Official: China mine that exploded was too crowded
HEGANG, China (AP) -- The coal mine that exploded in northern China, killing 104, had too many workers underground in an effort to increase output, a government official said Monday, exposing the risks often taken to meet the country's insatiable energy demands....

China activist who spoke out on quake gets 3 years
BEIJING (AP) -- A veteran dissident was sentenced Monday to three years in prison after casting a spotlight on poorly built schools that collapsed during China's massive earthquake last year, killing thousands of children - an apparent government attempt to squelch such information....

Trial of Khmer Rouge prison chief in final stage
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- The genocide trial of a prison chief for Cambodia's Khmer Rouge entered its final stage Monday, as closing arguments began in the historic effort to assign responsibility for the deaths of 1.7 million people three decades ago....

4 US service members die in Afghan attacks
KABUL (AP) -- Bomb attacks and a firefight killed four U.S. troops in 24 hours in Afghanistan, the military said Monday, adding to the growing toll as NATO and the U.S. consider whether to send more forces to the war....

Afghan provinces get millions to reduce poppies
KABUL (AP) -- The U.S. on Monday agreed to hand out millions of dollars in development aid to provinces in Afghanistan that have eliminated or reduced the production of opium poppies, the raw ingredient in making heroin....

Pakistan's army attacks militants in northwest
PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's army fought Islamist militants for control of a northwestern district on Monday, killing 18 of them in an escalating campaign against insurgents intent on toppling the U.S.-allied government....

Attack on election convoy kills 21 Filipinos
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Dozens of gunmen hijacked a convoy carrying journalists, and family and supporters of a candidate for provincial governor, killing at least 21 of the travelers Monday in the southern Philippines' worst political violence in years....

Woman found 25 hours after Indonesia ferry sank
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Rescuers plucked a woman from choppy waters Monday, some 25 hours after she jumped from a crowded ferry that sank in a storm off Indonesia's Sumatra island. At least 29 people drowned, and 20 others were missing....

Gunfire at home of US teachers in Indonesia's Aceh
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) -- Gunfire hit the home of two American lecturers in Indonesia's western province of Aceh on Monday, but no one was injured....