Sudan arrests politician alleging links to rebels

Sudan cuts ties with Chad

By Abd Raouf (AP)

Sudan severed ties with Chad Sunday, accusing its neighbor of backing a rebel assault on the capital and raising the possibility of new border clashes that could worsen Darfur\'s humanitarian crisis.

A curfew was lifted in Sudan\'s capital but residents hunkered inside and security remained tight a day after the government repulsed an unprecedented assault on Khartoum by Darfur rebels.

In the capital\'s twin city of Omdurman, frightened residents emerged slowly to find buildings pockmarked with bullet holes and streets littered with charred cars. Women draped in flowered...

Philippine president pardons 9 coup plotters

By Bullit Marquez (AP)

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pardoned nine military officers who apologized after being convicted of a 2003 coup plot, saying Monday that the Philippines yearns for stability _ not \"political shenanigans.\"

Arroyo made the announcement during a nationally televised ceremony marking the oath-taking of new military chief Gen. Alexander Yano. He replaced a general known for fiercely defending Arroyo against coup plotters and other threats.

The government has struggled in recent years to head off unrest in the 120,000-strong military by fighting corruption, introducing...

Australia probes claims soldiers abused Afghan prisoners

By Rafiq Maqbool (AP)

Australia is investigating allegations that its soldiers mistreated suspected insurgents in prison in Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

A senior Afghan National Army commander made the allegations during a weekend meeting with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force officers, the Australian Defense Force said in a statement.

An investigation was ordered by the head of Australia\'s military, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. The military would not give details of the allegations except to say they related to the treatment of four suspected insurgents.

The...

Train quarantined in Ontario with mystery illness

By (AP)

Canadian authorities have a train in northern Ontario under quarantine after one person died and several others came down with an undetermined illness.

Police say as many as 10 people are ill with flu-like symptoms and no one is going onto the train without protective gear.

The illnesses on the train of 269 passengers appeared to be contained to two train cars, although the train station was evacuated.

Polish Holocaust hero Irena Sendler dies at 98

By Alik Keplicz (AP)

Irena Sendler _ a Polish social worker who helped save some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto and giving them false identities _ has died. She was 98.

Sendler died at a Warsaw hospital on Monday morning, her daughter, Janina Zgrzembska, told The Associated Press. She had been hospitalized since last month with pneumonia.

Born in Warsaw, Sendler served as a social worker with the city\'s welfare department, masterminding the risky rescue operations of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during Nazi Germany\'s brutal World War II...

Venezuelan president criticizes German chancellor

By (AP)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lashed out at Germany\'s chancellor on Sunday, suggesting that her party shares the political ideals of Adolf Hitler.

The Venezuelan leader criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel for belonging to the conservative Christian Democratic Union, calling the movement \"the same right wing that supported Hitler and fascism.\"

Chavez was on the verge of launching more insults at Merkel, but suddenly stopped short.

\"Ms. Chancellor, you can go to ...\" he said during his weekly television and radio program, before pausing. Then he added: \"Because...

US military Clashes in Baghdad despite cease-fire

By Petr David Josek (AP)

American soldiers killed three Shiite extremists who attacked them with small arms and rocket launchers in Baghdad\'s sprawling Shiite slum, despite a reported cease-fire, the U.S. military said Monday.

The clashes broke out Sunday afternoon in Sadr City, marring the first day of a reported cease-fire between factions of Muqtada al-Sadr\'s political movement, who are thought to have influence over the extremists, and the Iraqi government.

Nasar al-Rubaie, a Sadrist lawmaker, said talks on final touches to the agreement were still under way on Monday. Al-Rubaie said he could...