KHARTOUM (AFP) -- The Sudanese military has freed 14 Chinese workers “kidnapped” by rebels in the country’s South Kordofan state, the official SUNA news agency reported on Monday.“SAF troops succeeded in freeing 14 of the Chinese workers,” SUNA quoted state governor Ahmad Harun as saying.Harun said the Chinese were in good condition and had been taken to nearby El Obeid in neighboring North Kordofan.The fate of other Chinese reported captured with the group was not immediately clear.China confir

HAVANA (AP) ― President Raul Castro delivered a full-throated defense of Cuba’s one-party political system on Sunday, and a sharp warning to Communist Party delegates to fight corruption he said was a greater threat to the revolution than anything the United States could dream up.In a stern closing speech to the party’s national conference, Castro reiterated a pledge to institute term-limits for Cuban officials, saying a constitutional amendment would be required but that leaders should begin to

KINGSTON, Ontario (AP) ― A jury on Sunday found an Afghan father, his wife and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and a co-wife in what the judge described as “cold-blooded, shameful murders” resulting from a “twisted concept of honor.”The jury took 15 hours to find Mohammad Shafia, 58; his wife Tooba Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case that shocked and riveted Canadians from coast to coast. First-degree murder carries an

OAKLAND, California (AP) ― For weeks the protests had waned, with only a smattering of people taking to Oakland’s streets for occasional weekend marches that bore little resemblance to the headline-grabbing Occupy demonstrations of last fall.Then came Saturday, which started peacefully enough ― a midday rally at City Hall and a march. But hours later, the scene near downtown Oakland had dramatically deteriorated: clashes punctuated by rock and bottle throwing by protesters and volleys of tear ga

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — A police officer under investigation for sexual misconduct with a teenage minor was shot and killed while on duty by fellow officers Saturday as they tried to arrest him on California's central coast, authorities said.The officer was manning a DUI checkpoint when the

BEIJING (AFP) ― China should impose “sanctions” against the Philippines after it offered to allow more U.S. troops on its soil, state media said Sunday, amid growing tensions over disputed waters in the South China Sea.Manila said Friday it planned to hold more joint exercises and to let more U.S. troops rotate through the Southeast Asian country ― an offer welcomed by the United States as it seeks to expand its military power in Asia.China has not yet officially responded to the announcement, w

CHENGDU, China (AFP) -- Sitting in a teahouse in Chengdu’s Tibetan quarter, a nervous young monk spoke of how police arrests of innocent people were adding to the climate of fear in China’s Tibetan-inhabited regions.The Lama temple where the monk lives is a 15-hour drive away, high up on the Tibetan plateau in the southwestern province of Sichuan where rights groups say police have fired on demonstrators three times in the past week, killing at least three and leaving dozens wounded.The 28-year-

KABUL (AP) ― France’s plans to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan a year early drew harsh words Saturday in the Afghan capital, with critics accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of putting domestic politics ahead of Afghans’ safety.A wider proposal by Sarkozy for NATO to hand over all security to Afghans by the end of next year also came under fire, with one Afghan lawmaker saying it would be “a big mistake” that would leave security forces unprepared to fight the Taliban insurgenc

LIMA (AP) ― A fire swept through a two-story private rehabilitation center for addicts in a poor part of Peru’s capital Saturday, killing 27 people and critically injuring five as firefighters punched holes through walls to rescue residents locked inside.The “Christ is Love” center for drug and alcohol addicts was unlicensed and overcrowded and its residents were apparently kept inside “like prisoners,” Health Minister Alberto Tejada told the Associated Press.Authorities said 26 people died at t

HAVANA (AP) ― Cuba’s Communist Party closed the first day of its national conference Saturday with declarations of support for the burgeoning private-sector class, tough talk on corruption and vows to be attentive to islanders’ complaints.But there were no concrete resolutions on President Raul Castro’s call for political term limits or word on leadership changes during the closed-door gathering, a two-day follow-up to last April’s historic party summit where delegates opened up long-shut doors