Marines and Afghan police approached the remote village of Ganjgal in far eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday. When the fighting ended hours later, four U.S. Marines, eight Afghan troopers and an Afghan interpreter were dead. McClatchy's Jonathan S. Landay was with them. | 09/08/09 19:14:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

U.N. Afghan panel cites fraud in vote as Karzai pulls ahead

The suspected wide-scale fraud cited by the Electoral Complaints Commission could be a major setback for the Obama administration's hopes that the elections would strengthen Afghanistan's weak central government. The post-election drama unfolded as insurgents set an ambush that killed four U.S. Marines and a suicide bomber struck near the military gate of the Kabul airport. | 09/08/09 17:53:00 By - Hal Bernton

Maliki purge of top Iraqi security officials creates a storm

Critics of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said the dismissals of three senior Interior Ministry officials was an effort to weaken political rivals ahead of winter elections. Maliki allies, however, said the cause was serious security lapses revealed by the Aug. 19 car bombings that devastated the Iraqi Foreign Affairs and Finance ministries. | 09/08/09 16:14:00 By - Hannah Allam

Drunken video protest earns Cuban two years in jail

Juan Carlos Gonzalez Marcos was arrested and charged with "pre-criminal social endangerment'' after jumping into the frame of a video being filmed on the streets of Havana and shouting on camera that there was hunger in Cuba. | 09/08/09 14:13:22 By - Wilfredo Cancio Isla

Marines walk into insurgent 'trap' in Afghanistan; 4 die

The seven-hour battle took place around the remote hamlet of Gangigal after local elders invited the U.S. and Afghan forces for a meeting. American officers said there was no doubt that they'd walked into a trap. Seven Afghan troops and the Marine commander's interpreter also died. | 09/08/09 10:44:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Taliban-led insurgents strike Kabul airport

A suicide bomber blew up a car in front of a gate at the Kabul airport on Tuesday morning as the Taliban-led insurgency once again struck at the capital city. The attack occurred at the southern gate which is used by military as well as international contractors. | 09/08/09 08:14:12 By - Hal Bernton and Hashim Shukoor

Mother of Colombian girl allegedly raped by U.S. officer seeks justice

Olga Lucia Castillo could never bring to justice the men who raped her in Bogota when she was pregnant with her daughter. Twelve years later, she is putting up the fight of her life to have a U.S. Army officer and a Mexican-born contractor indicted because, according to her, they raped her daughter at the military base in Melgar. | 09/08/09 07:03:32 By - Gonzalo Guillen and Gerardo Reyes

Judges siding with detainees in Guantanamo habeas cases

Fifteen months after the U.S. Supreme Court rebuked the Bush administration by ruling that Guantanamo captives can sue for their freedom, civilian judges have ordered the release of 29 detainees and sided with the Defense Department only seven times. There are still scores of cases to be decided, but if the trend holds, it suggests that Guantanamo isn't holding just the "worst of the worst." | 09/07/09 21:24:21 By - Carol Rosenberg

Military leery of Afghanistan escalation with no clear goals

Military observers, soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan and some top Pentagon officials are warning that dispatching tens of thousands more soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan might not ensure success. The heart of the problem, they say, is that neither Barack Obama's White House nor the Pentagon has clearly defined America's mission in Afghanistan. | 09/07/09 15:20:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef, Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel

Anti-Americanism rises in Pakistan over U.S. motives

For weeks now, the Pakistani media have portrayed America, its military and defense contractors in the darkest of lights, all part of an apparent campaign of anti-American vilification that is sweeping the country and, according to some, is putting American lives at risk. There've been stories of under-cover American agents operating in the country, tales of a huge contingent of U.S. Marines planned to be stationed at the embassy, and reports of Blackwater private security personnel running amuck. | 09/07/09 15:20:00 By - Saeed Shah

Afghan President Karzai closer to winning in disputed election

Afghan President Hamid Karzai edged closer to a second term in office on Sunday as updated polling results gave him nearly enough votes to avoid a run-off election. | 09/06/09 15:41:00 By - Hal Bernton

Marking 60 years: China leaps from 19th to 21st century

Next month, the People's Republic of China turns 60. Mao, resting in his tomb in Tiananmen, wouldn't recognize it. The most rapid modernization in history has turned the "Weak Man of Asia" into an economic darling with the world's largest auto market and the most Internet users. | 09/06/09 12:58:04 By - David Klepper

U.S., Iraq cracking down on anti-Iran Kurdish guerrillas

A noose is tightening around the group that calls itself the last armed resistance to Iran's Islamic republic, but the Kalashnikov-carrying guerrillas are refusing to lay down their weapons and leave their camouflaged outposts in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. | 09/06/09 06:00:00 By - Adam Ashton

At some Afghan polling places, Karzai got every vote

Detailed polling records released by an Afghanistan election commission reveal numerous polling places in Kandahar Province where all the votes were delivered to a single candidate — incumbent President Hamid Karzai. The records bolster accusations of ballot-box stuffing against Karzai supporters during the Aug. 20 election. Of 66 polling sites in Kandahar Province, nine showed 100 percent of the votes going to Karzai. | 09/05/09 16:55:00 By - Hal Bernton

NATO to probe whether deadly Afghan airstrike killed civilians

A NATO air attack on two fuel tank trucks hijacked by Afghan insurgents that caused dozens of deaths reignited the controversy over civilian casualties, three onths after Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal issued new orders intended to dampen such controversies. The extent of civilian deahts is uncertain. The province's governor said about 90 people died, including about 30 civilians who had congregated about the trucks to obtain fuel. | 09/04/09 11:41:00 By - Hal Bernton and Hashim Shukoor

Chalabi aide: I went from White House to secret U.S. prisoner

Add to the strange saga of the Bush administration's love-hate relationship with Iraq's Ahmad Chalabi the tale pf Ali Feisal al Lami, who once met with U.S. officials in the White House, then spent nearly a year in secret U.S. detention, accused of helping Iranian-backed militants kidnap and kill American and British soldiers and contractors. During his captivity, Lami claims to have been quizzed by Army Gen. David Petraeus, then the top U.S. commander in Iraq. | 09/04/09 17:14:17 By - Hannah Allam

