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BEIRUT (AP) -- In his first interview since December, Syrian President Bashar Assad insisted Tuesday his regime is fighting back against foreign mercenaries who want to overthrow him, not innocent Syrians aspiring for democracy in a yearlong uprising....

LONDON (AP) -- Record unemployment figures for the 17 countries that use the euro released Wednesday are set to increase the pressure on Europe's leaders to switch from a focus on harsh austerity measures to push for a pro-growth strategy....

LONDON (AP) -- Prime Minister David Cameron is set to testify about his relationship with media mogul Rupert Murdoch during an official media ethics inquiry....

LONDON (AP) -- Ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks says she is baffled by the decision to charge her in Britain's phone hacking scandal, calling the move a waste of public money....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Taliban insurgents attacked a compound housing foreigners in the Afghan capital Wednesday, killing seven people, hours after President Barack Obama made a surprise visit and signed a pact governing the U.S. presence after combat troops withdraw....

LONDON (AP) -- British Sky Broadcasting has declared that it is a "fit and proper" company as it reported a 19 percent gain in net profit for the first nine months of its financial year....

BEIJING (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived Wednesday in Beijing, where a tense human rights showdown awaits over the fate of a blind Chinese lawyer said to be under U.S. protection after escaping from house arrest....

TOKYO (AP) -- It must have been a wild ride. Japanese media say a Harley-Davidson motorcycle lost in last year's tsunami has washed up on a Canadian island about 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) away....

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- From his tiny, windowless office, George Palamarizis tirelessly chips away at Greece's political establishment....

Why would the blind legal activist who fled house arrest in China want to remain there instead of seeking asylum, as some of Chen Guangcheng's friends have said?...

ORLEANS, France (AP) -- The normally tranquil city of Orleans is buzzing with festivities over the next two weeks to mark the 600th birthday of one of France's best cultural exports: Joan of Arc....

HAVANA (AP) -- After controlling the comings and goings of its people for five decades, communist Cuba appears on the verge of a momentous decision to lift many travel restrictions. One senior official says a "radical and profound" change is weeks away....

MOUNT BATUR, Indonesia (AP) -- Putu Restiti and her little sister, Alit, have felt invisible most of their lives, hidden in a run-down shack because they were born with twisted limbs some believe were caused by evil spirits....

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) -- Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in to Myanmar's military-backed parliament Wednesday, taking public office for the first time since launching her struggle against authoritarian rule nearly a quarter century ago....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- On a swift, secretive trip to the war zone, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that after years of sacrifice the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan is winding down just as it has already ended in Iraq. "We can see the light of a new day," he said on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death and in the midst of his own re-election campaign....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- On a swift, secretive trip to the war zone, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that after years of sacrifice the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan is winding down just as it has already ended in Iraq. "We can see the light of a new day," he said on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death and in the midst of his own re-election campaign....

BEIJING (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived Wednesday in Beijing, where a tense human rights showdown awaits over the fate of a blind Chinese lawyer said to be under U.S. protection after escaping from house arrest....

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the Secret Service has found no basis to allegations its agents hired strippers and prostitutes in El Salvador last year....

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) -- On a swift, secretive trip to the war zone, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that after years of sacrifice the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan is winding down just as it has already ended in Iraq. "We can see the light of a new day," he said on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death and in the midst of his own re-election campaign....

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) -- Aung San Suu Kyi was set to be sworn in to Myanmar's military-backed parliament Wednesday to take public office for the first time since launching her struggle against authoritarian rule nearly a quarter century ago....