Survivors still suffering after Concordia disaster

ROME (AP) — One can't stand being in a mall: It feels too much like the ship, with no visible exits. Another dreams she's walking on a tilt — a memory of having crawled up walls as the cruise liner rolled onto its side. A 4-year-old boy talks obsessively about the meal he had to leave behind when plates started to fly across the dining room.As if the nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety weren't enough,...

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Kurd protest in Paris demands justice in killings

PARIS (AP) — Thousands of Kurds from across Europe descended upon Paris on Saturday, demanding justice for three activists shot dead in the French capital.Turkey's leader, meanwhile, demanded to know why one of the victims — a founder of a Kurdish rebel group — had been granted asylum in France.Crowds of Kurds streamed to Paris from throughout Europe, marching through the neighborhood where Sakine...

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France ups terror threat level after Mali strike

PARIS (AP) — The French president says the country will raise its domestic terror threat level after military action in Mali and Somalia, promising to increase protection at public buildings and transportation networks.President Francois Hollande said Saturday he had ordered increased security after the French military operations in the two African countries against Islamist forces.France has some...

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16 Belfast cops hurt in Catholic-Protestant clash

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Police say 16 officers have been injured in street clashes after about 1,000 Protestants marched on Belfast City Hall to protest its decision to reduce displays of the British flag.Violence broke out Saturday as Protestants passed Short Strand, the only Irish Catholic enclave in east Belfast. Masked, hooded Catholic youths tossed bottles, rocks and other makeshift...

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LB Rolando McClain bonds out of Ala. jail

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — Authorities say Oakland Raiders linebacker and former University of Alabama standout Rolando McClain has bonded out of jail on charges of violating rules on car window tint and trying to lie to police about his identity.Authorities at the Decatur City Jail in Alabama say the 23-year-old McClain was pulled over Tuesday because of the tint violation. When McClain was asked to sign...

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Hugo Chavez's allies re-elect legislative chief

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Allies of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez on Saturday chose to keep the same National Assembly president — a man who could be in line to step in as a caretaker leader in some circumstances.The vote to retain Diosdado Cabello as legislative leader signaled the ruling party's desire to stress unity and continuity amid growing signs the government plans to postpone Chavez's...

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US family builds Haiti orphanage for daughter

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — An American family who lost their daughter in a massive earthquake in Haiti three years ago has finished building an orphanage in her memory.The parents of Britney Gengel, Leonard and Cherylann, led about 150 family and friends, including U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, in a solemn ceremony Saturday at the Be Like Brit orphanage in the coastal town of Grand Goave."It...

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Venezuela looks for missing plane with Missoni CEO

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The search for a missing plane carrying Italian fashion executive Vittorio Missoni and five other people has entered its third straight day on Sunday with no signs of the aircraft.Venezuela's government said authorities would not call off the search involving the National Civil Aviation Institute, Coast Guard and Navy until they find the BN-2 Islander plane that disappeared...

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Fighting rages around Syrian military air base

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops and rebels fought intense battles Thursday around a strategic air base in the country's north and a suburb of the capital that government forces have been trying to capture since last month, activists and state media said.The fighting is part of the escalating violence in a Syrian civil war that the United Nations estimates has killed more than 60,000 people since the revolt...

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Car bomb in Iraq kills 12 Shiite pilgrims

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a car bomb has struck a procession of Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 and wounding dozens.A police official says the bomb exploded late Thursday afternoon in the town of Musayyib, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the Iraqi capital.He says the bomb hit the pilgrims as they were returning from the holy city of Karbala to commemorate the...

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Car bomb in Iraq kills 17 Shiite pilgrims

BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb explosion tore through a crowd of Shiite pilgrims returning home Thursday from a religious commemoration, killing at least 20 and reinforcing fears of renewed sectarian violence, according to Iraqi officials.The blast erupted late in the afternoon in the town of Musayyib, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the Iraqi capital. It targeted worshippers returning from the...

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Car bomb in Iraq kills 20 Shiite pilgrims

BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb explosion tore through a crowd of Shiite pilgrims returning home Thursday from a religious commemoration, killing at least 20 and reinforcing fears of renewed sectarian violence, according to Iraqi officials.The blast erupted late in the afternoon in the town of Musayyib, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the Iraqi capital. It targeted worshippers returning from the...

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Iraq orders release of 11 women from prison

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities on Thursday ordered the release of 11 women facing criminal charges and pledged to transfer other women prisoners to jails in their home provinces, in a move to address a main demand during a wave of protests by the country's Sunni minority against the Baghdad government.The demonstrations erupted following the arrest of bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia...

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First photos of BlackBerry 10 ‘N-Series’ QWERTY smartphone leak

As Research In Motion (RIMM) begins its attempt to mount a comeback for the ages in 2013, it will place its early hopes on two high-end smartphones. The first is the BlackBerry Z10, and we’ve already seen it in a number of leaks. The second is a QWERTY-equipped touchscreen phone similar to the current BlackBerry Bold 9900, and it has just been pictured for the first time in photos published by Chinese...

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Fifth-gen iPad reportedly due in March along with Retina iPad mini

Rumors that a second-generation iPad mini with a Retina display is set to launch ahead of Apple’s typical annual schedule next year have been swirling, and now it appears Apple’s (AAPL) full-size iPad may be sticking to its new semiannual release schedule. According to a report from Japanese blog Makotakra that cites an anonymous “inside source,” Apple plans to launch a new thinner, lighter 9.7-inch...

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Find room for God in fast-paced world, pope says on Christmas eve

 Pope Benedict, leading the world's Roman Catholics into Christmas, on Monday urged people to find room for God in their fast-paced lives filled with the latest technological gadgets.The 85-year-old pope, marking the eighth Christmas season of his pontificate, celebrated a solemn Christmas Eve mass in St Peter's Basilica, during which he appealed for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and...

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Just got a new iPhone, iPad or Android device for Christmas? Gameloft cuts popular iOS and Android games to 99¢

Smartphones and tablets running Apple’s (AAPL) iOS platform and Google’s (GOOG) Android OS are big this year — so big that traditional toy makers are terrified they might soon be obsolete. If you’re one of the tens of thousands of people young and old who just unwrapped a brand new iPad, Android device, iPod touch or iPhone, Gameloft has made figuring out where to start fairly easy for you by putting...

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Rebels circle Damascus airport; Russia, U.S. downbeat

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared Damascus International Airport a battle zone on Friday, while Moscow and Washington both sounded downbeat about the prospects of a diplomatic push to end the conflict. Fighting around the capital city has intensified over the past week, and Western officials have begun speaking about faster change on the ground...

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Berlusconi party says it will not push Italy into chaos

ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi's center-right People of Freedom party pledged on Friday not to trigger a disorderly crisis that could alarm financial markets as Italy began to look forward to an election in the first few months of next year. People of Freedom, or PDL, Secretary Angelino Alfano told parliament that the party's withdrawal of support from Prime Minister Mario Monti in two confidence...

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U.S. trade-human rights link tests Obama-Russia ties

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Senate's passage of legislation to punish Russians who violate human rights is the first big test of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama's resolve to improve relations since each won elections. Obama, who launched a "reset" in relations with Russia less than four years ago, is likely to sign the law even though Moscow sees it as "aggressively unfriendly". Damage to U.S.-Russian...

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