JEDDAH (AFP) ― French President Francois Hollande voiced support on Sunday for a transitional Syrian opposition government and called Iran’s nuclear ambitions a “threat” to the region and the world.“France is very keen on the formation by the opposition of a transitional government that would give it full legitimacy and ensure democratic transition in Syria,” he told reporters after meeting Saudi King Abdullah.It is “absolutely necessary for the opposition to restructure,” he said, as the Syrian

A bizarre spate of young blackbird deaths at a school in England was likely caused by the feathered teens getting drunk on fermented berries, crashing mid-air and falling from the sky, vets said Saturday.Police and animal experts were called in after more than a dozen birds were found dead at a primary school in Cumbria last August -- many of them sporting serious injuries.One of the juvenile blackbirds was found alive but appeared "drunk," pressing its wings into the ground to steady itself and

JAKARTA (AP) ― Indonesian anti-terrorism forces shot and killed an alleged militant and arrested another in a predawn raid Saturday in Central Sulawesi province, police said. National police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the two suspects were among fugitives wanted for the assassination of two police officers who were killed last month while investigating terrorist activities in the area. The two men resisted arrest by throwing homemade bombs toward security forces during the raid at

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) ― A suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan Saturday killed the head of a local peace committee, three of his guards and two others, police said.The bomber struck as Fateh Khan, whose committee opposes Islamic militants, left a petrol station in the city of Buner 150 kilometers northeast of Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.“The suicide bomber blew himself up in front of Fateh Khan’s vehicle. Three guards boarding the vehicle and two pass

MANILA (AP) ― A strong earthquake rattled the southern Philippine island of Mindanao early Saturday, but there were no reports of any injuries or damage and no tsunami warnings were issued. The quake, which hit at 2:17 a.m., had a magnitude of 6.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology measured the magnitude at 6.5. The institute said the quake’s epicenter was 22 kilometers northeast of southern Tandag city, and 832 kilometers southeast o

DAMASCUS (AFP) ― Syrian rebels said on Saturday they had launched a major assault on a northern airbase used to deploy regime air power, on the eve of a crucial meeting to decide the future of the opposition.The attack on the Taftanaz base, from where helicopter gunships raid opposition positions and rebel-held areas, comes after troops launched an unprecedented wave of air strikes this week in a bid to reverse rebel gains.A video posted on the Internet said eight battalions were taking part in

ATLANTA (AP) ― Police closed streets and sidewalks around CNN Center in downtown Atlanta as they investigated a chemical bomb threat, but found no such device during a search of the complex. Atlanta police spokeswoman K.Y. Jones tells The Associated Press no chemical was located in the Friday morning search. She said shortly after 6 a.m. that all streets in the area were open again. Police say a caller claimed to have planted a chemical bomb at the cable news channel’s headquarters. Police had c

A New York City nanny accused of fatally stabbing two young children in her care was charged with first-degree murder Saturday night, police said.Police spokesman Paul J. Browne said Yoselyn Ortega, 50, was charged after investigators interviewed her at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center where she is recovering from self-inflicted cuts, The New York Times reported.Ortega is accused in the Oct. 25 slayings of Lucia Krim, 6, and her brother, Leo, 2, at their Manhattan apartment. The

A mother and father in Pakistan-administered Kashmir killed their 15-year-old daughter by dousing her with acid after seeing her talking to a young man, police said Thursday.Local police officer Tahir Ayub told AFP the father, Mohammad Zafar, had had suspicions about his daughter Anvu Sha and became enraged when he saw her with a boy outside their home on Monday."Zafar beat her up and then poured acid over her with the help of his wife. She was badly burnt but they did not take her to hospital u

For more than five months _ while Julie Cervera struggled to pay a $600 electrical bill, feed her family and keep the cable company from shutting off her service because she couldn't pay _ she was a millionaire without knowing it.Meanwhile, her $23 million lottery ticket languished forgotten in the glove compartment of her car.On Thursday, someone texted her a photo of her daughter, Charliena Marquez, buying the winning ticket for her at a Palmdale Liquor store. The photo had been released by lo

Two dozen military aircraft delivered utility bucket trucks, equipment and people from Phoenix to help storm-ravaged New York and New Jersey, officials said.The Friday and Saturday deliveries were part of a massive accelerated U.S. military response to help relieve millions suffering in the devastating destruction Hurricane Sandy left behind, the Defense Department said.The department moved 630 tons of equipment, including 69 Southern California Edison bucket trucks and pickup trucks, to the are

A highly anticipated economic report failed to jolt the fiercely close U.S. presidential race four days before Americans choose between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, two candidates prescribing starkly different solutions for putting the country on a more prosperous path.Obama and Romney both tried to seize on the monthly jobs report released Friday to energize their bases and sway the few undecided voters still out there.The numbers held something for both candida