Barrick fined $16m for Pascua-Lama violations
VALLENAR, Chile (AP) -- Chile's environmental regulator blocked Barrick Gold Corp.'s $8.5 billion Pascua-Lama project on Friday and imposed its maximum fine on the world's largest gold miner, citing "very serious" violations of its environmental permit as well as a failure by the company to accurately describe what it had done wrong.... 5/24/2013 6:34 PM

Toronto mayor denies he smokes crack cocaine
TORONTO (AP) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied Friday that he smokes crack cocaine and said he is not an addict after a video purported to show him using the drug. The mayor of Canada's largest city did not say whether he has ever used crack.... 5/24/2013 6:28 PM

Ex-Guatemala president extradited to US
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- Ex-Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited on Friday to the United States to face charges of laundering $70 million in Guatemalan funds through U.S. bank accounts.... 5/24/2013 6:00 PM

Honduran gangs to announce truce to cut violence
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- A Roman Catholic bishop says Honduras' two largest and most-violent gangs will sign a truce on Tuesday.... 5/24/2013 5:55 PM

IMF chief named key witness in French payoff case
PARIS (AP) -- After two days of intense questioning from French magistrates, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Friday a court named her as a key witness in an investigation into a controversial payoff to an outspoken businessman that was arranged while she was France's finance minister - stopping short of charging her outright.... 5/24/2013 5:38 PM

Puerto Rico approves anti-discrimination bill
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Legislators in Puerto Rico on Friday approved a heavily debated bill that outlaws employment discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.... 5/24/2013 5:31 PM

UK court: Lawmaker's wife's tweet was libelous
LONDON (AP) -- A tweet posted by the wife of Britain's parliamentary speaker about a politician wrongly linked to child sex abuse was libelous, the High Court ruled Friday.... 5/24/2013 5:17 PM

Mexico: far fewer disappeared than feared
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico's top security official says far fewer people have disappeared during Mexico's drug war than were feared when the government released a list of about 26,000 cases.... 5/24/2013 5:15 PM

Interpol rejects Russia bid to locate UK investor
PARIS (AP) -- The international police agency Interpol has rejected a Russian push to locate and arrest a Britain-based investor who is a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin's regime.... 5/24/2013 4:42 PM

Afghan Taliban attack aid group, 2 guards killed
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- In the latest militant strike on the Afghan capital, Taliban gunmen backed by a suicide car bomber attacked an international aid group's compound on Friday, killing two guards and setting off an hours-long street battle with police in the heart of Kabul .... 5/24/2013 4:29 PM

Canada: Qatar gives up bid to relocate UN agency
TORONTO (AP) -- Qatar has abandoned its bid to relocate the United Nations civil aviation agency from Canada to the tiny emirate, ending a bitter fight between the two nations, both countries said Friday.... 5/24/2013 3:57 PM

Cannes: Dern a leading man again in 'Nebraska'
CANNES, France (AP) -- For the aging, gruff patriarch of his father-son road trip "Nebraska," Alexander Payne tried to lure Gene Hackman out of retirement and considered the likes of Robert Duvall and Jack Nicholson. Bruce Dern calls them "the obvious guys."... 5/24/2013 3:51 PM

Hezbollah: EU making big mistake
BEIRUT (AP) -- Hezbollah's deputy chief says the European Union would be making a "big mistake" to label the Lebanese Shiite militant group "terrorist."... 5/24/2013 3:46 PM

Syrian regime OKs peace talks amid skepticism
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syria's government has agreed to attend a U.S.-Russian-brokered peace conference, according to Moscow. While this development might seem at first glance to be a step toward ending the civil war, strong skepticism persists on both sides.... 5/24/2013 3:37 PM

UK-bound Pakistan plane diverted, 2 men arrested
LONDON (AP) -- Britain scrambled fighter jets Friday to intercept a commercial airliner carrying more than 300 people from Pakistan, diverting it to an isolated runway at an airport on the outskirts of London and arresting two British passengers who allegedly threatened to destroy the plane.... 5/24/2013 3:27 PM

Venezuela to create new workers militia
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's president has ordered the creation of a new workers' militia to defend the country's "Bolivarian revolution" at a time when the government faces economic problems and political turmoil.... 5/24/2013 3:26 PM

Soldier's slaying prompts UK security review
LONDON (AP) -- Both of the suspects accused of butchering a British soldier during broad daylight on a London street had long been on the radar of Britain's domestic spy agency, though investigators say it would have been nearly impossible to predict that the men were on the verge of a brutal killing.... 5/24/2013 3:22 PM

Tunisian feminist faces 6 months in prison
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) -- Amina Tyler, the 19-year-old Tunisian woman who scandalized many in the country by posting topless photos of herself online as a protest, could face six months in prison for her latest arrest, her lawyer said Friday.... 5/24/2013 2:24 PM

Iran presidential candidate vows to resist West
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's top nuclear negotiator, a candidate in next month's presidential elections, vowed Friday he will pursue a policy of resistance against the West if elected.... 5/24/2013 2:13 PM

Berlusconi looms large in Rome mayor election
ROME (AP) -- Silvio Berlusconi's figure looms large over Rome's mayoral elections this weekend, even though the former premier isn't among the 19 candidates running.... 5/24/2013 2:08 PM