Syrian troops attack despite Arab peace plan
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops stormed Saturday a central town and a northwestern region in search of opponents of the government as pressure on Damascus intensified to end an eight-month crisis that has left thousands of people dead, activists said. The attacks on the town of Shezar in the central province of Hama and the restive Jabal al-Zawiya region near the Turkish border came a day after Syria agreed in principle to allow Arab observers into the country to oversee a peace plan proposed by the 22-member Arab League.
Nurse charged over Sydney nursing home fire deaths
SYDNEY (AP) — A nurse who said he rescued patients from a fire at a nursing home was charged with murder Saturday in the blaze that killed five of them and critically injured 13 others. Roger Dean was charged with four counts of murder and was expected to be charged with a fifth. Four people died Friday, the day the fires ravaged the nursing home in Sydney's suburban Quakers Hill neighborhood. The fifth, 97-year-old Ella Wood, died in a hospital Saturday.
Afghanistan national assembly backs pact with US
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A traditional Afghan national assembly is endorsing a long-term security pact with the U.S. but is imposing some conditions, including an end to unpopular night raids by military forces searching for insurgents. A resolution issued on Saturday at the end of a Loya Jirga assembly backed a call from Afghan President Hamid Karzai for a pact that will govern the presence of U.S. troops after 2014, when most international forces are to have left or moved into support roles.
Libya: Seif al-Islam Gadhafi captured
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam was captured in a southern Libyan city along with two of his aides who were trying to smuggle him out of the country, a militia commander said on Saturday. Bashir al-Tlayeb of the Zintan brigades said that Seif al-Islam was caught in the desert town of Obari, near the southern city of Sabha about 400 miles (650 kilometers) south of Tripoli.
Seif al-Islam Gadhafi was former heir apparent
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Seif al-Islam Gadhafi — considered Moammar Gadhafi's heir apparent — long drew Western favor by touting himself as a liberalizing reformer but then staunchly backed his father in his brutal crackdown on rebels in the regime's final days. Moammar Gadhafi's second son, 39, went underground asTripoli fell to revolutionary forces in late August and his whereabouts remained unknown even after Gadhafi was captured and killed by revolutionary forces on Oct. 20.
Russia seeks tougher punishment for US couple
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's top investigative body said Saturday it will seek tougher punishment for an American couple convicted in the U.S. of the involuntary manslaughter of a 7-year-old boy they adopted from Russia. Michael and Nanette Craver of York County in Pennsylvania were sentenced Friday to the 19 months they have already spent in prison for the 2009 head-injury death of their adopted son Nathaniel, formerly Ivan Skorobogatov.
Obama cites jobs payoff from Asia trip
BALI, Indonesia (AP) — After a nine-day trip through Asia in which he showed command on the world stage, President Barack Obama is headed back to debt-deadlocked Washington, where he'll confront fresh reminders of the limits of his power at home. Obama departed from Bali's international airport Saturday afternoon for a 21-hour flight that, factoring in time-zone changes, was to return him to the White House before dawn Sunday. He'll be arriving days ahead of a deadline for a congressional supercommittee to produce recommendations to attack the country's yawning deficit.
Egypt riot police drive protesters out of square
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's riot police are dismantling tents and arresting hold-out activists as they clear out protesters from central Cairo's Tahrir Square. Scuffles broke out on Saturday between the police and a small number of protesters, who had spent the night in the square following massive demonstrations the day before.
US official: China constructive on disputed waters
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — China signaled a gradual evolution toward resolving quarrels with its Asian neighbors over disputed waters of the South China Sea, a senior U.S. administration official said Saturday, describing the development as an encouraging step forward in easing tensions over the busiest trade route in the world. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered a measured response after 16 of the 18 leaders attending a major Asian summit raised the issue of maritime security, primarily on the South China Sea. The topic has been a thorny issue, with China laying claim to all of the sea, while several Southeast Asian nations claim parts of it.
Nepal integrating ex-rebels after 5 years in camps
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Government monitors in Nepal began interviewing 19,000 former communist rebel fighters Saturday in the camps they have lived in for five years. The interviews are to determine who will join the national army and who will return home with cash to start new lives. The former Maoist fighters have lived in seven camps spread across Nepal since ending their bloody revolt in 2006. Nepal's main political parties finally agreed on what to do with the rebels this month after years of disagreement over how many should be integrated into the army.