WTO rules Airbus got subsidies illegally, damaging Boeing

Boeing won a major victory Friday when the World Trade Organization ruled that its longtime rival, Airbus, has received billions of dollars in illegal subsidies from four European governments. While the ruling focused on subsidies for Airbus' superjumbo A380, it also found that aid provided by the Europeans benefited every model the company produced | 09/04/09 15:11:00 By - Les Blumenthal

Obama blasts Israeli plan to keep on building settlements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to approve the construction of hundreds of new homes in the occupied West Bank before he considers a freeze on building new Jewish settlements. The homes would be in addition to 2,500 houses that already are under construction in the West Bank. | 09/04/09 13:34:00 By - Cliff Churgin

U.S. scholarships get Cuban college students expelled

The Cuban government has denied exit permits to about 30 Cuban college students who had been offered U.S. government-funded scholarships for academic programs at American academic institutions. | 09/04/09 11:45:27 By - Wilfredo Cancio Isla

NATO to probe whether deadly Afghan airstrike killed civilians

A NATO airstrike early Friday on two fuel tankers hijacked by insurgents caused dozens of deaths in the northern Kunduz province, where the Taliban have expanded their influence in recent months. | 09/04/09 09:44:12 By - Hal Bernton and Hashim Shukoor

Cuba travel and gift rules are officially changed

The federal rules regulating what gifts and how much cash can be sent to Cuba finally became official Thursday, five months after President Barack Obama announced a loosening of restrictions amid great fanfare. | 09/04/09 07:00:54 By - Frances Robles

Military leaders: U.S. effort in Afghanistan just beginning

Top Pentagon leaders Thursday insisted that despite an expected request for more American troops in Afghanistan, the U.S. isn't engaged in nation building there and that although violence is increasing, the military effort there is "only now beginning." | 09/03/09 19:54:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

U.S. cuts off non-humanitarian aid to Honduras

The Obama administration Thursday ratcheted up the pressure on Honduras' coup-installed government to step down by cutting all non-humanitarian aid to the poor Central American country. | 09/03/09 19:20:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Assessing CIA culpability in detainee deaths will be tricky

With the appointment of special prosecutor John Durham, critics of the Bush administration's interrogation policies are hoping that the CIA's role in the alleged mistreatment of detainees finally will be revealed. | 09/03/09 18:29:00 By - Marisa Taylor and Warren P. Strobel

Not finding much love at home, Chavez courts autocratic allies

Stymied in trying to advance his anti-U.S. agenda in Latin America, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is tightening the screws at home — and touring friendly autocratic regimes abroad. | 09/03/09 17:05:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Forget Hollywood: Nigeria may be the world's cinematic future

Forget the slick cinematic tricks and big-money excesses of Hollywood; this is Nigeria's scrappy young movie industry, known to everyone here as Nollywood. The budgets are meager, the plotlines fantastical, the performances hammy and the breakneck shooting schedules an affront to logic and the elements. | 09/03/09 15:37:00 By - Shashank Bengali

U.S. soldier's immunity clouds 2007 Colombian rape case

The U.S. government has made little effort to investigate a U.S. army sergeant and a Mexican civil contractor implicated in Colombia in the raping of a 12-year-old girl in August 2007, according to an El Nuevo Herald investigation. | 09/03/09 07:04:23 By - Gerardo Reyes and Gonzalo Guillen

Despite brutal year, Mexico's Calderon remains popular

Historic levels of violence, the swine flu, dwindling oil production, an economic recession that is Mexico's worst in decades, and a devastating drought are but a few challenges this nation faces. | 09/02/09 19:41:00 By - Sara Miller Llana

Pentagon lawyers: First Amendment protects Al Qaida propaganda

Pentagon defense lawyers this week appealed the war crimes conviction of Osama bin Laden's media secretary at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on free speech grounds. They argued that filmmaker Ali Hamza al Bahlul of Yemen was simply exercising his First Amendment rights when he spliced together footage of fiery Osama bin Laden speeches into a recruiting film. | 09/02/09 19:30:02 By - Carol Rosenberg

Pakistani minister critical of Taliban injured in assassination attempt

Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Pakistan's religious affairs minister, narrowly escaped assassination Wednesday as gunmen ambushed his official car, shooting him and killing his driver.The highest-profile attack on a senior government official in recent years, it was likely to be the work of Islamic extremists. Kazmi is a moderate who's been critical of Pakistan's Taliban militants. | 09/02/09 07:25:51 By - Saeed Shah

Result in Afghan's fraud-ridden elections may take weeks

Afghanistan's election results are headed into weeks of limbo as a government commission investigates more than 600 complaints of ballot stuffing, intimidation and other allegations. | 09/02/09 18:40:00 By - Hal Bernton and Hashim Shukoor

Poll: Most Americans oppose more troops for Afghanistan

A majority of Americans think the country isn't winning the war in Afghanistan, and an even larger majority opposes sending more troops in an effort to turn things around, according to a new McClatchy/Ipsos poll. | 09/01/09 19:41:24 By - Steven Thomma

Uribe's flu reminds even presidents to wash their hands

As if the job weren't difficult enough, being a Latin American president suddenly has become more perilous. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has come down with swine flu. | 09/01/09 18:04:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Baghdad makes a comeback — on Iraqi TV

When actor Ayad al Ta'i filmed in Syria during the peak of Iraq's sectarian violence, when it was too dangerous for a TV star to stay in Baghdad, he knew that something was missing from nearly every scene he shot. | 09/01/09 15:50:00 By - Jenan Hussein and Adam Ashton

Cuban embargo's support eroding, according to poll

The 47-year-old Cuban embargo continues to divide exiles depending on their age and other factors, and long-standing support among some in the community might be eroding, a poll by Bendixen & Associates showed. | 09/01/09 07:02:32 By - Luisa Yanez

