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Israeli air strike kills Hamas commander in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike has killed a Hamas military commander and rocket maker in the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group that rules the Palestinian territory said on Saturday.

Iran quake injures 274; new tremor further south

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An earthquake in northeastern Iran injured 274 people on Friday, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported, and a slightly stronger tremor struck central Iran on Saturday.

Fidel Castro says U.S. mistreating convicted spies

HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Friday stepped up criticism of the United States over its treatment of five Cuban agents imprisoned for more than a decade for spying and said one of them was in a cell so small it amounted to torture.

Australian PM vows to fight after poll predicts defeat

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is heading for a shock defeat at elections on August 21, a new opinion poll showed Saturday, as government infighting and damaging cabinet leaks threatened to derail her campaign.

Blast hits China tax office, police say was attack

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A blast rocked a local tax office in central China, killing at least four people and injuring 19, in what police say appeared to be a deliberate attack, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

Arizona immigration law appeal set for November

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Reuters) - A U.S. court denied a request for an expedited hearing on Friday and instead set a November date for Arizona's appeal to a federal court ruling that blocked key parts of a state law cracking down on illegal immigration.

BP to try well kill Tuesday, House passes reforms

BILOXI, Miss. (Reuters) - BP Plc said on Friday it could seal its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well by next week as the U.S. House of Representatives voted to toughen regulation of offshore energy drilling.

U.N. panel to probe further Kyoto CO2-cut projects

LONDON (Reuters) - A United Nations climate panel will ask a working group to investigate further claims that a Kyoto Protocol scheme may be incentivising participants to emit more greenhouse gases, it said on Friday.

Sarandon urges U.S. law on child sex traffic victims

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon launched a campaign on Friday to urge U.S. lawmakers to protect, instead of prosecute, children who become victims of sex trafficking.

Chavez says deployed miltary units in Colombia row

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday said he deployed military units to repel a possible attack after Colombia claimed last week his country harbored leftist rebels, but said he hoped to mend ties soon.

Wildfires sweeping Russia kill at least 25

MASLOVKA, Russia (Reuters) - Wildfires sweeping across European Russia killed at least 25 people on Friday and forced the evacuation of thousands in the hottest weather since records began 130 years ago.

U.S. embassy Paris says mail in scare seems harmless

PARIS (Reuters) - Two employees of the U.S. Embassy in Paris were examined for possible poisoning on Friday after handling a suspicious envelope, but preliminary results indicated it was not harmful, the embassy said.

France's Sarkozy cracks down on crime, immigrants

GRENOBLE/PARIS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed tough measures on Friday to fight crime, delinquency and illegal immigration as he looks to shore up his support amid scandals and low ratings ahead of 2012 elections.

UNESCO declares U.S. Everglades endangered site

BRASILIA (Reuters) - A U.N. panel has declared the Florida's Everglades to be an endangered World Heritage site due to the wetlands' continued degradation, officials said on Friday.

Obama urges Iran to release three U.S. hikers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday called on Iran to immediately release three Americans who were detained a year ago after straying across the border while hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq.

U.S. worried more secret documents may be released

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials are worried about what other secret U.S. documents the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks may possess and have tried to contact the group without success to avoid their release, the State Department said on Friday.

BP to try well kill Tuesday, Congress debates reforms

BILOXI, Miss. (Reuters) - BP Plc said on Friday it could seal its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well by next week as U.S. lawmakers prepared to vote on reforms that would put tougher restrictions on offshore drilling.

Canadian serial killer Pickton denied new trial

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada's highest court refused on Friday to grant a new trial for serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton, who was convicted of killing drug addicts and prostitutes and butchering their remains at his pig farm.

New strain of E. coli sickens Americans - report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new, virulent and drug-resistant strain of E. coli bacteria is infecting people in the United States and posing a significant public health threat, doctors reported on Friday.

Fire prompts evacuation of 2,000 homes north of L.A.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A fierce brush fire nearly doubled in size overnight as it threatened power lines that supply electricity to the greater Los Angeles area, but evacuation orders for 2,000 homes were lifted, officials said on Friday.

Oil threat recedes for U.S. East Coast, much of Florida

MIAMI (Reuters) - South Florida, the Florida Keys and the U.S. East Coast will likely be spared from any contamination from the ruptured BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. government scientists said on Friday.

Israel launches air strikes on Gaza -- Palestinians

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel carried out air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Friday after a rocket fired from the Palestinian territory exploded in the city of Ashkelon, local witnesses said.

U.N. rights body tells Israel to end Gaza blockade

GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel must lift its military blockade of the Gaza Strip and invite an independent, fact-finding mission to investigate its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a United Nations rights body said on Friday.

Four killed in U.S. Air Force plane crash in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - All four crew members were killed in a U.S. Air Force cargo plane that crashed in flames while practicing for an aviation show at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the Air Force said on Thursday.

Italy speaker refuses to resign, deepens crisis

ROME (Reuters) - The influential speaker of Italy's lower house refused to step down on Friday after being censured by his own party, and said his supporters could vote against the government of former ally Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

UK former deputy PM doubted Iraq WMD intelligence

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's deputy prime minister at the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq said on Friday he had doubts about intelligence that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, describing some of it as "tittle tattle".

BP to set aside $100 mln for unemployed rig workers

HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc said on Friday it will establish a $100 million fund to help drilling rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico who are unemployed as a result of the company's oil leak.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Germany: Memorial service for Love Parade victims

DUISBURG, Germany (AP): Germany held a memorial service Saturday for the victims of the Love Parade techno music festival, where 21 people were crushed to death and 500 injured in a tunnel that was the only entrance to the event.

Pakistan plane crash 'black box' found

ISLAMABAD (AP): Recovery workers on Saturday found the "black box" flight data recorder from the wreckage of Pakistan's worst-ever plane crash, and it appeared to be in good condition, officials said.

Out of pilots, Philippine airline grounds flights

MANILA, Philippines (AP): Good morning, passengers, and welcome aboard. We're expecting clear skies today, but we're out of pilots.

Explosion at coal mine kills at least 17 in China

BEIJING (AP): An overnight blast near a workers' dormitory killed at least 17 people Saturday at a coal mine in a city in northern China notorious for mining disasters.

5.8 quake shakes Iran, no word on casualties

TEHRAN, Iran (AP): Iran's state television says a 5.8-magnitude earthquake has jolted the southeastern part of the country. There is no word on casualties or damage.

UN says deadly floods affect 1 million Pakistanis

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP): Rescuers trying to reach thousands of Pakistani flood victims were hampered by deluged roads and damaged bridges Saturday, though there were signs that waters were receding in parts of the country.

Sister wants justice for reporter shot in Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) - The sister of an Italian photographer killed as troops forcibly suppressed an anti-government protest in Bangkok has asked the government to work harder to clear up the circumstances of his death.

Bill Clinton emerges on Chelsea's wedding eve

RHINEBECK, New York (AP) - Bill Clinton made a long-anticipated appearance in the upstate New York village where his daughter is getting married, drawing crowds of onlookers Friday afternoon as preparations continued largely out of sight for the grand and secretive occasion.

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