MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) ― Nigerian soldiers angry about the killing of an officer shot dead more than 30 civilians Monday in a northeastern city long under siege by a radical Islamist sect. The attack came from soldiers attached to a special military unit on guard in Maiduguri, the spiritual home of the sect known as Boko Haram, in an effort to supposedly protect its citizens from the violence gripping the city. The killings likely will further antagonize a population already alienated by checkp

VIENNA (AP) ― Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to arm a nuclear bomb within two to four months but would still face serious “engineering challenges” ― and much longer delays ― before it succeeds in making the other components needed for a functioning warhead, a respected U.S. think tank said Monday. While Iran denies any interest in possessing nuclear arms, the international community fears it may turn its peaceful uranium enrichment program toward weapons making ― a concern that

CARACAS (AP) ― During his re-election campaign, President Hugo Chavez promised to deepen the “21st century socialism” that has meant an ever-greater state role in the economy. That message won him a surprising 11-percentage point win in what many had thought would be a tight race. Still, he’s set to start a fourth presidential term under challenging economic circumstances. The government’s free-spending ways, bankrolling the generous social programs that aided his re-election, may be seriously c

NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia (AFP) ― Buoyed by better poll numbers and a debate triumph, White House challenger Mitt Romney sought to build momentum Monday by vowing to restore strong U.S. leadership in the Middle East.The Republican flagbearer accused President Barack Obama of putting the security of the United States and its allies at risk by displaying weakness in a volatile region that he said was clamoring for American leadership.“I know that America is going to come back, because I’ve seen the h

NEW YORK (AP) ― Two scientists from different generations won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for the groundbreaking discovery that cells in the body can be reprogrammed into completely different kinds, work that reflects the mechanism behind cloning and offers an alternative to using embryonic stem cells. The work of British researcher John Gurdon and Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka ― who was born the year Gurdon made his discovery ― holds hope for treating diseases like Parkinson’s and d

As many as 13,000 people received steroid shots suspected in a U.S. meningitis outbreak, health officials said Monday. But it's not clear how many are in danger.Officials don't how many of the shots may have been contaminated with meningitis-causing fungus tied to the outbreak. And the figure includes not only those who got them in the back for pain _ who are most at risk _ but also those who got

A North Carolina mother faces charges for giving her 11-year-old daughter a tattoo, investigators said.Odessa Clay, who said she didn‘t know it was illegal to tattoo someone under 18, even with parental permission, was arrested in September, WCTI-TV, Greenville, N.C., reported.Clay told investigators her daughter asked for a tattoo so she used her own tools to give her one -- a small heart near he

Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to arm a nuclear bomb within two to four months but would still face serious “engineering challenges” _ and much longer delays _ before it succeeds in making the other components needed for a functioning warhead, a respected U.S. think tank said Monday.While Iran denies any interest in possessing nuclear arms, the international community fears it may

Months before his fall from power, Chinese politician Bo Xilai suspected a plot to poison his second wife and questioned whether his son by his first marriage was involved, a report said Sunday.The second wife Gu Kailai was herself convicted in August of fatally poisoning a British businessman.The latest revelation in the murder and corruption scandal, which brought Bo down and exposed deep divisi

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi declared her willingness on Monday to serve as president, and her party's intention to amend the constitution to allow her to do so.Suu Kyi said it is her duty as leader of the National League for Democracy party to be willing to take the executive office if that is what the people want. Myanmar's next election is in 2015.“I'm a leader of a political part

TRIPOLI (AP) ― Libya’s parliament ousted the country’s new prime minister in a no-confidence vote on Sunday, the latest blow to hopes that political factions could agree on a government charged with restoring stability after last year’s civil war. Mustafa Abushagur was the first prime minister to be elected after the 2011 overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. He represented an offshoot of the country’s oldest anti-Gadhafi opposition movement, and was considered a compromise candidate acceptable

AKCAKALE, Turkey (AP) ― Turkey and Syria fired artillery and mortars across their volatile border for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday, in one of the most serious and prolonged flare-ups of violence along the frontier. The exchange of fire stoked fears that Syria’s civil war will escalate into a regional conflagration drawing in NATO member Turkey, once an ally of President Bashar Assad but now a key supporter of the rebels fighting to topple him. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had wa

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off Sunday, launching the cargo-laden Dragon capsule into Earth’s orbit on its way to the International Space Station for NASA’s first privately-run supply mission.The engine fires traced a bright trail across the night sky over NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the site of many launches into space after the on-time lift off at 8:35 p.m.Dragon, carrying around 455 kilograms of supplies, is set to reach the ISS on Wednesday