Judge refuses to double 22-year sentence for millennium bomber
A federal judge in Seattle has re-imposed a 22-year sentence on terrorist Ahmed Ressam.

Iran reveals country's economy hurting as oil prices slide
NASSER KARIMI  
Iran's hard-line president has acknowledged publicly for the first time that his country's economy is taking a severe beating from tumbling oil prices, a damaging admission by a ...

Conjoined twin dies after surgery
A week-old baby has died after surgery to separate her from her twin sister, British doctors said Wednesday.

U.S. seeks to double would-be bomber's sentence
Gene Johnson  
Prosecutors want to nearly double the original prison sentence of would-be millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam, saying he has stopped cooperating with them and still poses a "serious threat."

Bangkok airports reopen after protests subside
Denis D. Gray  
Flights in and out of Bangkok resumed Wednesday after anti-government protests that paralyzed the capital's international airport for more than a week ended with the peaceful ouster of the prime minister.

India turns up heat on Pakistan
Robert F. Worth  
The Indian police said for the first time yesterday that all of the Mumbai attackers came by ship from the Pakistani port of Karachi, offering the most specific evidence to date of a Pakistani link to the attacks.

Israelis mourn slain Jews
Matti Friedman  
Thousands of grief-stricken Orthodox Jews prayed and wept yesterday before the shrouded bodies of Israelis killed in Mumbai, joining the national mourning in a ceremony broadcast on TV and attended by Israeli leaders.

Afghan women raise voices
Bill Graveland  
In what was once a hotbed of Taliban activity, the burqa-clad women filed slowly into a community centre, eager for a rare chance to voice their opinions in a society dominated by men.

Governor General calm in eye of storm
Mitch Potter  
The eye of Canada's political hurricane passed through the Czech capital yesterday, as Governor General Michaëlle Jean broke her silence with the fate of the government in her hands.

Massive cholera outbreak symbol of Zimbabwe's deterioration
Nelson Banya  
The death toll from Zimbabwe's worst recorded cholera epidemic has risen to nearly 500, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday, in a sign of the rapidly deepening crisis.

Muslim clerics to block burial of nine 'demons'
The city's top Muslim clerics vowed yesterday to block the burial of nine Islamist militants involved in a three-day rampage last week that killed at least 173 people, saying their acts were an affront to ...

U.S. cruise ship outruns attack by Somali pirates
A U.S. cruise ship with more than 650 well-heeled passengers aboard spotted Somali pirates approaching in speedboats and gunned its engines to outrun its pursuers.

Swedes' lab trick leads to body-swap experiences
Swedish researchers have used closed-circuit cameras to craft an illusion so powerful that volunteers were tricked to think their bodies had been swapped, to the extent of a woman believing she was in a ...

Elderly Japanese turn to petty theft to ease loneliness, isolation
Blaine Harden  
Criminology is being stood on its head in fast-greying Japan.

Canadians killed in Thailand crash identified
Dale Anne Freed  
Thai police have identified two Canadians killed in a van crash Monday when their driver fell asleep on the highway from the capital Bangkok to Phuket.

Thai airport siege ends as PM resigns
Paul Watson  
Before thousands of anti-government demonstrators could finish packing their belongings today after occupying the airport for a week, their leader was warning of the possibility of more crippling protests.