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AP International NewsBrief at 11:23 p.m. EST
(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Obama welcomed in South Korea as trip nears endSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Treated to friendly roadside crowds and an elaborate welcome, President Barack Obama sped into the last round of his diplomacy tour in Asia on Thursday, a visit in South Korea. Obama joined President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House, South Korea's version of the White House, where the U.S. leader took in spectacular views of the hills of Seoul on a chilly, gray morning. Obama stood on red-carpeted steps and looked out on military regiments in colorful garb and flagwaving children.
Troubled Afghan president readies inaugural speechKABUL (AP) _ Under intense pressure to fix his corrupt government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to strike a balance in his second inaugural speech Thursday: answer international demands for reform while appeasing political allies who returned him to power. Karzai begins a second term facing an increasingly violent insurgency, an administration crippled by corruption, high unemployment and an impoverished population frustrated by eight years of war and few, if any, improvements to their daily lives.
Afghan official said to take bribe for copper dealWASHINGTON (AP) _ A senior Afghan official allegedly took a $20 million bribe to steer a copper mining project to a Chinese company, a glaring example of the claims of corruption clouding the Obama administration's deliberations over expanding the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan. In Washington, two U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports said that Afghanistan's minister of mines, Muhammad Ibrahim Adel, allegedly accepted the money soon after the $3 billion contract was awarded in late 2007 to China Metallurgical Group Corp.
Iraq vote faces likely delayBAGHDAD (AP) _ Iraq's path toward political stability after years of war threatened to veer off course Wednesday when a vice president vetoed part of a key election law, a move likely to delay a national vote slated for January. The United States has linked the pace of its military drawdown to the vote, but the top U.S. commander in Iraq told reporters the schedule was on track for now. All American troops are supposed to leave by the end of 2011, and the prospect of a delay could burden the White House as it ponders a bigger military deployment in Afghanistan.
US ship repels pirates with guns and sound blastsNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ Guards aboard the Maersk Alabama used guns and a sound blaster Wednesday to repel the second pirate attack in seven months on the U.S. vessel at a time when ships are increasingly hiring armed security teams to thwart hijackings. Despite an increased international flotilla of warships off the Horn of Africa, maritime figures indicate the number of ship boardings has remained about the same in the past year.
Iran rejects deal on sending uranium abroadTEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Iran will not ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country for processing, its foreign minister said Wednesday, once again rejecting a U.N. plan aimed at thwarting any attempt by Tehran to make nuclear weapons. Instead, Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki countered with a proposal certain to fall short of Western demands.
Antiracists and far-right youths battle in MoscowMOSCOW (AP) _ A simmering confrontation between far-right youths and ant-racist activists has erupted into Moscow's streets after the fatal shooting of an anti-racist activist known as the Bonebreaker. The violence stems from deep animus between two aggressive camps with starkly different visions of Russia's future _ neo-Nazi skinheads who rank in the tens of thousands and militant anti-racist groups that call themselves Antifa, short for anti-fascist.
Israel brushes off Obama criticism over JerusalemJERUSALEM (AP) _ Israel broke ground on a new housing complex for Jews in east Jerusalem on Wednesday, brushing off President Barack Obama's criticism that construction in the disputed part of the holy city undermines efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks. The groundbreaking came a day after Israel defied American, European and Palestinian demands to stop settlement activity by announcing it will press forward with construction of 900 apartments in another Jewish area in east Jerusalem.
1 conjoined twin talking after separation surgeryMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) _ A Bangladeshi toddler separated this week from her conjoined twin sister was talking and behaving normally after being woken Thursday from a medically induced coma, the head of the surgery team said. Trishna is already doing well enough that she could leave intensive care, said Wirginia Maixner, director of neurosurgery at Royal Children's Hospital.
UK police make 2 Trojan computer virus arrestsLONDON (AP) _ A couple suspected of helping spread some of the Internet's most aggressive computer viruses has been arrested in the English city of Manchester, police said Wednesday. Scotland Yard's electronic crimes unit said a man and a woman, both 20, were arrested Nov. 3 on suspicion of helping spread malicious Trojan computer programs sometimes known as "Zbot" or "ZeuS."
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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