Pakistani security officials seek larger role in negotiations with Taliban

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security officials are expressing frustration that they have not been included in Afghan President Hamid Karzai's recent overtures to the Taliban, warning that a sustainable peace agreement will not be possible without their support.

In the Philippines, politics as bloodsport

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Lt. Col. Benedict Arevalo headed to a ramshackle town hall one afternoon last week to join about 100 local candidates who had gathered to sign an agreement promising not to kill one another in the final days of campaigning before local elections Monday.

Bethesda-based development firm gets Kyrgyzstan contract

The U.S. Agency for International Development has awarded a $3.25 million contract to Bethesda-based Development Alternatives Inc. to assist the newly elected Kyrgyzstan parliament, an illustration of the government's growing - and often troubled - reliance on outside contractors to promote...

Iraq's Supreme Court orders parliament members to meet

BAGHDAD - Iraq's Supreme Court on Sunday ordered parliament members to meet, calling the government formation impasse that has dragged on for more than seven months unconstitutional.

India imports 15,000 Chinese laborers to build, teach infrastructure projects

13 killed in violence at party in Mexico

MEXICO CITY - Gunmen stormed a birthday party in embattled Ciudad Juarez and killed 13 young people, the latest outrage in a city crippled by warring drug gangs.

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Rising leader Xi Jinping's family suffered in Chinese power struggles

IN BEIJING For China's leader-in-waiting, Xi Jinping, growing up as the son of a prominent revolutionary brought more pain than privilege.

Despite latest coup, WikiLeaks facing challenges

"WikiLeaks," said the godfather of whistleblowers, Daniel Ellsberg, "has become the future of unauthorized disclosure."

Japan's young men seek a new path

TOKYO - Something is happening to Japan's young men. Compared with the generation that came before, they are less optimistic, less ambitious and less willing to take risks. They are less likely to own a car, want a car, or drive fast if they get a car. They are less likely to pursue sex on the f...

U.N. official calls for study of ethics, legality of unmanned weapons

UNITED NATIONS - A United Nations investigator called on the world body Friday to set up a panel to study the ethics and legality of unmanned military weapons - an apparent reference to U.S. drones that have targeted suspected Islamist militants.