Alleged poisonings of Afghan schoolgirls by Taliban insurgents regularly make headlines -- but there are signs the incidents could be cases of mass hysteria, say specialists in the field.In a widely-reported "attack" last week, more than 120 girls from a school in northern Takhar province were rushed to hospital after scores fainted and others complained of feeling ill.Local officials accused the

Three people were killed and two were wounded Wednesday when a gunman opened fire inside a Seattle coffee house and then fled, police said.Seattle Police Department Deputy Chief Nick Metz told reporters he did not know the motive for the 11 a.m. PDT shooting at the Cafe Racer Espresso in the city's University District, but another law enforcement source told The Seattle Times it may have been rela

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Supreme Court has endorsed the extradition of WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange to Sweden, bringing the secret-spilling Internet activist a big step closer to prosecution in a Scandinavian court.But a question mark hung over the decision after Assange's lawyer made the highly unusual suggestion that she would try to reopen the case, raising the prospect of more legal wrangling

Top negotiators for Sudan and South Sudan met Tuesday for their first talks since deadly border fighting last month took them to the brink of war, even as Juba accused Khartoum of fresh air strikes.Teams from both sides are in the Ethiopian capital for African Union-led talks which were stalled by heavy clashes last month, the worst fighting since the South won independence last July.Khartoum stressed its “commitment to reach a negotiated settlement to all issues of differences” and promised “it

LONDON (AFP) ― WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange finds out on Wednesday if he can be extradited from Britain to Sweden over alleged sex crimes as the Supreme Court passes judgment after a marathon legal battle.The internet whistleblower, who enraged Washington by releasing a flood of state and military secrets on his website, has been fighting deportation since his arrest in London in December 2010 on a European arrest warrant.Britain’s top court is his final avenue of appeal under U.K. law, afte

MAHACHAI, Thailand (AFP) ― Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday told an ecstatic crowd of Myanmar migrants in Thailand she would do all she could to help them, on the first stop of her first trip abroad in 24 years.“I can give you one promise ― I will try my best for you,” Suu Kyi told a crowd of hundreds who packed a narrow street in Samut Sakhon province south of Bangkok to see the opposition leader, who had not left her homeland since 1988.Suu Kyi praised the strong “spirit” of worker

Former Massachusetts governor surpasses 1,144 delegates needed for nominationWASHINGTON (AP) ― Mitt Romney clinched the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with a win in the Texas primary, a triumph of endurance for a candidate who came up short four years ago and had to fight hard this year as voters flirted with a carousel of GOP rivals.According to the Associated Press count, Romney surpassed the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination by winning at least 97 delegates in the Texas

Mitt Romney clinched his Republican party's White House nomination Tuesday by winning its Texas primary, vowing to get America "back on the path to prosperity" by defeating Barack Obama in November.But the milestone was clouded by a rehashed controversy over claims by billionaire tycoon Donald Trump, a high-profile Romney supporter, questioning President Obama's birthplace."#1144. Thank You. Whate

An employer says a 17-year-old girl Texas girl who spent a night in jail for truancy does nothing but work and go to school.Diane Tran, an 11th-grader, was jailed for 24 hours May 23 after a judge found she had disobeyed an order not to miss any more school, KHOU-TV, Houston, reported. Under Texas law, students can only have 10 unexplained absences in a year.Mary Elliot, who runs the wedding plann

Police in Ohio said a man who allegedly crashed his truck into a Taco Bell because his order was missing a taco is facing a felony vandalism charge.Investigators said the man was with a woman early Tuesday when he went through the drive-through at the fast food restaurant on Chambersburg Road in Huber Heights. He returned to the window and shouted at employees when he noticed his order was missing

KHARTOUM (AFP) ― Sudan’s army will begin pulling out of the contested region of Abyei from Tuesday, as demanded by the United Nations, the army spokesman said.“We will start tomorrow and we will invite journalists to see this redeployment,” Sawarmi Khaled Saad said in a statement to reporters.The pullout, ending a year-long occupation, will begin on the same day negotiators from Sudan and South Sudan are to meet in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to resume talks led by African Union mediator T