A seven-year-old boy brought a gun to school in his book bag Thursday, New York police said.The find -- a .22 caliber handgun -- caused police to place the Wave Preparatory Elementary School in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens on lockdown for about an hour.The student has not been identified, and police declined to specify whether the gun was loaded. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.Thursday morning's discovery came during a heated debate about gun control in the United State

Algerian helicopters and special forces stormed a gas plant in the stony plains of the Sahara on Thursday to wipe out Islamist militants and free hostages from at least 10 countries. Bloody chaos ensued, leaving the fate of the fighters and many of the captives uncertain.Dueling claims from the military and the militants muddied the world's understanding of an event that angered Western leaders, raised world oil prices and complicated the international military operation in neighboring Mali. At

The transition team of President-elect Park Geun-hye expressed strong displeasure Thursday over calls for scaling back or scrapping expensive campaign promises, saying every single project was sincerely put together after considering its workability.“Each of the promises put forward during the presidential election was prepared with sincerity after sufficient discussions on their practicability and the possibility of raising financial resources,” transition committee chief Kim Yong-joon told rep

LONDON (AP) ― A helicopter crashed into a crane and fell on a crowded street in central London during rush hour Wednesday, sending flames and black plumes of smoke into the air. The pilot and one person on the ground were killed and 13 others injured, officials said. The helicopter crashed in misty weather just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, and close to the headquarters of spy agency MI6. Police said one person had critical injuries. Six w

BEREZNIKI, Russia (AP) ―A Russian court on Wednesday turned down an attempt by an imprisoned Pussy Riot band member to defer serving her sentence for hooliganism until her preschool son becomes a teenager. Maria Alekhina asked the court in Berezniki, a Urals Mountain city near her prison, to let her serve the rest of her two-year sentence after her 5-year-old son turns 14. She argued that separation from her young child now would do irreparable psychological damage to him. Alekhina and two other

ALGIERS (AFP) ― Algerian troops surrounded Islamists holding foreign hostages at a gas field Thursday, a day after a deadly attack the gunmen said was in reprisal for Algeria’s cooperation in French operations in Mali.Algerian Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia, speaking on national television, insisted Algiers would not negotiate with the “terrorists,” who he said were surrounded by the army and security services.The Islamists told Mauritanian media they were holding 41 Westerners at the In Am

A high-level Chinese official has called for talks with Japan over a disputed island chain, in an apparent attempt by Beijing to cool tensions that have seen both sides scramble jet fighters to the area in recent days. Jia Qinglin, the head of China's top political advisory body, made the gesture at a meeting in Beijing with former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the official China Daily newspaper reported Thursday.Japan has steadfastly refused China's past calls to hold talks over the i

A Thai court sentenced a comedian and renowned “Red Shirt” supporter to two years in jail Thursday for insulting the kingdom‘s revered monarchy during a speech at a mass rally in 2010, his lawyer said.Yosawaris Chuklom, 54, who goes by the stage name Jeng Dokchik, was found guilty under Thailand’s strict lese majeste law, which punishes anyone convicted of defaming the Thai king, queen, heir or regent with up to 15 years in prison.The comedian, who is also facing separate terrorism charges for h