Pentagon worried about Obama's commitment to Afghanistan

The prospect that U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal may ask for as many as 45,000 additional American troops in Afghanistan is fueling growing tension within President Barack Obama's administration over the U.S. commitment to the war there. | 08/31/09 19:29:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Iraq, Syria trade accusations in rift over bombings

A diplomatic standoff between Iraq and neighboring Syria escalated Monday, with Baghdad demanding the extradition of suspects in a deadly bombing and Damascus insisting that there's no evidence of Syrian involvement. | 08/31/09 16:57:00 By - Hannah Allam

Cambodia expels accused child molester to face U.S. charges

Jack Louis Sporich, a wealthy former engineer who prosecutors have said has been molesting children since he lived in Illinois in the 1960s, moved to Cambodia in 2006. Since then, Cambodian authorities had charged him with molesting at least three boys — charges that might carry a penalty of only three years in prison. Instead, Cambodia expelled him and he'll be taken into custody on federal charges when he arrives in Los Angeles this afternoon. | 08/31/09 15:27:26 By - Sam Stanton

A year after Mexico's massive anti-crime protests, few changes

One year ago, a rash of kidnappings throughout Mexico prompted tens of thousands to fill the streets to demand from the government safer streets and more honest cops, and from each other a more proactive citizenry. | 08/31/09 15:04:00 By - Sara Miller Llana

Suicide bomber kills 15 police in Pakistan's Swat region

It was the first major attack since the army announced it had taken the area back from the Taliban. The bomber detonated himself at a training session for a new community police force intended to provide security for an area that had been overrun by the Taliban. | 08/30/09 18:43:25 By - Saeed Shah

Taliban's growth in Afghanistan's north threatens to expand war

Taliban insurgents have taken over parts of two northern provinces from which they were driven in 2001, threatening to disrupt NATO's new supply route from Central Asia and expand a war that's largely been confined to Afghanistan's southern half, U.S. and Afghan officials said. | 08/28/09 14:26:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Toilet paper shortage hits Cuba

There's a shortage of toilet paper in Cuba and officials in Havana say it will not ease until the end of the year. The good news? Day-old copies of the Communist party's newspaper Granma, a traditional substitute, are available for less than a U.S. penny. | 08/27/09 06:21:46 By - Juan O. Tamayo

Was the Afghan election rigged, and where's the proof?

If a ballot box was stuffed but nobody saw it, did it happen? That's a crucial question as claims of fraud surrounding Afghanistan's presidential election last week continue to pour in. | 08/26/09 18:12:00 By - Ben Arnoldy

Prominent Shiite political leader dies in Iran

Abdul Aziz al Hakim, the leader of one of Iraq's dominant Shiite Muslim political parties and a renowned cleric who resisted Saddam Hussein's regime in exile for more than 20 years, died Wednesday in Tehran. | 08/26/09 10:35:00 By - Adam Ashton

Cuban agriculture turning to traditional methods in crisis

Cuba is going back as it looks forward, expanding its use of ox teams in agriculture to save on costly fuel for tractors while increasing production in the desperately needed food sector. | 08/26/09 07:05:07 By - Juan O. Tamayo

CIA sacked Baghdad station chief after deaths of 2 detainees

The CIA removed its station chief in Iraq and reorganized its operations there in late 2003 following "potentially very serious leadership lapses" that included the deaths of detainees in U.S. custody, according to a newly released document and former senior officials. | 08/25/09 19:44:01 By - Warren P. Strobel

U.S. deaths in Afghanistan headed for another record

With the death of four U.S. soldiers Tuesday, the U.S.-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan now has lost more troops this year than in all of 2008, and August is on track to be the deadliest month for American troops there since U.S. operations begain nearly eight years ago. The numbers reflect the rising pace of combat in Afghanistan and come as opinion polls show that a majority of Americans think the war in Afghanistan isn't worth the cost. | 08/25/09 18:57:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan S. Landay

Pakistani Taliban leader calls Obama 'our foremost enemy'

Pakistan's extremist Taliban movement acknowledged Tuesday that its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, had died in the aftermath of a U.S. drone missile attack early this month and confirmed that two men would replace him. One of the new leaders, Waliur Rehman, later issued threats against the West in a telephone interview with reporters. | 08/25/09 18:28:00 By - Saeed Shah

Tensions rise as Iraq blames Baathists in Syria for bombings

Iraq Tuesday demanded that Syria hand over two high-ranking Iraqi Baath Party officials following last week's bombing of two government ministries. Iraq later recalled its ambassador from Damascus for consultations, and Syria followed suit, withdrawing its envoy from Baghdad. | 08/25/09 17:36:00 By - Adam Ashton and Laith Hammoudi

With Maliki's party out, Iraq's Shiite coalition splits

The Shiite Muslim political alliance that's led Iraq since 2005 appears to be breaking apart, with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's Dawa Party preparing to run for re-election independently of the other parties that had lifted him to power. | 08/24/09 16:15:00 By - Adam Ashton

Shackles and blindfold for freed detainee on his way home

A young Afghan held for six years at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, rejoined his family in southern Kabul late Monday, ending an odyssey that came to symbolize many of the problems of the Bush administration's war on terror detention policies. Mohammed Jawad arrived in Afghanistan shackled and blindfolded, his lawyer said, but ended the day being hugged by relatives after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He was ordered released by a U.S. judge. | 08/24/09 13:50:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay, Hashim Shukoor and Carol Rosenberg

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is no fan of golf

The hardline stand that President Hugo Chavez has taken against the 'bourgeois sport' of golf has led to the closing of many courses in Venezuela. | 08/24/09 07:03:40 By - Casto Ocando

Guantanamo prisoner detained as teen meets with Karzai

Mohammed Jawad's six-year imprisonment came to symbolize much of what was wrong with the Bush administration's war on terror policies. His confession to throwing a grenade that wounded two American soldiers was ultimately thrown out by a U.S. military judge as coerced by torture. A federal judge last month ordered the U.S. government to release him, saying that without the confession there was no evidence to hold him. His uncle told McClatchy today that no U.S. investigator ever came to talk to him, though his defense attorney came twice. Jawad may have been 14 years old when he was detained. | 08/24/09 05:59:18 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Carol Rosenberg

Nigerian amnesty plan for oil militants falls flat

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed the plan during a visit to Nigeria earlier this month, in hopes of bringing some semblance of peace to a region that is a major U.S. source of foreign oil. But the delta's main militant group over the weekend dismissed the three-week-old plan as "a charade" and vowed to resume attacks after a ceasefire expires Sept. 15. | 08/23/09 16:56:00 By - Shashank Bengali

Is Pakistan's Taliban movement on the way out?

