Israeli and Hamas officials announced late Tuesday that they have reached a prisoner swap deal to free a captured Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip in exhange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, capping five years of painful negotiations that have repeatedly collapsed in fingerpointing and violence.

The deal would bring home Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid in June 2006 by Palestinian militants who burrowed into Israel and dragged him into Gaza. Little has been known about his fate since then.

Amber Miller says she felt contractions minutes after crossing the Chicago Marathon finish line.

A few hours after completing the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) race Sunday, the suburban Chicago woman gave birth to her daughter, June.

U.S. President Barack Obama granted Lebanon a waiver to allow the continuation of U.S. assistance to Lebanon, which was at risk of being blocked due to Lebanon’s Tier Three ranking in the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report, said the U.S. Embassy in a statement on Tuesday.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly informed Prime Minister Najib Miqati of Obama’s decision on October 4.

A prominent Lebanese-American businessman, who says he spent two years as an "economic hostage" in Qatar, has left the Persian Gulf nation and expects to return this week to his family in the United States.

Forty-seven-year-old Nasser Beydoun joined a Qatari investment group in 2007 to become chief executive officer of the Wataniya Restaurants chain.

BlackBerry customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa are experiencing problems, the smartphone's maker said in a brief statement Monday.

Research in Motion Ltd. gave few details about the issues, but telephone companies whose customers use the company's smartphones said that Internet access and BlackBerry's popular messenger service appeared to be affected.

Apple says first-day pre-orders of the iPhone 4S topped 1 million, breaking the record set by last year's model.

Apple Inc. and various phone companies started taking orders for the phone last Friday. It hits stores this Friday.

Giving a high-five. Rubbing his girlfriend's hand. Such ordinary acts — but a milestone for a paralyzed man.

True, a robotic arm parked next to his wheelchair did the touching, painstakingly, palm to palm. But Tim Hemmes made that arm move just by thinking about it.

Icelandic star Bjork says her new album fuses the natural world and iPad apps to invent a music genre she calls an "appbox."

"Biophilia" — and a host of applications representing specific tracks on the album — are out Monday, and are meant to immerse listeners in a complete audio-visual experience.

Natalie Dessay was rapturous over the Vienna State Opera's new production of "La Traviata," declaring, "it was tailor-made for me, like a dress!"

If so, the tailor missed a stitch or two.

Flames lit up downtown Cairo, where massive clashes raged Sunday, drawing Christians angry over a recent church attack, Muslims and Egyptian security forces. At least 24 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the worst sectarian violence since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.

The rioting lasted late into the night, bringing out a deployment of more than 1,000 security forces and armored vehicles to defend the state television building along the Nile, where the trouble began. The military clamped a curfew on the area until 7 a.m.