Karzai: Top election official will keep job

KABUL -- The challenger to Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday called for the removal of the head of Afghanistan's election commission, the suspension of cabinet ministers, the removal of an unspecified number of provincial police chiefs, and the closure of some 500 polling stations as his co...

Opposition figure in Ingushetia is killed

MOSCOW -- A popular opposition figure in Russia's restive Ingushetia province was gunned down Sunday morning in the latest killing of a government critic in the North Caucasus, prompting outrage from human rights groups and raising fears of further violence in the region.

Attacks at media expo underscore political tensions in Iran

TEHRAN -- An annual news media exhibition was disrupted by confrontations between government opponents and supporters over the weekend, illustrating the persistent political unrest that has roiled Iran since a disputed presidential election in June.

Two helicopter crashes kill 14 Americans in Afghanistan

KABUL -- Fourteen Americans -- 11 of them military service members -- died in two separate helicopter accidents Monday, officials said, in one of the deadliest days for American forces since they began combat operations in Afghanistan in early 2002.

U.S. tested 2 Afghan scenarios in war game

The Pentagon's top military officer oversaw a secret war game this month to evaluate the two primary military options that have been put forward by the Pentagon and are being weighed by the Obama administration as part of a broad-based review of the faltering Afghanistan war, senior military offi...

From Mexico to California, two men on the hunt for illicit marijuana

ORLEANS, CALIF. -- W hat does a tough Mexican army major barking orders in the outlaw hills of the Sierra Madre have in common with the laconic sheriff detective from the north woods of California who puts a marijuana sticker on his truck as a joke?

Palestinians, Israeli police clash at Al-Aqsa mosque

JERUSALEM -- Israeli police firing stun grenades faced off Sunday against masked Palestinian protesters hurling stones and plastic chairs outside the Holy Land's most volatile shrine, where past violence has escalated into prolonged conflict.

Karzai holds head high as nation turns to runoff

KABUL -- Just over a week ago, Afghan President Hamid Karzai looked like a cornered captive. Forced to disavow an election he believed he had won, and to announce this concession on a dais crowded with Western officials, Karzai -- usually charming and cagey in public -- seemed edgy and grim.