Pakistan's extremist Taliban movement is badly divided over who should be its new leader, and analysts and local tribesmen say the al Qaida-linked group may be in danger of crumbling. A wave of defections, surrenders, arrests and bloody infighting has severely weakened the movement since its founder, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed Aug. 5 in a U.S. missile strike. The announcement this weekend that Hakimullah Mehsud, a 28-year-old with a reputation as a hothead, would succeed him is likely to further widen the split. | 08/23/09 16:53:00 By - Saeed Shah

One-man play by U.N. official draws ire in Israel

The United Nations has never been especially beloved in Israel, where the international body is often viewed as biased and pro-Palestinian. Vandals in certain religious Jerusalem neighborhoods have been known even to deface U.N. cars by adding certain consonants around U.N. stickers to create a vulgar curse word | 08/23/09 15:42:00 By - Dion Nissenbaum

Hair salons once again the fashion for women in Iraq

Religious extremists ran most Iraqi hair stylists out of business and into exile two years ago, when violence reached its peak. Cutting hair was a forbidden vocation, especially when it was the hair of women who should only be seen by their husbands. But such extremism is on the retreat in Iraq today, despite lingering violence, and hair salons once again are doing a brisk business. | 08/23/09 15:04:00 By - Jenan Hussein

Observers cautious about declaring Afghan vote a success

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's second-ever presidential election was marred by vote-rigging, voter intimidation and low turnout in many areas and should not be declared a success until the full extent of problems is known, election monitors and other experts said Saturday. | 08/22/09 17:14:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Observers cautious on calling Afghan election a success

Too much is unknown about the extent of vote-rigging, voter intimidation and low turnout in Thursday's presidential balloting to say now that the election was a fair one, observers and other experts said Saturday. They cautioned that the Obama administration's early declaration that the voting was a success risks endorsing a result that Afghans may not see as legitimate. | 08/22/09 16:51:56 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Bombing of Iraqi ministry hit nearby residents hard

When a car bomb exploded Wednesday outside Iraq's Foreign Ministry, roofs collapsed and heavy walls tumbled down in the adjoining neighborhood. Days later, residents are sleeping outside, some on carpets where their families gather as the sun goes down; many simply on the bare streets. | 08/22/09 15:02:00 By - Adam Ashton

Iran rulers' move to tighten grip shuts out dissenters

More than two months after a disputed presidential election threw Iran's ruling class into turmoil, the country's leaders are showing themselves increasingly unwilling to compromise with their critics, a trend analysts say could mean even tougher steps against would-be reformers in the future. | 08/21/09 16:27:00 By - Hannah Allam

Mexico goes after mother of cartel leader

The reputed head of the La Familia cartel, an increasingly notorious drug trafficking organization in Mexico, did not mince words in his threat: "If anybody attacks my father, my mother, my brothers, they're going to have to deal with me," Servando Gomez warned the government on local television last month. | 08/21/09 16:15:00 By - Sara Miller Llana

Baghdad security shakeup possible after bombings

Baghdad's mix of overlapping security agencies with murky authorities could be in line for a major makeover due to this week's deadly bombings at Iraq's Foreign and Finance ministries. | 08/21/09 16:05:00 By - Adam Ashton

Iraq 'sports city' to be designed by Kansas City architecture firm

A Kansas City architecture firm, treading where its competitors fear to go, has won a contract to design a $500 million "sports city" in Basra, Iraq. | 08/21/09 07:15:42 By - Kevin Collison

Nicaragua still feeling aftershocks of Honduran coup

The aftershocks from the military coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 continue to rattle Nicaragua, where politicians are using the neighboring conflict as a proxy war to slug out their own internal disputes. | 08/21/09 07:07:48 By - Tim Rogers

Would-be Zelaya successor is Honduras coup's other victim

Elvin Santos, a 46-year-old construction company executive with a political pedigree and a beauty pageant wife, seemed a sure bet to win November's election and succeed Manuel Zelaya as Honduras' president. All bets are off, however, following the June 28 coup that deposed Zelaya. | 08/20/09 17:10:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Despite low turnout, Afghan vote declared a success

The Afghan government and the principal opposition candidate declared the country's second presidential election a success Thursday, despite strong indications that Taliban threats and attacks had kept voters at home in southern and eastern Afghanistan. | 08/20/09 17:30:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Hashim Shukoor

New bombings in Iraq kill 30 as Maliki moves to take control

The new blasts struck south of Baghdad, one day after a pair of bombings in central Baghdad killed at least 95. Iraqi authorities arrested 11 police and military officers in connection with Wednesday's attacks, though it wasn't clear if they were suspected of involvement or just bungling their jobs. The government more than doubled the estimate of the number of wounded Wednesday, to 1,203. | 08/20/09 13:40:00 By - Sahar Issa and Adam Ashton

Election turnout appears low in much of Afghanistan

Threats of violence and scattered Taliban attacks appeared to have suppressed voter turnout Thursday in eastern and southern areas of the country during Afghanistan's second presidential election, officials and residents said. Turnout was higher in western and northern regions, where tens of thousands of U.S.-led international troops are battling the Taliban. The government said eight Afghan soldiers, nine police officers and eight civilians died in Election Day violence. | 08/20/09 00:02:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Hashim Shukoor

Baghdad bombings question: Did U.S. draw back too fast?

