King Abdullah II on Monday named International Court of Justice judge Awn Khasawneh as prime minister, replacing Maarouf al-Bakhit, whose government has been accused of failing to meet growing demands for reforms, a government official said.

"Khasawneh is currently meeting with the king, who entrusted him to form the new government," said the official who requested anonymity.

Samsung Electronics is asking Japanese and Australian courts to block sales of Apple's new iPhone 4S in those countries.

The preliminary injunctions Samsung filed Monday in Tokyo District Court and the Federal Court in Australia are part of an intensifying patent battle between the smartphone giants.

About 3,000 U.S. and Filipino marines started two weeks of annual military drills in the Philippines on Monday that will include a hostile beach assault exercise near the disputed Spratly Islands.

U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Nick Eisenbeiser said the Oct. 17-28 maneuvers would focus on honing their joint capability to ensure regional security and were not aimed at China or any country as an imaginary target.

Race car drivers always know the worst can happen whenever they get behind the wheel.

On Sunday, it happened to one of IndyCar's biggest and most popular stars.

Pete the Moose, who developed a cult following with a Facebook page and a rally at the Vermont Statehouse after biologists threatened to kill him to prevent the spread of disease, has died.

Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Patrick Berry said Friday that Pete was tranquilized for hoof treatment at the captive elk farm where he was living and didn't wake up.

The ancient philosophers had their golden age. Now it's the turn of Greek newspaper cartoonists. The economic crisis that threatens to go global offers a bonanza for satirists with a talent for the scathing image or caption.

Cartoonists have portrayed the Greek economy as the Titanic, that eternal symbol of disaster; Greek leaders as buffoons shielded from mobs by robotic police with gas masks and truncheons; and ordinary Greeks as beggars, at the mercy of fat cats in top hats who represent international creditors.

Heroes and villains from the worlds of horror, fantasy and science-fiction shared the stage at Spike TVs annual Scream Awards.

More television event than traditional awards ceremony, the Scream Awards were presented in an amphitheater built on the Universal Studios backlot just for the occasion.

When its gasoline pumps started going dry in the United Arab Emirates' poorer northern states earlier this year, Dubai's oil company blamed mysterious service upgrades.

Few believed that at the time, and now the company is dropping its subtlety, triggering an uncharacteristically public spat over fuel pricing policies.

Germany's finance minister says private holders of Greek government bonds must accept bigger losses to achieve "a durable and sustainable solution" for Europe's debt crisis.

Wolfgang Schaeuble told German public broadcaster ARD on Sunday that an agreement struck in July when banks and other investors agreed to renounce on 20 percent of their Greek debt must be renegotiated.

German automaker BMW wants a stake in SGL Carbon, already one of its strategic partners and the leading carbon-based product maker, the weekly Der Spiegel reported Sunday.

"We have a fundamental interest in SGL Carbon," a senior BMW executive told the magazine.