Military sets date for first execution since 1961
A former Army cook convicted of multiple rapes and murders is set to die next month in what would be the U.S. military's first execution in nearly 50 years.
Leftist Sandinistas win Nicaragua vote
Nicaragua's ruling Sandinista party won the large majority of municipal races, including the capital Managua, in local elections that have sparked violent clashes and allegations of fraud.
Bush signs bill providing extra jobless benefits
The White House said Friday President Bush has signed into law a bill that Congress approved to keep benefits flowing to jobless Americans through the holiday season.
World stocks rebound despite U.S. fall
European and Asian stock markets rebounded Friday as expectations of a recovery on Wall Street prompted investors to scoop up battered financial and energy shares.
Myanmar sends comedian, monk to prison
Courts in military-ruled Myanmar on Friday handed long prison sentences to a prominent monk and a popular comedian active in the country's pro-democracy movement.
Phone workers peek at Obama's cell records
Verizon employees snuck a peek at President-elect Barack Obama's old cell phone records and will be reprimanded accordingly, the company said late Thursday.
China IDs 19,000 of quake dead
A little over a quarter of the 70,000 people who died in a massive earthquake that struck Sichuan in May have been identified, a Chinese official said Friday.
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Blasts hit Pakistan funeral, mosque
A blast killed at least six mourners Friday at the funeral of a Shiite cleric in northwest Pakistan who was gunned down hours earlier, police said.
Report predicts U.S. decline, Russia rise
Global warming could be a boon to Russia while the U.S. could further decline in importance during the next two decades, says a U.S. intelligence report with predictions for the world in 2025.
