California Gov. Jerry Brown and China's top climate negotiator on Friday signed the first agreement between a U.S. state and China that seeks greater cooperation on clean energy technologies and research meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The memorandum of understanding signed with China's National Development and Reform Commission was another aggressive move by California to combat climate change. The state has already passed the nation's most ambitious greenhouse gas limits, including a

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon Friday accused Bashar al-Assad of crimes against humanity as complex, high-stakes talks between the US and Russia on dismantling Syria's chemical weapons arsenal reached a pivotal point, stretching late into the night.   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov were holding a second day of talks in Geneva to hammer out the details of a Russian plan to bring the weapons under international control that emerged this week.   All day the top

N. Korea seeks talks for becoming 'nuclear state,' U.S. envoy says North Korea is seeking direct or multilateral negotiations involving the United States in a bid to get recognized as a nuclear state, Washington's top envoy on Pyongyang said.   Amb. Glyn Davies, special representative for North Korea policy, stressed Washington is interested only in talks on denuclearizing the communist nation.   "It seems clear that North Korea is attempting to make these talks, when and if they occur in the fu

   MANILA, Philippines (AP) _ About 200 Muslim rebels were holding nearly 300 people hostage Monday after clashing with government troops and rampaging through coastal communities in the southern Philippines, leaving at least eight people dead, officials said.   The fighting occurred after troops backed by tanks blocked the Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas _ armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers _ from marching into Zamboanga city, a major port city, to raise their flag at cit

   A senior U.S. envoy on the North Korean nuclear program arrived in South Korea on Monday amid growing expectations over the resumption of the long-stalled six-party forum to denuclearize the North.    During his two-day visit to Seoul, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies is scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yong and other senior officials here.They will assess the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss ways to coordinate the allie

 TBILISI (AFP) - Unknown assailants on Monday shot dead a Russian diplomat in the capital of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, also seriously injuring his wife, authorities in the separatist territory said.   "First secretary at the embassy of the Russian Federation in Abkhazia, Dmitry Vishernev, was murdered in a terrible criminal attack in Sukhumi," the Russian-backed territory's foreign ministry said in a statement.    "His spouse was badly wounded," the statement said, without givin

   WASHINGTON, District of Columbia, (AFP) - Sryian President Bashar al-Assad warned Washington Monday to brace for retaliation if US forces attacked his war-torn country, as he denied using chemical weapons against his people.   "You should expect everything... The government's not the only player in this region. You have different parties, different factions, different ideologies. You have everything in this decision now," Assad told CBS television's "This Morning."   Assad spoke in what CBS c

WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama's decision to authorize lethal aid to Syrian rebels marks a deepening of U.S. involvement in the two-year civil war. But U.S. officials are still grappling with what type and how much weaponry to send the opposition forces and how to ensure it stays out of the hands of extremists battling for control of Syria.U.S. officials confirmed Obama's authorization Thursday after the White House announced it had conclusive evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assa

BANGKOK (AP) _ The British government has warned airlines around the world not to allow Edward Snowden, who leaked information on top-secret U.S. government surveillance programs, to fly to the United Kingdom.A travel alert, dated Monday on a Home Office letterhead, said carriers should deny Snowden boarding because ``the individual is highly likely to be refused entry to the UK.''The Associated Press saw a photograph of the document taken Friday at a Thai airport. A British diplomat confirmed t

A wave of violence in Iraq that has raised fears of a return to all-out sectarian strife killed more than 1,000 people in May, the United Nations said on Saturday.Over the course of the month, 1,045 people were killed and 2,397 wounded in unrest across the country, it said. (AFP)  

Four firefighters were killed while battling a fire that engulfed a Houston motel and restaurant on Friday, and at least five other people were hospitalized, authorities said.Flames were shooting from the roof of the Southwest Inn, along one of Houston's most heavily traveled expressways, and black smoke was blanketing the area as firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze.Three firefighters were killed at the scene, while the fourth died at a hospital, according to the mayor's office and local

The U.S. city hit by a deadly tornado less than two weeks ago was slammed again, and the Oklahoma medical examiner's office said five people were killed. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said a mother and baby were among the dead, and emergency officials said reports of injuries were ``widespread.''Tornadoes hit Oklahoma City on Friday evening, smashing vehicles along a major highway during rush hour. Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph said troopers found woman and baby near a vehicle along Inters

Japan is wooing African nations, promising 3.2 trillion yen ($32 billion) as government and private-sector aid to foster growth in a region that is increasingly an appealing market and business partner.The package for the next five years, including 1.4 trillion yen ($14 billion) in government aid called ODA, or official development assistance, was announced at a three-day conference in Yokohama, near Tokyo, opening Saturday.Japan is eager to catch up with neighboring Asian rival China, which has

 A German tourist was shot andseriously wounded in the stomach on Friday in one of Brazil's largest slums, where drug traffickers still control areas despite a crackdown in 2011.Frank Daniel Benjamin, 25, was shot in an alley of thepoorest section of the Rocinha slum on Rio de Janeiro's southside, a police statement said. A local resident picked him off the ground and carried him to a police unit from where he wasrushed to hospital with a serious wound to the liver. The shooting added to a recen

 South Korea's trade surplus surged to a nearly three-year high in May, as an economic recovery of its two largest exporting partners fueled brisk outbound shipments, the government said Saturday.South Korea chalked up a trade surplus of US$6.03 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $2.39 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Exports gained 3.2 percent on-year to $48.37 billion, while imports fell 4.8 percent to $42.34 billion over the cited per