Iran election overseers may bar former president
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's election overseers say they will bar candidates who are physically weak from running in next month's presidential election, a clear nod toward a former president.... 5/20/2013 9:56 AM

Egypt: Security beefed up in Sinai after abduction
CAIRO (AP) -- Dozens of Egyptian military and police armored vehicles crossed into Sinai on Monday, beefing up the security presence in the volatile peninsula five days after suspected militants kidnapped six policemen and a border guard there.... 5/20/2013 9:56 AM

Jordan: Arab Spring paved way for press freedoms
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Jordan's prime minister says the Arab Spring has forced governments in the region to allow more freedom of expression and of the press.... 5/20/2013 9:43 AM

Israel gunman shoots 4 dead at bank, kills self
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A gunman stormed into a bank in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba Monday, killing four people in a gunfight and taking a hostage before killing himself, police said.... 5/20/2013 9:42 AM

19 Indian state officials face corruption charges
LUCKNOW, India (AP) -- An Indian state official is recommending that 19 people be charged with misappropriating millions of dollars in the construction of monuments honoring dalits, the lowest Hindu caste.... 5/20/2013 9:27 AM

Large earthquake strikes off coast of Chile
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- A magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but Chilean officials said it was not felt on land and discarded the possibility that it might unleash a tsunami.... 5/20/2013 9:16 AM

Wave of attacks kills at least 70 in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A wave of car bombs and shootings killed at least 70 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, officials said, escalating fears of a return to widespread sectarian bloodletting in the country.... 5/20/2013 9:08 AM

51 die in 2 South Sudan clashes; army retakes town
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) -- Twenty-four people died in a battle between South Sudan's military and rebel fighters the government believes to be supported by neighboring Sudan, while a tribe-on-tribe cattle-raiding attack elsewhere in the country killed 27 people, officials said Monday.... 5/20/2013 9:03 AM

Suicide bomber kills 14 at Afghan province council
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform killed 14 people including a prominent provincial council chief Monday in northern Afghanistan in an attack outside the council headquarters, authorities said. The Taliban insurgency quickly claimed responsibility.... 5/20/2013 8:57 AM

Report: 23 Hezbollah members killed in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian government forces pushed deeper into a strategic opposition-held town near the Lebanese border Monday, battling rebels in fierce street fighting, state-media reported. An activist group said at least 23 elite fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group fighting alongside regime troops have been killed in the clashes.... 5/20/2013 8:48 AM

AP NewsAlert
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi officials say car bomb in Shiite area of Baghdad kills at least 13 civilians.... 5/20/2013 8:41 AM

Vandals target Israeli women's prayer group
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli police say vandals have spray-panted slogans on the home of one of the leaders of a liberal Jewish women's group that has angered ultra-Orthodox communities over its demands for equality of worship.... 5/20/2013 8:40 AM

Uganda police raid newspaper over general's letter
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- Ugandan police forcibly entered the premises of an independent newspaper to look for evidence against an army general who recently questioned the president's alleged plan to have his son succeed him, witnesses said Monday.... 5/20/2013 8:40 AM

Russia targets pollster for 'political activity'
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's only independent polling agency said Monday it may have to close after prosecutors targeted it for "political activity" under a law spearheading President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on civil society.... 5/20/2013 8:40 AM

Measles surges in UK years after vaccine scare
LONDON (AP) -- More than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of a vaccine scare that raised the specter of autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease.... 5/20/2013 8:37 AM

UAE construction giant faces rare labor strike
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- United Arab Emirates-based construction company Arabtec says it's working to resolve a rare strike by laborers seeking higher wages.... 5/20/2013 8:36 AM

Seoul: Day 3 of NKorea tests of short-range weapon
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea continued firing short-range weapons over its own eastern waters Monday after a weekend of what it called "rocket launching tests" intended to bolster deterrence against enemy attack. South Korean officials were investigating exactly what it was that Pyongyang was testing.... 5/20/2013 8:33 AM

Pakistan's former military ruler granted bail
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- A judge granted bail to Pakistan's former military ruler on Monday in a case related to the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, his lawyer said.... 5/20/2013 8:31 AM

Chinese police detain gay pride march organizer
BEIJING (AP) -- Police in central China have detained the 18-year-old organizer of a gay pride march in a sign of the government's nervousness over a growing civil society movement and demands for stronger individual rights.... 5/20/2013 8:30 AM

Ukrainian media protest after journalists beaten
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Several dozen journalists rallied outside Ukraine's Interior Ministry in Kiev on Monday, accusing police of standing by while two journalists covering an opposition rally were beaten.... 5/20/2013 8:24 AM