A four-year-old boy in New Zealand purchased an old commuter train from an online auction.According to news reports, the public transport arm of Greater Wellington Regional Council received a bid of $29,990 for the train. However, it got an email from a woman asking to cancel the bid because she said that the bid was made by her 4-year-old son.“My 4-year-old was playing and placed a bid. I don’t actually want to buy the train. Can my bid please be removed?” the email said.The bid was canceled, b

 A reporter was ordered out of court in New Zealand after appearing at a murder trial wearing gold sparkly pants.Laura McQuillan, a journalist for NZ Newswire covering the Scott Guy murder trial, was asked on Wednesday by a registrar at Wellington High Court in New Zealand to leave before the lunch break.Ms. McQuillan, 25, defended her choice of attire on Twitter, saying “I’m sitting under a table! No one even sees my legs!”The topic of whether the sequined “disco” pants were appropriate caused

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) ― Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his Palestinian counterpart Tuesday for what he said was a “responsible” position in negotiations with Israel, frozen for nearly four years, and said Russia has no problem recognizing a Palestinian state.Putin also offered veiled criticism of Israel, saying unilateral actions ― an apparent reference to Israeli settlement construction on war-won land ― is not constructive. The Russian president spoke at the end of a vis

BEIRUT (AP) ― Turkey warned Syria on Tuesday to keep its forces away from the countries’ troubled border or risk an armed response ― a furious reply to the downing of a Turkish military plane last week by the Damascus regime.NATO backed up Turkey and condemned Syria for shooting down the plane but stopped short of threatening military action, reflecting its reluctance to get involved in a conflict that could ignite a broader war. Near the capital of Damascus, meanwhile, Syria’s elite Republican

DAMASCUS (AFP) ― Syria is in a state of war, President Bashar al-Assad has said, ordering his cabinet to crush the anti-regime revolt even as fierce fighting broke out near the capital Damascus.With the uprising now in its 16th month, Assad told his cabinet Tuesday that Syria was in a “real situation of war.”“When one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory,” he said according to the official SANA news agency.Turkey meanwhile said it had issued fres