world

As many as 26 million rural migrant workers unemployed in China

The global economic crisis has taken hold deep in China’s impoverished countryside, as millions of rural migrants are laid off from factory jobs and left to scratch a living from tiny landholdings – creating unsettling prospects for a government anxious to avoid social unrest.

Gadhafi to lead African Union

Moammar Gadhafi of Libya was elected Monday as leader of the African Union, a position long sought by the eccentric dictator pushing his oil-rich nation into the international mainstream after years of isolation.

Ringling Bros. cruelty-to-elephants case heads to U.S. District Court

After more than eight years of legal skirmishing, a trial is scheduled to open Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by animal welfare groups alleging that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus routinely abuses its performing elephants.

Ringling Bros. cruelty-to-elephants case heads to U.S. District Court

New Ill. Governor: ‘We have to address each day with new eyes’

In his first Sunday since being thrust into the chief executive’s office, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn delivered a church service message of service and humility, calling on residents to work together despite challenges.

Sri Lankan official warns diplomats, CNN, BBC

Sri Lanka warned Western diplomats, foreign journalists and aid groups Sunday that they would be “chased” out of the country if they appear to favor the Tamil Tiger rebels.

N. Korea warns of possible war with S. Korea

North Korea warned Sunday that South Korea’s confrontational policies might trigger a war on the divided peninsula, a message coming two days after the communist country vowed to abandon all peace agreements with its southern neighbor.

Carbon monoxide scare sends 17 to hospital

Investigators believe a gasoline-powered generator running a fan for inflatable playhouses produced carbon monoxide at a child’s birthday party, sending 17 people to a hospital.

Floridians find British warship wreck in Channel

Florida deep-sea explorers who found $500 million in sunken treasure two years ago say they have discovered another prized shipwreck: a legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago.

Blagojevich becomes first U.S. governor impeached in more than 20 years

Gov. Rod Blagojevich was bounced from office Thursday without a single lawmaker rising in his defense, ending a nearly two-month crisis that erupted with his arrest on charges stating he tried to sell Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Turkey and Israel spar over Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stalked off the stage red-faced at the World Economic Forum, after verbally sparring with Israeli President Shimon Peres over the fighting in Gaza.

Pakistan seizes suspects in Embassy bombings

Pakistan has arrested nine men suspected in a string of deadly bombings last year that wrecked the Danish Embassy, killed an army general and wounded several FBI personnel, police said Thursday.

L.A. cardinal ‘mystified’ by federal investigation

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said Thursday he was “mystified and puzzled” by a federal grand jury investigation into the handling of alleged clergy child molestation cases by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Rumbling Alaskan volcano has geologists on alert

Mount Redoubt, a volcano 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, is rumbling and simmering, prompting geologists to warn that an eruption may be imminent.

France to withdraw 1,900 troops from Chad, Ivory Coast

France plans to withdraw 1,900 of its soldiers from the African nations of Chad and Ivory Coast to reduce its foreign troop deployment, Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced Wednesday.

China detains 81 in Tibetan crackdown

China is launching a security sweep in Tibet ahead of one of the region’s most sensitive anniversaries in years, with state media saying at least 81 people have been detained.

Offshore Calif. drilling deal could be scuttled, experts say

An agreement paving the way for the first oil drilling off of the California coast in nearly 40 years has run into unexpected opposition that may sink it altogether Thursday.

Insurgents seize seat of Somalian parliament

A hardline Islamic group seized the seat of the Somali parliament and said Tuesday that it will establish Shariah law in the city.

Yearly Mexican remittances drop for 1st time

The money sent home by Mexican migrants fell in 2008 for the first time on record, Mexico’s central bank said Tuesday – part of a global trend that could worsen as emigrants from developing countries lose jobs in the global financial crisis.

Missing hedge fund manager turns self in

A Florida hedge fund manager who disappeared this month just as he was due to pay investors $50 million turned himself in to authorities Tuesday to face federal securities and wire fraud charges.