World News

Steve Irwin, the environmentalist and star of The Crocodile Hunter, died Monday after an accident with a stingray near Cairns, Australia, according to local Australian media. He was 44.

Norwegian police say they have recovered the Edvard Munch masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" stolen in a bold daylight raid from Oslo's Munch Museum two years ago.

Hollywood actor and producer Mel Gibson has been officially charged with drunk driving, nearly a week after he was arrested in California.

European Union regulators have fined Microsoft Corporation $357 million for failing to share programming code with its rivals, as demanded by a 2004 antitrust ruling.

Basayev had claimed responsibility for the 2004 attack on a school in the North Ossetian city of Beslan, a three-day siege in which 330 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed.

Pope Benedict takes his efforts to combat growing secularization in Europe to Spain on Saturday. The pope also will defend traditional family values at a mass to close the Catholic Church's World Meeting of Families.

Italian car company, Fiat, has used the haka to advertise its new car and New Zealand diplomats says it is culturally insensitive.

Italian car company, Fiat, has used the haka to advertise its new car and New Zealand diplomats says it is culturally insensitive.

The Adjudication Panel for England has ruled that London Mayor Ken Livingstone should be suspended from office for one month over an insult given to an Evening Standard reporter.

The Iraqi government is enforcing a daytime curfew in Baghdad to curb possible confrontations between Shi'ite and Sunni worshippers in the wake of the 22 February bombing of a key Shi'ite mosque. The bombing has also sparked a major political crisis.

A federal judge in the United States has ordered the U.S. Defense Department to release the
identities of hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay by 3 March.

Political and religious leaders across Iraq have condemned the 22 February attack on two Shi'ite shrines in Samarra. As they grappled to come to terms with what is seen as a heinous assault on all of Islam, leaders began laying blame on their co-religionists and on the U.S. military.

The Connecticut-based factory that produces the famed Winchester rifle -- nicknamed “The Gun that Won the West” -- is set to close in March. The firm that owns the factory will continue making guns, but in non-U.S. locations.

President Arroyo has declared a state of emergency in the Philippines following reports of a coup attempt by elements of the military.

A group of former senior Communist party officials in China have denounced the recent closure of an investigative newspaper, along with the condition of government censorship.