Neither American officials in Washington nor Iraqi officials in Baghdad seem willing to entertain bringing U.S. troops back into the city, even though violence has risen since their withdrawal. Wednesday's bombings, which killed at least 95 and injured more than 500, came as Iraqi officials have been dismantling many of the security steps that had brought a dramatic drop in bloodshed to the Iraqi capital. | 08/19/09 18:56:00 By - Sahar Issa and Nancy A. Youssef

Afghan vote underway amid tension over Taliban threats

Protected by tens of thousands of U.S.-led international troops and Afghan security forces, Afghans voted Thursday for a new president for only the second time in their history in an election held under the threat of vote-rigging and the Taliban's vow to attack polling stations. Security was rigid across Kabul, with rifle-toting police manning numerous checkpoints and frisking drivers and passengers. | 08/19/09 17:55:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Hashim Shukoor

Pakistani VOA journalist released from U.S. detention

Immigration officials released a Voice of America journalist Wednesday after deciding he could apply to remain in the U.S. because of a "credible fear" of being tortured or persecuted in his native Pakistan, his attorney said. | 08/19/09 17:32:00 By - Marisa Taylor

Hamas moves against al Qaida-inspired extremists

Faced with eroding popular support and disenchantment among young Palestinians looking for alternatives, Hamas is moving forcefully to crush Islamic extremists with possible ties to al Qaida that threaten its hold on power in the Gaza Strip. | 08/19/09 16:26:00 By - Dion Nissenbaum

Bombs kill dozens on Baghdad's deadliest day in 18 months

Two trucks loaded with explosives blew up near Iraq's ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance on Wednesday, killing at least 95 people and wounding more than 500. The blast tore the facade off the Foreign Affairs Ministry and collapsed part of a bridge near the Finance Ministry. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki blamed Sunni extremists for the attacks, which appeared intended to shake confidence in his government before January's national elections. | 08/19/09 07:53:22 By - Adam Ashton

Asylum snafu? U.S. holds reporter who works for VOA

U.S. immigration officials questioned a journalist who works for the government's Voice of America broadcasting arm Tuesday to see if he could apply for asylum based on a "credible fear" of being tortured or persecuted in his native Pakistan. Rahman Bunairee, was detained when he arrived in the United States on a visa he obtained to work at Voice of America's headquarters in Washington, D.C. | 08/18/09 18:44:00 By - Marisa Taylor and Saeed Shah

Afghan vote carries big risk for U.S. fight against Taliban

Afghanistan's presidential election, set for Thursday amid violence, voter intimidation and expectations of fraud, holds considerable risks for the Obama administration's drive to gain the upper hand in the war against the Taliban, some Western and Afghan officials and experts warn. | 08/18/09 18:29:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

At White House, Mubarak urges speeding up Mideast peace talks

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak used a newfound welcome mat Tuesday at the White House to urge the United States to accelerate Mideast peace talks, skipping past temporary steps that he said have led nowhere and moving instead to a final negotiation about the status of Jerusalem, the status of refugees and borders. | 08/18/09 17:49:00 By - Steven Thomma

Violence and corruption shake a Moscow suburb

After journalist Mikhail Beketov printed a series of articles about the development in Khimki, a suburb of Russia, he was beaten to a bloody pulp. At least three journalists and one civic rights activist have been savagely beaten in Khimki since last year. The chain of attacks shows the depth of Russia's vast corruption problems. | 08/18/09 16:58:00 By - Tom Lasseter

Iraq's Anbar still reeling from war that cost jobs and lives

The rubble's gone from the explosions and bombs that tore up the commercial center of this western Iraqi city, but the jobs haven't returned. In fact, no commercial buildings have come back since Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar Province, saw some of the toughest fighting of the war | 08/18/09 15:48:00 By - Mohammed al Dulaimy

Inspired by fallen son, father completes book on Iraq

Staff Sgt. Darrell "Skip" Griffin Jr. wanted to give Americans a close-up view of his two tours of duty in Iraq, so they could see the blood and grit in the aftermath of an attack on a convoy, and feel his anxiety in watching the lives of ordinary Iraqis fall part in the crossfire between sectarian killers and the soldiers who hunted them. | 08/18/09 15:25:00 By - Adam Ashton

Nixon, Brazil dictator discussed overthrowing Castro, Allende

In 1971, President Richard Nixon and Brazil's military dictator discussed coordinating efforts to help Cubans and Chileans overthrow Fidel Castro and Salvador Allende respectively, according to a recently declassified White House memo on their meeting. | 08/18/09 07:03:59 By - Juan O. Tamayo

Zelaya can't return to office, Honduras leader says

Honduras' interim president told McClatchy on Monday that he won't agree to any proposal to resolve his country's political crisis that would allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to power. | 08/17/09 19:03:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Huckabee slams Obama in pro-settlement Israel visit

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee slammed President Barack Obama's policies toward Israel on Monday in a visit here that underscored the tensions between the Obama administration and the Israeli government over Jewish settlements in what traditionally have been Palestinian areas. | 08/17/09 17:02:00 By - Cliff Churgin

U.S. general wants to move troops to northern Iraq

Iraqi voters could get a chance in January to hasten the withdrawal of American forces from their country by as much as a year, sending all remaining U.S. soldiers home by the end of 2010 instead of 2011. | 08/17/09 15:55:00 By - Adam Ashton

Ex-refugees skeptical that Afghan election will mean change

This valley in eastern Afghanistan could almost be in a different country for the thousands of former refugees who're struggling to rebuild their lives in it. Outsiders rarely visit the three settlements of Woch Tangi. Afghanistan's approaching elections Thursday have changed that, however. | 08/17/09 14:35:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Suicide bombing kills 20 in latest southern Russia violence

A suicide bomber slammed a truck into a police station in Russia's troubled Caucasus region Monday, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens in a fireball that scattered charred bodies and set the building on fire. | 08/17/09 00:18:00 By - Tom Lasseter and Dina Djidjoeva

