A deeply divided Senate voted to confirm Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. defense secretary, handing President Barack Obama's choice the job just days before billions of dollars in budget cuts hit the military. Hagel was expected to be sworn in Wednesday.The vote was 58-41 Tuesday, with four Republicans joining the Democrats after an unprecedented fight that touched on Israel, Iran and nuclear weapons.Republicans had opposed their onetime Republican Senate colleague, casting him as unqualified, host

LUXOR, Egypt (AP) ― A hot air balloon flying over Egypt’s ancient city of Luxor caught fire and crashed into a sugar cane field on Tuesday, killing at least 19 foreign tourists, a security official said.It was one of the worst crashes involving tourists in the country already struggling with a decimated tourism industry, two years after the 2011 uprising that ousted former leader Hosni Mubarak.According to an Egyptian security official, the balloon carrying 21 tourists caught fire, which trigger

OSLO (AFP) ― Myanmar President Thein Sein arrived in Oslo on Tuesday, kicking off his first trip to Europe aimed at forging stronger ties between the former pariah state and the West.The reformist leader landed at Oslo’s international airport, Norwegian officials said, for a three-day stay in the Scandinavian country to be followed by visits to Finland, Austria, Belgium and Italy before he returns to Myanmar on March 8.The former junta general has impressed the international community with a str

VATICAN CITY (AFP) ― Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree on Monday allowing cardinals to bring forward a conclave to elect his successor, as the resignation of a top cardinal and deepening intrigue in the Vatican clouded the run-up to the vote.“I leave the College of Cardinals the possibility to bring forward the start of the conclave once all cardinals are present,” said the pope, who steps down on Thursday.The conclave is traditionally held between 15 and 20 days after the papal seat becomes vac

Italy faced political paralysis Monday as near-complete results in crucial national elections showed no clear front-runner and raised the possibility of a hung parliament. The uncertainty bodes ill for the nation's efforts to pass the tough reforms it needs to snuff out its economic crisis and reassure jittery markets. The chaotic election scenes in the eurozone's third-biggest economy spilled across the Atlantic to send the Dow Jones index plunging more than 200 points in its sharpest drop sinc

LONDON (AP) -- The BBC says it has received reports that its world service English shortwave radio frequencies are being jammed in China and condemns what it called efforts to disrupt free access to news and information.The broadcaster said while it can't attribute the source of the jamming definitively, ``the extensive and coordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.''The jamming of broadcasts in China is being timed to cause ``maximum disruption,'' the BBC's di

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The image was meant to convey growing friendship between the United States and Myanmar, currently the world's hottest frontier market. Flanked by small national flags, Win Aung, the president of Myanmar's main business association, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jose Fernandez shook hands in Yangon on Monday and agreed to deepen business ties between their countries.The awkward part? The United States still dubs Win Aung a "crony" who allegedly used his close ties

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The $85 billion in budget cuts set to hit the U.S. on Friday were designed to be so unattractive and damaging that they would force Congress and the Obama administration to find a better way to address the country's massive deficit. Four days remain but no alternative is in sight, and both sides in the latest partisan battle are angrily blaming each other.No deal means the government is forced to make drastic cuts in domestic and defense spending, a move that that threatens th

BEIJING (AFP) -- New Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed Monday to pursue friendly ties with Taiwan and keep seeking "peaceful reunification" in a meeting with an influential politician from the island, state media reported.Xi, who became Communist Party chief in November and is set to assume the country's presidency next month, held talks with Lien Chan, a former vice president of Taiwan, the official Xinhua news agency said.China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949 when China's com

KABUL (AFP) -- Afghanistan's president has ordered US special forces to leave a strategic province as he seeks tighter control over Afghan militia, exacerbating tensions before the 2014 withdrawal of NATO troops.Hamid Karzai on Sunday gave American special forces two weeks to pull out of Wardak, a hotbed of Taliban activity on the doorstep of Kabul, accusing Afghans they work with of torture and murder that has incited local hatred.NATO and the US military has said it will discuss the issue with

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- The Vatican said Monday that a secret report on a leaks scandal in 2012 had revealed human "imperfections" in the running of the Church and would be shown exclusively to the future pope, not to voting cardinals."The Holy Father has decided that the documents, which only he has seen, will be exclusively available to his successor," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at a press conference."Their work made it possible to detect, given the limitations and imperfections of