Somali Cabinet Has Agreed on Model for Elections in 2016
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Somalia said the Cabinet agreed Thursday on a model for elections later this year, calling the long-awaited decision "an important milestone" for the impoverished Horn of Africa nation grappling with Islamic extremist insurgents.
PETA: Turn 'Silence of the Lambs' House into Animal Museum
PERRYOPOLIS, Pa. — An animal rights group wants to convert the western Pennsylvania house used in the film "The Silence of the Lambs" into an empathy museum, where visitors could wear the skins of slain and abused animals.
Scientists: More Research Needed into Zika-Microcephaly Link
RIO DE JANEIRO — The release of new figures apparently finding fewer cases of microcephaly in Brazil than first feared is adding force to calls for more research into the link between the rare birth defect and the spreading Zika virus.
Australian Accused of Planning to Pack Kangaroo with Bomb
MELBOURNE — A teenage suspect discussed with a British accomplice packing a kangaroo with explosives before setting it loose on Australian police officers, prosecutors alleged on Thursday.
Taiwan President Visits Disputed Island
TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Ma Ying-jeou is visiting Taiwan's largest island holding in the South China Sea, defying criticism from his country's biggest ally, the United States.
At Least 6 Dead in Landslide at Myanmar Jade Mine
YANGON — A church deacon says a landslide of mining waste has killed at least six people in northern Myanmar, the sixth deadly accident in the jade mining region since a November disaster killed more than 100 people.
Vietnam Ruling Party Boss Re-Elected
HANOI — Vietnam's Communist Party Wednesday re-elected its chief Nguyen Phu Trong for a second term, officials said, an expected outcome that sees the conservative ideologue cementing his hold on power.
Brazil Fields 220K Soldiers to Eradicate 'Zika' Virus Mosquitoes
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil's health minister says the country is sending some 220,000 troops to battle the mosquito blamed for spreading a virus suspected of causing birth defects — but he also says the war is already being lost.
Malaysian PM Cleared in USD$700 million Scandal
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's attorney general says nearly USD$700 million channeled into Prime Minister Najib Razak's private accounts was a personal donation from Saudi Arabia's royal family, and cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing.
Zika Virus Likely in Most Countries in Americas
MEXICO CITY — The World Health Organization says the Zika virus that's suspected of causing birth defects is likely to spread to every country in the Americas where the mosquito that carries it can be found: that's everywhere except for Canada and continental Chile.
