Anchorage Daily News

Pakistani government negotiates deal with Islamic militants

The Pakistani government has agreed to a deal that could impose Islamic law in parts of the country in an attempt to placate Islamic militants, while President Asif Zardari warned in an interview, which aired Sunday, that the Islamists are "trying to take over the state."

Australian firefighters make progress on blazes

Firefighters contained a new blaze that sprung up overnight in the hills east of Melbourne and said Monday they had made good progress on some of the eight remaining wildfires still burning out of control.

Venezuelans begin voting on Chavez's bid to stay in power

Venezuelans began flocking to vote Sunday morning in a national referendum that will decide whether President Hugo Chavez will have the right to run for re-election in 2012 and beyond.

No shipments to Gaza until Israeli soldier freed

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said border crossings with Gaza will not be fully opened until a captured Israeli soldier held since 2007 is freed.

Syria says US permits money transfer to charity

The U.S. Treasury Department has authorized the transfer of $500,000 to a Syrian charity in a sign that it is easing its economic embargo on the country, Syria's ambassador to Washington said Sunday.

Militant threats chill Pakistani entertainers

Singer Sardar Yousafzai and his band were driving from a wedding gig when the gunmen burst onto the road, firing without warning.

Austria: 'Katrina' pastor giving up promotion

A pastor who created a controversy by suggesting that God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina because of the city's sins said Sunday he will ask the pope to rescind his promotion.

Pope to have presidential escort for Israel trip

Israel's president will escort Pope Benedict XVI around the Holy Land when he visits in May, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday, amid strained relations between the Vatican and the Jewish state.

British say Gitmo inmate on strike fit for release

A British team visiting a hunger-striking detainee at Guantanamo Bay concluded he is medically fit to return to the U.K., authorities announced Sunday.

Gunmen kill 12 in Mexico, including 5 children

Gunmen have killed a state police officer and 10 members of his family, including five children, authorities said Sunday.

US uses unmanned drones to hunt Somali pirates

American warships off the lawless Somali coast are using unmanned drones to hunt pirates threatening one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

Spanish priest found dead outside Havana

A Roman Catholic priest from Spain who lived for many years in Cuba has been found dead outside Havana, Church officials said Sunday.

In pop culture, new heroes emerge in Arab world

Abu Essam's footsteps echo loudly as he walks through the narrow alleys of Damascus' old city. Around him in 1930s Syria, tall stone buildings block the scorching sun.

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Study: 'Astonishing richness' in polar sea species

The polar oceans are not biological deserts after all.

Census of Marine Life

Census of Antarctic Marine Life

Chavez asks Venezuelans to let him run in 2012

President Hugo Chavez tried Sunday for the third time in his tumultuous decade in power to cast aside constitutional barriers to his re-election, arguing that only he can complete the transformation of Venezuela into a socialist state.

Hundreds join Moscow protest march

Several hundred people have marched through central Moscow calling for an end to political killings in Russia.

Mandela makes rare campaign appearance in SAfrica

Nelson Mandela emerged from retirement Sunday to make a rare, surprise campaign appearance at an African National Congress rally for presidential candidate Jacob Zuma.

Dubai denies visa for Israeli tennis player

The top official in women's tennis reprimanded the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for blocking an Israeli player from a premier Dubai tournament, calling the decision to deny her a visa "regrettable."

Afghan court upholds sentences in Quran trial

An appeals court in Afghanistan upheld 20-year prison sentences Sunday for two men who published a translation of the Quran that drove religious leaders to call for their execution.

Israel's Livni cool to deal with Netanyahu

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday that if she doesn't become Israel's next prime minister, she will lead her governing Kadima Party into the opposition - a move that could indefinitely stall Mideast peacemaking.

Martin Luther King III pays tribute to Gandhi

Martin Luther King III paid tribute to India's pacifist icon Mohandas Gandhi on Sunday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his father's pilgrimage to the country to study nonviolence.