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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday after claiming to have a bomb in his backpack, officials said.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba on Wednesday accused U.S. diplomats of escalating anti-government activities in recent weeks and said its ideological foe, the United States, will be held responsible for whatever happens if the actions continue.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is expecting visits soon from Jordan's King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, easing its regional diplomatic isolation, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States government has issued a rare apology to South Korea -- not for a beef deal that has sparked protests in the streets of Seoul but for prematurely announcing President George W. Bush's trip there next month.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic lawmakers want President George W. Bush to raise the problem of soaring oil prices and excessive speculation in energy markets with other world leaders at the G8 summit in Japan next week.

CHERQUENCO, Chile (Reuters) - Chile on Wednesday evacuated the remaining occupants of a southern ski station as Llaima volcano, one of South America's most active, spewed lava for a second day prompting fears of landslides, officials said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iranian leader said on Wednesday he detected a better mood in talks over his country's nuclear program as the top U.S. military officer called for more dialogue to avoid a confrontation with Tehran.

KABUL (Reuters) - A helicopter belonging to U.S.-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire in Afghanistan on Wednesday and America's top military officer said he was increasingly concerned about the rising violence.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge will decide whether Osama bin Laden's former driver, held at the Guantanamo Bay prison, can stop his military tribunal from going forward, the U.S. District Court in Washington said on Wednesday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court sentenced a pair of middle-aged men to more than 12 years in prison on Wednesday for sexually abusing and torturing two young women they held captive for several weeks -- part of the time in a dog kennel.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday rejected talks on a unity government, saying President Robert Mugabe must first stop violence and accept him as the rightful election winner.

LONDON (Reuters) - A few cups of green tea each day may help prevent heart disease, Greek researchers said on Wednesday.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had agreed to a U.N.-mediated deal to exchange prisoners with Israel and expected the swap to take place around the middle of this month.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In impoverished Haiti, the government and aid groups hand out lunches at schools in slums. In Brazil, mothers who regularly take their children to medical check-ups qualify for small cash payments.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iranian leader said on Wednesday he detected a better mood in talks over his country's nuclear program as the top U.S. military officer called for more dialogue to avoid a confrontation with Tehran.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that diplomacy was the first option to address Iran's nuclear program, which he is concerned could be used to build a nuclear weapon, but he repeated that all options were on the table.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is expecting visits soon from Jordan's King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, easing its regional diplomatic isolation, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Shi'ite Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia have criticized a religious edict from Sunni Muslim counterparts branding them infidels, saying that its authors were suffering from psychological problems.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's trade chief Peter Mandelson won the backing of his boss on Wednesday in a mounting war of words with French President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of talks to try to salvage a world trade deal.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 53 people were killed in Somalia when Islamist insurgents clashed with Ethiopian troops and Ugandan peacekeepers in separate battles, a human rights group said on Wednesday.