Bomb blast, gunmen attack UN compound in Mogadishu
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Al-Qaida-linked militants detonated at least one bomb blast and engaged in ongoing battles with security forces in an attempt to breach the main U.N. compound in Mogadishu, officials said Wednesday.... 6/19/2013 6:00 AM

Group decries Sri Lanka's proposed media code
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Rights groups are criticizing a code of media ethics proposed by Sri Lanka's government, saying Wednesday that the code could have a chilling effect on free speech in the Indian Ocean island nation.... 6/19/2013 5:58 AM

China, North Korea hold strategic talks in Beijing
BEIJING (AP) -- Negotiators from North Korea and China held strategic talks in Beijing on Wednesday as they work to repair strained relations, but offered little indication they will lead to a resumption of nuclear disarmament talks any time soon.... 6/19/2013 5:53 AM

Air France-KLM orders 25 of Airbus wide-body A350
LE BOURGET, France (AP) -- Air France-KLM is ordering 25 Airbus A350 jets, saying the wide-body plane that flew for the first time last week is key to plans to expand long-haul flights.... 6/19/2013 5:44 AM

IMF calls for urgent steps on Spain unemployment
MADRID (AP) -- The International Monetary Fund says recession-wracked Spain is making progress but is urging policymakers both within the country and in Europe to take "urgent action" to slash the country's crippling 27 percent unemployment rate.... 6/19/2013 5:33 AM

Monsoon floods kill 86 in India, strand pilgrims
LUCKNOW, India (AP) -- A joint army and air force operation has evacuated nearly 12,000 Hindu pilgrims stranded in a mountainous area by torrential monsoon rains and landslides in northern India, but nearly 63,000 people remain cut off, a senior official said Wednesday.... 6/19/2013 5:28 AM

Syria state TV says explosion hits military depot
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian state television says an accidental explosion at a military depot outside the northwestern coastal city of Latakia has left six people lightly injured.... 6/19/2013 5:14 AM

UN, US ask Filipinos not to leave Golan Heights
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- The Philippines' top diplomat says U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have appealed to Manila not to withdraw more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers from the Golan Heights to avoid "maximum volatility" in the restive Middle East region.... 6/19/2013 5:14 AM

Floods close Lourdes pilgrimage site in Pyrenees
PARIS (AP) -- Heavy floods in southwest France have forced the closure of the Catholic pilgrimage site in Lourdes and the evacuation of pilgrims from nearby hotels.... 6/19/2013 4:59 AM

AP NewsAlert
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippines says UN, US worry of `maximum volatility' in Golan Heights if peacekeepers leave.... 6/19/2013 4:58 AM

Turkish official approves 'standing man' protest
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- The new form of resistance that is spreading through Turkey has received a nod of approval from the country's deputy prime minister.... 6/19/2013 4:55 AM

Karzai suspends talks with US over Taliban move
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Afghan president on Wednesday suspended talks with the United States on a new security deal to protest the way his government was being left out of initial peace negotiations with the Taliban meant to find ways to end the nearly 12-year war.... 6/19/2013 4:50 AM

World markets mostly down as investors eye Fed
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Global stock markets were mostly lower Wednesday as investors waited for an update on the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve.... 6/19/2013 4:46 AM

Vietnam hunger strike tests official intimidation
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Cu Huy Ha Vu's books come with pages torn out by prison guards. Only some of his letters reach home. He is not allowed to access evidence from his trial or to see his wife alone.... 6/19/2013 4:45 AM

Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes
BERLIN (AP) -- Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement.... 6/19/2013 4:43 AM

Bribery trial of former Finmeccanica CEO opens
MILAN (AP) -- The former head of the Italian aerospace and defense giant Finmeccanica goes on trial in a case involving alleged bribes to win a 560 million euro ($670 million) helicopter contract in India.... 6/19/2013 4:39 AM

UK banking commission urges better standards
LONDON (AP) -- British bankers could soon be facing harsher penalties for behaving badly.... 6/19/2013 4:33 AM

Currency factors weigh on retailer H&M's Q2 profit
STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB on Wednesday said profits fell by 11 percent in the second quarter due to the strong Swedish krona and increased markdowns as it tried to shift its products.... 6/19/2013 4:25 AM

UN says 45.2 million refugees and displaced people
GENEVA (AP) -- The Syrian civil war contributed to pushing the numbers of refugees and those displaced by conflict within their own nation to an 18-year high of 45.2 million worldwide by the end of 2012, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday.... 6/19/2013 4:23 AM

A year on, Assange stays put in Ecuadorean Embassy
LONDON (AP) -- A year ago, Julian Assange skipped out on a date with Swedish justice. Rather than comply with a British order that he go to the Scandinavian country for questioning about sex crimes allegations, the WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.... 6/19/2013 4:16 AM