Sri Lanka to release 136,000 Tamil war refugees
MANIK FARM, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Sri Lanka will release next month the remaining 136,000 Tamil refugees still in the squalid and overrun government camps where they've been detained since the country's civil war ended six months ago, a top official said Saturday....

Coal mine blast kills 42 in China, 66 trapped
HARBIN, China (AP) -- Rescuers working in frigid cold and darkness tried to reach 66 people believed trapped a third of a mile (half a kilometer) underground after a huge gas explosion Saturday ripped through a coal mine in northern China, killing at least 42 people....

Rocket hits outside luxury hotel in Afghan capital
KABUL (AP) -- A rocket hit outside the luxury Serena Hotel in Afghanistan's capital late Saturday, wounding two people, the Interior Ministry said....

Afghan road builder's dream thwarted by violence
KABUL (AP) -- Khalid Khan stares through the dusty window pane, down across the rooftops of the capital, and wonders if they really know where he lives....

KABUL (AP) -- Police report an explosion near the luxury Serena Hotel in Afghanistan's capital....

Buddhists from 2 Koreas hold joint ceremony
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Buddhist monks from South and North Korea held a joint ceremony at a temple in the communist country Saturday in a continuation of civic exchanges between the nations despite a bloody naval skirmish earlier this month....

3 men blow themselves up in Pakistani Kashmir
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Three suspected militants blew themselves up as police gave chase Saturday in the Pakistani part of disputed Kashmir, authorities said....

Afghan police are weak link in security force
KABUL (AP) -- Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home....

US envoy criticizes coverage of Obama China visit
BEIJING (AP) -- Washington's ambassador to Beijing hit out Friday at negative U.S. media coverage of President Barack Obama's visit to China, saying it failed to take into account important progress on many issues....