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- Middle East Netanyahu says 'last minute crisis' with Hamas holding up approval of Gaza truce deal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a "last minute crisis" with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited ag...
- Middle East Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire deal to pause Gaza war and release some hostages Qatar's prime minister announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed Wednesday to a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza, adding... 3
Arizona's ban on abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy is poised to take effect this week after a federal judge ruled Monday that the new law is constitutional.
U.S. District Judge James Teilborg says the statute may prompt a few pregnant women who are considering abortion to make the decision earlier. But he says the law is constitutional because it doesn't prohibit any women from making the decision to end their pregnancies.
Full StoryThe widow of Yasser Arafat on Tuesday formally asked for a French investigation into his death, bringing a complaint of assassination weeks after raising new suspicions that the former Palestinian leader was poisoned before his 2004 death in a French military hospital.
Earlier this month, Palestinian authorities gave final approval for Arafat's body to be exhumed. In recent tests of Arafat's belongings requested by his widow and the Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera, a Swiss lab detected elevated traces of polonium-210 — a rare and highly lethal substance — but said the findings were inconclusive and that Arafat's bones would have to be tested. And questions remain about the results of any additional tests after so long.
Full StoryA teenager has been arrested on suspicion of posting malicious Twitter messages directed at British Olympic diver Tom Daley, UK police said Tuesday.
Daley's father died of brain cancer a year ago and the 18-year-old Olympian had hoped to win a medal "for myself and my dad." But he finished fourth on Monday, out of medal contention, in the 10-meter synchronized platform competition with teammate Pete Waterfield.
Full StoryU.N. staff visited storm-pounded counties in North Korea on Tuesday, after two days of heavy rain submerged buildings, cut off power, flooded rice paddies and forced people and their livestock to climb onto rooftops for safety.
The rain Sunday and Monday followed downpours earlier this month that killed nearly 90 people and left more than 60,000 homeless, officials said. The floods also come on the heels of a severe drought, fueling renewed food worries about a country that already struggles to feed its people.
Full StoryA Brazilian who won Olympic bronze in judo accidentally broke his medal when he took it to the shower with him. Now his fight is to have it replaced by the International Olympic Committee.
Felipe Kitadai said he was carrying the medal everywhere he went and decided to take it to the shower as well as a joke, but ended up dropping it while trying to keep it from getting wet.
Full StoryThanks to rain, Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams and 20 other women at the Olympics who have yet to complete a singles match could end up on court six consecutive days if they reach the gold medal round.
Sunday showers at Wimbledon forced the postponement of 32 matches and the suspension of four others, meaning just one-quarter of the day's matches were completed. Rain delays often disrupt Wimbledon's two-week Grand Slam tournament, but the Olympic event at the All England Club is just nine days.
Full StoryGovernment forces on Monday strafed rebel-held districts in Aleppo with helicopter gunships and pounded them with shelling on the third day of a pitched battle for Syria's commercial capital.
The fighting has sent some 200,000 civilians fleeing the northern city, according to the U.N., which warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe, while France said it would call an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria.
Full StoryEnjoyed the music-packed Olympics opening ceremony? Now you can buy the album — and thousands have.
The soundtrack album, which went on sale as a download minutes after Friday's ceremony ended, has topped the iTunes album chart in Britain, France, Belgium and Spain, and has reached No. 5 in the United States.
Full StoryMetallica vocalist James Hetfield had warned things could get perilous at the start of the band's fifth tour of Mexico, saying "We're very focused on how dangerous this show is."
The audience of more than 22,000 believed it too. Many of the fans were visibly terrified Saturday night as the band re-enacted its burn-down-the-stage performance from 1998's "Cunning Stunts" video album.
Full StoryGunmen loyal to ousted Yemeni ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh on Sunday seized a security building near the Interior Ministry in the capital for a few hours before vacating it, a security official said.
The official said the gunmen were sent by a former security official and a relative of Saleh. After taking over the building in Sanaa, they blocked off the airport highway where it is located.
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