El Salvador president meets pope amid Romero hopes
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- El Salvador's president meets with Pope Francis on Thursday amid mounting indications that the stars have finally aligned to beatify assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero.... 5/22/2013 4:12 PM

Mexico cartel dominates, torches western state
LA RUANA, Mexico (AP) -- Michoacan is burning. A drug cartel that takes its name from an ancient monastic order has set fire to lumber yards, packing plants and passenger buses in a medieval-like reign of terror.... 5/22/2013 4:10 PM

LONDON (AP) -- 2 UK govt officials: London attack appears to be motivated by radical Islam.... 5/22/2013 4:04 PM

Kerry: US, allies, ready to step up aid rebels
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- The U.S. and several key allies looked again Wednesday for a strategy to end Syria's civil war, their united efforts unable at the moment to stem the Assad regime's military gains and Washington still unwilling to join those providing the rebels with lethal military aid.... 5/22/2013 4:02 PM

Argentine dictator Videla's burial protested
MERCEDES, Argentina (AP) -- Argentines in the hometown of former dictator Jorge Rafael Videla are upset at the prospect that he may be buried there.... 5/22/2013 4:01 PM

UK PM: London attack near barracks could be terror
LONDON (AP) -- Two U.K. government officials say a brutal attack that left one man dead near a London military barracks appears to have been motivated by radical Islam.... 5/22/2013 4:16 PM

Am. Samoa to keep flier miles for govt travelers
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) -- American Samoa plans to take away frequent flier miles from government workers who travel on behalf of the U.S. territory.... 5/22/2013 3:55 PM

France boosting security at facilities abroad
PARIS (AP) -- France's Foreign Ministry says it is strengthening security measures, hiring more guards and buying new equipment to help protect French facilities abroad amid shifting threats.... 5/22/2013 3:54 PM

Iceland forms center-right govt, halts EU talks
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) -- The leader of the center-right Progressive Party was chosen as Iceland's new prime minister Wednesday and promptly announced a halt to talks with the European Union about joining the 27-nation bloc.... 5/22/2013 3:45 PM

Colombia: 9 soldiers killed by in rebel attack
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- At least nine Colombian soldiers were killed in an attack with homemade explosives by the country's second-largest leftist rebel band, the military said Wednesday.... 5/22/2013 3:42 PM

Toronto mayor's brother delivers defense
TORONTO (AP) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's brother said Wednesday that Ford has told him that reports of a purported video that appears to show the mayor smoking crack cocaine are untrue and that the media is trying to destroy his brother.... 5/22/2013 3:38 PM

Amid signs of turmoil, S Sudan says oil will flow
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) -- Following a lengthy Cabinet meeting, South Sudan's government spokesman said Wednesday that the country will continue to export oil through Sudan and that there had been only a temporary slowdown in production.... 5/22/2013 3:32 PM

Cannes: Scott Thomas' glorious dip into darkness
CANNES, France (AP) -- To convince Kristin Scott Thomas to play the bloodthirsty matriarch of "Only God Forgives," director Nicolas Winding Refn appealed to Scott Thomas - how else? - with the flattery of his own mother.... 5/22/2013 3:28 PM

UN: New reports of chemical weapons use in Syria
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- There are mounting reports of chemical weapons use as violence escalates in Syria, the U.N.'s top Mideast envoy said Wednesday.... 5/22/2013 3:18 PM

Police arrest Dominican accused of raping 60 women
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested a man suspected of raping at least 60 women in the past two years.... 5/22/2013 3:18 PM

Ousted premier seeks return to power in Cayman
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- A former Cayman Islands premier who faces 11 criminal charges and was ousted from leadership last year is heading into Thursday's general elections with an outside chance of returning to power in the British Overseas Territory.... 5/22/2013 3:11 PM

Palestinians have little faith in Kerry effort
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Palestinians believe the U.S. effort to restart peace talks is doomed, and they're preparing instead to resume their campaign of seeking membership in key international organizations as soon as next month, officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.... 5/22/2013 3:05 PM

Trial for captain in deadly shipwreck in Italy
ROME (AP) -- An Italian judge has ordered the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship to stand trial for manslaughter in the vessel's shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany, which killed 32 people.... 5/22/2013 3:04 PM

Irishman charged with 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing
DUBLIN (AP) -- British prosecutors have charged a 61-year-old Irishman with the 1982 IRA attack on the queen's cavalry in Hyde Park, a nail-bombing at a top London tourist attraction that left four soldiers and seven horses dead.... 5/22/2013 3:03 PM

EU steps up fight against tax evasion by end 2013
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union's leaders took a major step in tackling tax-dodgers Wednesday by pushing to end bank secrecy across the bloc's 27 members by the end of the year.... 5/22/2013 2:47 PM