Peru earthquake victims continue waiting for aid

Two years after an earthquake devastated parts of the Ica region, many Peruvians have yet to receive the promised government assistance. | 08/17/09 07:02:29 By - Sophie Kevany

After 6 years of democracy, Iraqis learn limits of free press

Journalist Ali al Asasdi gets to report that corruption exists in Iraqi government — he just too afraid to say who's corrupt. Journalists are finding that while they have greater freedom than they had under Saddam Hussein, they still are trying to figure out the rules. Earlier this month, the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Interior announced that publishers to get their permission before printing books and journalists still fear retaliation for their work. | 08/16/09 14:27:00 By - Adam Ashton

Afghan government seeks Election Day truces with insurgents

The government here, with the blessing of its foreign backers, is trying to arrange Election Day truces with local Taliban commanders to ensure that voting can take place in the war-torn south and east, senior Afghan officials said Sunday. | 08/16/09 17:06:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Notorious Afghan warlord returns to help Karzai

A notorious Afghan warlord accused of allowing the murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of prisoners and then destroying the evidence returned to Afghanistan Sunday night as part of what appears to be a political deal brokered with President Hamid Karzai. | 08/16/09 16:31:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Tom Lasseter

How did a suicide bomber get to Kabul's NATO headquarters?

Afghan authorities are trying to determine how a suicide bomber breached tight security in Kabul's diplomatic quarter on Saturday and detonated an SUV packed with explosives in front of NATO headquarters five days before the presidential election. At least seven people died and 91 others were injured by the explosion, according to a Defense Ministry statement. | 08/15/09 16:42:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Zelaya may return to Honduras even if he faces arrest

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya's closest collaborators here are advising him to return to Honduras even if that means that the de facto government now in power will arrest him immediately. They say that Zelaya's return would dramatically scramble the political landscape in this small Central American country, where Zelaya's replacement, President Roberto Micheletti, seems intent on withstanding widespread international pressure to step aside. | 08/15/09 15:33:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Afghanistan bombing kills 7, hurts 91 near U.S. headquarters

An explosion Saturday outside the heavily fortified entrance to the headquarters of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan killed at least seven and wounded at least 91, the Defense Ministry said. The blast came just days before the country's presidential election. | 08/15/09 01:49:15 By - Jonathan S. Landay

6 years after invasion, electricity still scarce in Baghdad

Dark humor flips on when the lights go out in a city that still suffers from crippling power outages despite the billions of dollars that have been invested in its grid. "Electricity is dead. Pray for its soul," reads graffiti scrawled along a wall in central Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood. | 08/14/09 11:22:00 By - Laith Hammoudi

Chavez taking control of Venezuela's media, according to report

An unclassified U.S. intelligence report says Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is "moving forcefully" to stifle media criticism by closing scores of radio stations, tightening controls on one TV station and maneuvering to seize control of another. | 08/14/09 07:01:24 By - Juan O. Tamayo

Time running out for Arias mediation in Honduras?

The month-old mediation effort by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to resolve Honduras' political crisis is foundering under the near-universal opposition of Honduras' top leaders to permitting deposed President Manuel Zelaya to return to power. | 08/13/09 19:04:00 By - Tyler Bridges

In Taliban heartland, coalition's made little headway after 8 years

Coalition troops have been battling the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly eight years, and yet in the Zhari District, where the Taliban sprang to life, not a single coalition soldier is based in any of the villages. The Canadian troops who've fought here for the last three years are frustrated and skeptical that their American brethren will have any better luck. | 08/13/09 16:13:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

In Afghan district, U.S. will face 'toughest environment'

The Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan wonder whether the Americans who're coming later this month will be able to do any better than they have. | 08/13/09 16:16:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Iraqis remaining cool despite attacks on mosques, minorities

Tempers are cool in Iraq despite a string of bombings that's killed more than 125 people in the past two weeks, fueling hopes that the attacks won't trigger retaliatory killings, at least for now. | 08/13/09 14:53:00 By - Adam Ashton and Sahar Issa

U.S. might use Colombia's military bases

Colombia's armed forces chief Wednesday said negotiations could conclude this weekend on an agreement to increase the U.S. military presence in the South American country — a vaguely explained deal that has sparked strong protests in the hemisphere. The agreement involves the use of Colombian military bases by U.S. aircraft and troops engaged in counter-narcotics and counter-guerrilla surveillance programs. | 08/13/09 06:57:34 By - Gerardo Reyes

Report: Israeli troops fired on Gazans waving white flags

Israeli soldiers battling Hamas militants last winter in Gaza opened fire on at least seven groups of Palestinian civilians who were carrying white flags, killing 11 people, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Thursday. | 08/13/09 04:00:00 By - Dion Nissenbaum

Honduran police seize school after 2nd day of violence

Thousands of protesters calling for the return of deposed President Manuel Zelaya clashed with police Wednesday for the second day in a row, but Honduras' de facto government showed no willingness to allow Zelaya to return.seven protesters were injured Wednesday by police clubs. Police said they arrested 43 people on Tuesday and another 18 on Wednesday. | 08/12/09 20:37:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Police, protesters clash in Honduras for 2nd day

U.S. mulls pulling troops from remote Afghan outposts

The U.S. military commander in Afghanistan is considering pulling American troops out of some remote outposts on the country's mountainous eastern border with Pakistan, where local guerrillas are allied with the Taliban and al Qaida, U.S. officials told McClatchy. | 08/12/09 17:34:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Nancy A. Youssef

U.S. comes through: Iraqi baseball team gets new gear

The Iraqi national baseball team's only bat, an aluminum Louisville Slugger, finally can take a rest after four years of daily swings. McClatchy and MSNBC delivered a batch of new equipment Wednesday donated by CTG Athletics, a New York-based sporting goods company. Star USA, an Ohio firm, provided the shipping. | 08/12/09 10:47:00 By - Laith Hammoudi

