Anti-Muslim actions rise in UK over slain soldier
LONDON (AP) -- Police, politicians and activists in Britain are warning of rising anti-Muslim sentiment following the slaughter of an off-duty British soldier in a London street, an apparent act of Islamic extremism that has horrified the nation....

Hezbollah chief commits to victory in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) -- The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group vowed to help propel President Bashar Assad to victory in Syria's bloody civil war, warning that the fall of the Damascus regime would give rise to extremists and plunge the Middle East into a "dark period."...

Kerry makes 1st official sub-Saharan Africa trip
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Making his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday demanded that Nigeria respect human rights as it cracks down on Islamist extremists and pledged to work hard in the coming months to ease tensions between Sudan and South Sudan....

Fragments of biblical treasure are up for sale
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are up for sale - in tiny pieces....

French soldier stabbed in throat outside Paris
PARIS (AP) -- A French soldier was stabbed in the throat in a busy commercial district outside Paris on Saturday, and the government said it was trying to determine if there were any links to the brutal killing of a British soldier by suspected Islamic extremists....

Suspected rebels kill 17, wound 24 in east India
NEW DELHI (AP) -- Suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and opened fire Saturday on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India's ruling Congress party in eastern India, killing at least 17 people and wounding 24 others, police said....

Female suicide bomber injures 18 in Russian region
MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) -- A female suicide bomber blew herself up in the southern Russian region of Dagestan on Saturday, injuring at least 18, including two children and five police officers, authorities said. The attacker was later identified as a widow of two Islamic radicals killed by security forces....

'Yugonostalgia' as Croatia prepares to join EU
KUMROVEC, Croatia (AP) -- Forget the European Union, many in this Croatian village are saying. The group of nations being celebrated this weekend is one that died more than 20 years ago when Yugoslavia - now fervently remembered as a haven of peace, prosperity and equality - fell apart in a cascade of ethnic wars....

16 children, 1 teacher die in Pakistan bus fire
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) -- Sixteen schoolchildren and a teacher burned to death in eastern Pakistan early Saturday when a short-circuit near a leaking gas tank caused their minibus to burst into flames, police said....

Toronto mayor denies he smokes crack cocaine
TORONTO (AP) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied that he smokes crack cocaine and said he is not an addict, breaking a week of silence over reports of a video purportedly showing him using the drug. Critics were not appeased, with one city councilor questioning whether the mayor told "the whole truth" and another calling on him to resign....