MOSCOW (AP) ― Russia has threatened to deploy missiles to target the U.S. missile shield in Europe if Washington fails to assuage Moscow’s concerns about its plans, a harsh warning that reflected deep cracks in U.S.-Russian ties despite President Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” relations with the Kremlin.President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday said he still hopes for a deal with the U.S. on missile defense, but he strongly accused Washington and its NATO allies of ignoring Russia’s worries. He

BEIJING (AFP) ― Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba asked China’s Premier Wen Jiabao to agree to set up a “crisis management mechanism” aiming to avoid conflict over disputed waters, reports said Wednesday.China and Japan have often had strained relations, particularly over claims to East China Sea gas fields and disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese.Gemba ― on a one-day visit to Beijing ― also called for the resumption of negotiations towards a treaty

Standard and Poor’s said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s administration hasn’t made progress in tackling the public debt burden, an indication it may be preparing to lower the nation’s sovereign grade. “Japan’s finances are getting worse and worse every day, every second,” Takahira Ogawa, d

 ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkey's prime minister has apologized for the first time for the killings of nearly 14,000 people in a bombing and strafing campaign to crush a Kurdish rebellion in the 1930sRecep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday: ``If there is need for an apology on behalf of the state ...

 MOSCOW (AP) _ President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will aim its missiles at the U.S. missile defense sites in Europe if Washington fails to address Russian concerns on its missile defense plans.Medvedev said that Russia will deploy missiles in its westernmost Kaliningrad region and other area

 BERLIN (AP) _ Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Wednesday that Greece can only receive its next vital batch of bailout loans if Greek lawmakers commit in writing to a separate international aid package, ensuring cross-party support for painful austerity measures tied to the money.  

PARIS (AFP) ― Disgraced ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his heiress wife are suing a top aide of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and several papers for invasion of their privacy, their lawyers said Tuesday.Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair want 100,000 euros ($135,000) from Le Figaro over a story speculating Sinclair was upset by reports her husband had sex parties with prostitutes, according to a writ served on the daily. The paper also speculated that Sinclair, a celebrity television jou

ROME (AP) ― Silvio Berlusconi is reviving his musical career, just a week out of office.The billionaire media mogul and three-time Italian premier released a new CD with his longtime musical collaborator Mariano Apicella on Tuesday.Berlusconi ― a one-time cruise ship crooner ― doesn’t sing on the new collection, titled “True Love,” but co-wrote all 11 songs.The album features love songs and jazz arrangements. It is the fourth CD that Berlusconi and Apicella, a Neapolitan guitarist and singer, ha

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) ― As big as a car and as well-equipped as a laboratory, NASA’s newest Mars rover blows away its predecessors in size and skill.Nicknamed Curiosity and scheduled for launch on Saturday, the rover has a 2-meter arm tipped with a jackhammer and a laser to break through the Martian red rock. What really makes it stand out: It can analyze rocks and soil with unprecedented accuracy.“This is a Mars scientist’s dream machine,” said NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Ashwin Vas

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The White House accused Republican Mitt Romney’s camp of blatant dishonesty Tuesday after he savaged President Barack Obama’s jobs record in a testy preview of a possible 2012 election showdown.The row erupted after the Romney camp’s first television advertisement ripped an Obama quote out of context, making it appear the president feared that talking about the crisis-riddled economy could doom his reelection hopes.Republican candidates meanwhile, just over a month before thei

Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government plans to allow men over 30 to pay 30,000 liras ($16,325) to win exemption from compulsory service in the military, the second-largest force in NATO.The change has been on the ruling party's agenda for nine years a