Honduran capital tense after pro-Zelaya demonstrations

Thousands of protesters demanding the return of deposed President Manuel Zelaya remained camped out in Honduras' capital Wednesday after the biggest protests since Honduras' military forcibly removed Zelaya from the country on June 28. Authorities clamped a curfew on overnight after demonstrators smashed the windows of a Burger King and torched a public bus. | 08/12/09 09:11:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Defying death threats, Afghan woman runs for re-election

The threats come at least once a week in the dark of night, Zaiba Habib Durrani said. The caller vows to kill her or disfigure her face with acid. The threats haven't deterred Durrani from campaigning for re-election Aug. 20 to one of the five seats reserved for women on the provincial council of eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. | 08/11/09 14:03:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

McChrystal wants huge boost in U.S. civilians in Afghanistan

In addition to possibly requesting thousands of additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the top American military commander in Afghanistan will ask the Obama administration to double the number of U.S. government civilian workers who are in the country. The request for additional civilian resources will be part of a 60-day assessment of U.S. Afghan strategy now being conducted by Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The plan will also propose revamping the relationship between civilians and the military so that soldiers shift economic and political development work to civilians. | 08/10/09 17:59:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Warren P. Strobel

Bill Clinton calls on Haitian Americans to help homeland

As former U.S. President Bill Clinton prepares to lead a trade mission to Haiti in hopes of spurring much-needed foreign investment, the United Nations' special envoy to the nation called on Haitian Americans to help improve their homeland's future. | 08/10/09 07:53:00 By - Trenton Daniel

In Iraq's Kurdistan, political pessimism clouds progress

The regional capital of Kurdish northern Iraq has the feel of a massive business convention, imploring visitors on every street to invest in a safe gateway to the Iraqi economy where no American soldier has died since the first Gulf War in 1991. | 08/09/09 13:12:00 By - Adam Ashton

Effort to end Honduras crisis dodges a roadblock

The de facto government of Honduras Sunday canceled and then rescheduled a trip by foreign envoys who're seeking to resolve a six-week-old political crisis caused by the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. | 08/09/09 20:59:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Effort to end Honduras crisis dodges a roadblock

British contractor arrested in two killings in Baghdad

Iraqi authorities arrested a British security contractor early Sunday on suspicion that he shot two colleagues to death after an argument in Baghdad's International Zone. | 08/09/09 13:07:00 By - Adam Ashton and Laith Hammoudi

Iran resumes political trials, but they could backfire

Iranian state-run television Saturday announced that a trial had resumed for more than 100 opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but critics say the tactic is backfiring. | 08/08/09 14:09:00 By - Hannah Allam and D. Parvaz

OAS will send 6 foreign ministers to Honduras

The Organization of American States stepped up its pressure Friday on Honduras' de facto government, announcing that it's sending six foreign ministers here Tuesday to press for the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. | 08/07/09 18:59:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Obama heads to Mexico for North American summit

President Barack Obama will meet Sunday in Guadalajara, Mexico, with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts for a summit of North American leaders that will be long on vision and short on anything concrete. In the midst of a punishing global economic downturn, that's not bad. | 08/07/09 18:20:00 By - Kevin G. Hall

Civilian trials won't be cake walks for Guantanamo detainees

Trying Guantanamo detainees in U.S. courts could prove to be a prosecutor's nightmare, haunted by allegations of torture, tainted evidence and compromised witnesses. Nevertheless, as U.S. attorneys in New York, Virginia and Washington consider whether to charge some terrorism suspects in U.S. courts, they may find comfort in their own past success. | 08/07/09 14:19:00 By - Marisa Taylor

U.S. officials: Strike may have killed Pakistan Taliban leader

U.S. and Pakistani officials Thursday said they were investigating what they called credible reports that the leader of Pakistan's Taliban, a man both countries consider a significant enemy, was killed in a U.S. missile strike earlier this week. | 08/06/09 20:44:00 By - Warren P. Strobel

U.S. drops call to restore ousted Honduran leader

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The Obama administration has backed away from its call to restore ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to power and instead put the onus on him for taking "provocative actions" that polarized his country and led to his overthrow on June 28. | 08/06/09 19:49:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Clinton pledges more U.S. support for troubled Somalia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged Thursday to send more help to Somalia's besieged interim government to prevent radical Islamist militias from turning that troubled country into "a future haven for global terrorism." She hinted that a recent U.S shipment of some 40 tons of weapons and ammunition to the Somali government had helped stave off an offensive by the well-armed radical group al Shabaab, which U.S. officials say is linked to al Qaida. | 08/06/09 00:14:00 By - Shashank Bengali

Could humanitarian mission pave way for nuclear deal?

With two journalists who'd been detained in North Korea safely back on U.S. soil, the Obama administration Wednesday adopted a wait-and-see stance over whether the humanitarian breakthrough will lead to renewed talks on the more pernicious question of the North's nuclear weapons. | 08/05/09 19:26:00 By - Warren P. Strobel

Ahmadinejad takes oath as Iran's crisis continues

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn into office Wednesday, beginning a second term amid pointed questions about the legitimacy of Tehran's theocratic regime and no let-up in the crisis triggered by his election. | 08/05/09 18:49:00 By - Hannah Allam

Iraq's Assyrian Christians find temporary home in Kurdistan

For 35-year-old Rajo Qardaq Palander the breaking point came last year, when insurgents demanded that he pay $20,000 or abandon his home in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood. The choice was easy. He slipped out of Dora in the dead of night, joining the exodus | 08/05/09 17:43:00 By - Adam Ashton

In Africa, Clinton chides Kenya over elections, corruption

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened a seven-nation tour of Africa Wednesday with strong words for a strong ally. Kenya, she said, has failed to solve the problems that caused last year's election crisis and continues to be plagued by corruption and violence. | 08/05/09 15:23:00 By - Shashank Bengali

Russian priest, family, burned alive; officials blame victims

The fire consumed the priest's body, charring bones and flesh, and raged for hours. The bodies of his wife, Oksana, and their children, 10, 7 and 5, lay close to Andrei Nikolayev's corpse in the ashes of their simple gingerbread house in the Russian countryside. | 08/05/09 00:10:00 By - Tom Lasseter

