TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company on Tuesday said its plan to end the crisis at its stricken nuclear plant was on schedule, despite signs that damage to the facility was worse than initially thought.The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station said it still expected to reduce radiation leaks by July and bring its reactors to a stable cold shutdown by January at the

JERUSALEM (AP) ― Masked Palestinians whirling slingshots clashed with Israeli riot police in two Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem on Saturday after the shooting death of a teenage stone thrower. It was a sign of rising tensions on the eve of Palestinian commemorations of their uprooting during Israel’s 1948 creation.The possibility of escalation comes at a critical time for U.S. Mideast policy. Pre

 

U.S. urges Pakistan to investigate helperWASHINGTON (AP) ― Osama bin Laden benefited from “some sort of support network” inside Pakistan, President Barack Obama said in a Sunday broadcast interview, but he added it is not clear whether government officials knew the terrorist leader was living inside their country when U.S. commandos killed him in a raid last weekend.“We don’t know whether there mi

Inter-faith violence kills 12 and injures more than 100CAIRO (AP) ― Relations between Egypt’s Muslims and Christians degenerated to a new low Sunday after riots overnight left 12 people dead and a church burned, adding to the disorder of the country’s post-revolution transition to democracy.The attack on the church was the latest sign of assertiveness by an extreme, ultraconservative movement of M

SINGAPORE (AP) ― Singapore’s long-time ruling party won an overwhelming parliamentary majority in elections in the Southeast Asian city-state, but the opposition made historic gains after mounting its biggest challenge since independence in 1965, according to returns released early Sunday.The ruling People’s Action Party won 81 of the 87 parliament seats as it captured 60 percent of the 2 million

Residents form human chains in desperate bid to halt military operationDAMASCUS (AFP) ― Syrian forces rained gunfire on Banias Saturday as they pushed ahead with an assault on the restive port, killing six people, activists said, as President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents called for elections to end the crisis.Activists said dozens of tanks and armored vehicles entered Banias, on the Mediterranean c

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has decided not to release death photos of terrorist Osama bin Laden because their graphic nature could incite violence and create national security risks for the United States. Separately, officials told the Associated Press that the Navy SEALs who stormed bin Laden’s compound shot him dead after they saw him appear to lunge for a weapon.