Biden had it right: Rural Russia is dying of poverty, neglect

Vice President Joe Biden struck a sensitive nerve among Russia's ruling elite when he said recently that the country has "a shrinking population base; they have a withering economy," and added, "It's a very difficult thing to deal with, loss of empire." A visit to Kuvshinovo shows why: the area around this rural enclave is in steep decline and the population is in free fall. | 08/05/09 00:09:00 By - Tom Lasseter

Family, friends of 2 freed journalists eagerly await their return

Tuesday's sudden and dramatic end to Laura Ling's and Euna Lee's 4 1/2-month-long ordeal triggered celebrations in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where friends and family waited anxiously for the pair to board a plane and leave North Korea. | 08/05/09 00:10:22 By - Gina Kim and Jillian Keenan

Freed journalists reunited with their families

Two American journalists arrived on a chartered plane in Burbank, Calif., on Wednesday after North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, ordered them released during an extraordinary visit by former President Bill Clinton. A senior U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under White House-imposed rules, said that Clinton's mission was strictly humanitarian, and no other concessions had been made to win the women's release. | 08/05/09 07:00:00 By - Warren P. Strobel

Ousted Honduran leader running out of options

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Tuesday launched a new international drive to revive his flagging bid to return to power, but Hondurans who'd massed in the Nicaraguan border town of Octotal to support his bid to go home began heading home themselves. Local authorities said it was time they cleared out of the municipal gymnasium, where they'd been sleeping in on the floor and on bleachers. | 08/04/09 19:21:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Jihadists find global Somali communities ripe for recruiting

More than two years into a vicious and increasingly sophisticated insurgency, al Shabaab, a radical Islamist militia that's allegedly linked to al Qaida, is finding recruits from all over the world: in neighboring Kenya, among the large Somali diaspora in the U.S. and in poor Somali communities in countries as far-flung as Sweden and Australia. | 08/04/09 16:31:00 By - Shashank Bengali

A McClatchy reporter reflects on what war brought to Iraq

Leila Fadel began covering Iraq in 2005 and was McClatchy's bureau chief there for nearly three years until her assignment ended earlier this year. This is how she recalls her time there: "We called it a good day when only 10 died, but then there were the bad days. The day a friend died. The day when more than 300 lives were taken in minutes. The day a mother wept in my arms about her lost son, who'd been killed by a militia member, and his widow curled up in a corner of the empty room they'd shared." | 08/04/09 15:18:00 By - Leila Fadel

Iran accuses 3 Americans of entering the country illegally

The Iranian government Tuesday confirmed that it has arrested three American travelers who crossed the border from Iraq last week and accused them of illegal entry. The University of California, Berkeley, identified the detained Americans as Shane Bauer, 27, of Minnesota, Sarah Emily Shourd, 30, of California, and Joshua Felix Fattal, 27 of Pennsylvania. | 08/04/09 13:16:00 By - Adam Ashton

Bill Clinton in North Korea to negotiate journalists' release

Former President Bill Clinton arrived in North Korea Tuesday, state media reported, in an effort to gain the release of two American journalists who were arrested in March and have been in the North's custody ever since. The Obama administration has had back-channel talks with North Korea for several weeks over sending an envoy to resolve the situation, according to U.S. officials. | 08/03/09 23:24:00 By - Warren P. Strobel

Brazil's growing middle class powers country's economic rebound

Brazil is beginning to pull out of an economic dive triggered by the global financial crisis, but it's not the country's vaunted soybean, meat and iron ore exports that are powering the turnaround of the world's ninth-largest economy. Instead, more than 20 million Brazilians who've joined the consumer economy in recent years and now have money to spend are playing a key role in Brazil's recovery. | 08/02/09 18:29:00 By - Tyler Bridges

Can world economy count on developing countries for cure?

The global economy this year will still suffer its steepest contraction in trade and industrial production since the Great Depression. Despite their dramatic growth, the BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — aren't powerful enough to power a global rebound, and all four of them face their own economic problems. | 08/02/09 18:02:00 By - Tyler Bridges, Kevin G. Hall and Tom Lasseter

On Africa visit, Clinton won't shy away from thorny issues

Starting Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit seven African countries on a tour aimed at "supporting strong and sustainable democratic governments," State Department officials said. President Barack Obama's message of promoting African self-sufficiency will face challenges, however, as Clinton confronts some of the continent's most intractable problems. | 08/02/09 16:57:00 By - Shashank Bengali

Defense attorneys proving key to Guantanamo resettlement

Defense attorneys who fought the Bush administration tooth-and-nail on its detention policies are now emerging as key partners in the effort to resettle prisoners from Guantanamo. Long before Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle ordered the U.S. government to free a young Afghan named Mohammed Jawad, his military lawyers arranged with UNICEF and the Afghan Human Rights Commission to get him education and support, once back home with his mother. | 08/02/09 09:27:36 By - Carol Rosenberg

U.S. apparel retailer suits military types in Iraqi town

Security professionals on the go might overlook the local goods in Irbil, Iraq, when they spot an outlet for 5.11 Tactical, the Modesto, Calif., uniform company known for heavy-duty equipment that suits the tastes of law enforcement and military types worldwide. | 08/01/09 18:23:59 By - Adam Ashton

Iranian TV confirms arrest of three Americans

Iranian state TV on Saturday confirmed the arrests of three Americans who crossed into Iran from northern Iraq. Their identities haven't been released. The scenic area in Iraq's Kurdistan region, where the Americans apparently strayed across the border into Iran, is popular as a hiking and tourism destination. | 08/01/09 13:28:00 By - McClatchy Newspapers

Trials begin in Iran for many arrested in opposition protests

More than 100 leading opposition activists stood trial in Iran on Saturday, the first since the government's crackdown in the violent aftermath of June's disputed presidential election, according to Iranian state media. The reports didn't specify when a verdict could be expected. | 08/01/09 10:05:11 By - Hannah Allam

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