• Dalai Lama admitted to hospital in India for tests 8/28/2008, 12:56 p.m. EDT
MUMBAI, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama was admitted to a hospital in this western Indian city on Thursday to undergo tests for abdominal discomfort, his spokesman said.

• Asian alliance snubs Russian plea for support 8/28/2008, 12:49 p.m. EDT
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — China and several Central Asian nations rebuffed Russia's hopes of international support for its actions in Georgia, issuing a statement Thursday denouncing the use of force and calling for respect for every country's territorial integrity.

• 2 Chinese policemen killed, 7 wounded in Xinjiang 8/28/2008, 12:27 p.m. EDT
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese police clashed with members of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority in the far western region of Xinjiang, authorities and an activist said Thursday, the first reported outbreak of violence in the area since two high-profile attacks during the Olympics.

• Tourists flee as Gustav churns toward Jamaica 8/28/2008, 12:23 p.m. EDT
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Tourists and oil workers fled Thursday as Gustav churned toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands with winds near hurricane force. Louisiana called a state of emergency and put the National Guard on standby, hoping to avoid the chaos of Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

• AP interview: prosecutor expects Mladic's arrest 8/28/2008, 12:22 p.m. EDT
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's war crimes prosecutor said Thursday he expects the quick arrest of top war crimes fugitive Gen. Ratko Mladic, but predicted that the wartime Bosnian Serb military commander is not hiding in disguise like Radovan Karadzic was.

• Mideast running on different clocks at Ramadan 8/28/2008, 12:21 p.m. EDT
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — The start of the holy month of Ramadan next week is causing clock confusion in the Middle East. Egypt and the Palestinians are falling back an hour far earlier than usual, trying to reduce daylight hours for Muslims fasting until sunset in sweltering summer temperatures.

• US Army hearing on death of 4 Iraqis ends 8/28/2008, 12:12 p.m. EDT
VILSECK, Germany (AP) — Defense lawyers for two U.S. soldiers told a military court Thursday that their clients did not participate in the killings of four Iraqis last year and had little, if any, knowledge of them.

• Top Iraqi official detained at Baghdad airport 8/28/2008, 12:03 p.m. EDT
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. forces arrested a top Shiite official in Iraq's government as he stepped off a plane in Baghdad, a political ally said Thursday, and a U.S. military intelligence official linked the man to a June bombing that killed four Americans and six Iraqis.

• Strong quake hits off British Columbia coast 8/28/2008, 12:00 p.m. EDT
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A strong earthquake struck off Canada's west coast early Thursday near Vancouver Island. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

• Duke offers British public a bargain masterpiece 8/28/2008, 11:51 a.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — A British aristocrat is offering two public art galleries a 50 million-pound (US$92 million) bargain — a Renaissance painting by the Italian artist Titian that has been on display in Britain for 200 years but now could be sold overseas.

• Bombing of Pakistani government bus kills 8 8/28/2008, 11:39 a.m. EDT
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A bomb struck a bus filled with Pakistani police and government workers as it crossed a bridge on Thursday, sending the vehicle hurtling over the railing and into the riverbed below. Eight people died in the latest attack in Pakistan's country's tribal border region.

• Plan aims to save Britain's red phone booths 8/28/2008, 11:26 a.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — A British politician says he has won a victory for an endangered icon — the red telephone booth.

• Chinese agencies embezzled $660 million in 2007 8/28/2008, 11:00 a.m. EDT
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese government auditors have uncovered the misuse of millions of dollars in disaster assistance as part of an embezzlement probe spanning 10 central government departments, state media reported Thursday.

• China's tallest building to open in Shanghai 8/28/2008, 10:51 a.m. EDT
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China's tallest building, the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, will open to the public on Saturday, 14 years after its developer began the project.

• UN official freed 2 months after Somalia abduction 8/28/2008, 10:49 a.m. EDT
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The head of the U.N. refugee agency's office in Somalia, kidnapped more than two months ago from his home and shot in the neck and knee, said Thursday he had been freed by his abductors.

• Thai protesters defy court order to leave compound 8/28/2008, 10:41 a.m. EDT
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators — some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks — defied a court order to end their occupation of the prime minister's office compound on Thursday, vowing to remain until the country's leaders resign.

• US coalition: 100 militants killed in Afghanistan 8/28/2008, 10:20 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A four-day battle that began with an ambush on a joint U.S-Afghan patrol in southern Afghanistan has killed more than 100 militants, the coalition said Thursday.

• China, Iraq reach $3 billion oil service deal 8/28/2008, 10:12 a.m. EDT
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China and Iraq have signed a $3 billion deal revising a prewar agreement for China's biggest oil company to help develop the Ahdab oil field, an official at the Iraq's Oil Ministry said Thursday.

• Kashmir police kill suspected rebels in shootout 8/28/2008, 10:11 a.m. EDT
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Government forces ended a hostage crisis early Thursday in the mainly Hindu city of Jammu in Indian Kashmir when they killed the last of three rebels believed to have seized eight people, army officials said.

• Anwar, back in Malaysia parliament, stages walkout 8/28/2008, 9:52 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim rejoined Malaysia's Parliament on Thursday, resurrecting his mission to become prime minister a decade after he was charged with sodomy and his career written off.

• APNewsAlert 8/28/2008, 9:10 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — US-led coalition says over 100 militants killed during battle in southern Afghanistan.

• Iraqi forces starting to lead but need US aid 8/28/2008, 8:08 a.m. EDT
BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) — The Iraqi battalion leader huddled over the map with his American advisers, showing them how he planned to surround a Sunni enclave where al-Qaida militants were believed hiding.

• Indian political party campaigns against English 8/28/2008, 8:03 a.m. EDT
MUMBAI, India (AP) — A regional political party has threatened to attack stores in Mumbai that place English-language signs more prominently than ones in the local Marathi language or refuse to use Marathi signs.

• Malaysia blocks anti-government news Web site 8/28/2008, 8:02 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that often runs afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep cyberspace uncensored.

• UN criticizes Afghan decision to free rapists 8/28/2008, 8:01 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations has criticized Afghanistan's government for freeing two men convicted of raping a woman in northern Afghanistan after they served only a portion of their 11-year sentences.

• Georgia: S. Ossetia ethnic cleansing nearly done 8/28/2008, 8:01 a.m. EDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Georgia's foreign minister says the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from the separatist province of South Ossetia has nearly been completed.

• Malaysia blocks anti-government news Web site 8/28/2008, 7:29 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that often runs afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep cyberspace uncensored.

• Lebanese officer dies in helicopter attack 8/28/2008, 7:15 a.m. EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Attackers opened fire on a military helicopter Thursday, killing a Lebanese army officer and forcing the craft to make an emergency landing, a senior security official said.

• Georgia warns of ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia 8/28/2008, 7:10 a.m. EDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Georgia's foreign minister warns that ethnic cleansing of Georgians is taking place in South Ossetia and will soon be completed.

• UN criticizes Afghan decision to free rapists 8/28/2008, 7:07 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations has criticized Afghanistan's government for freeing two men convicted of raping a woman in northern Afghanistan after they served only a portion of their 11-year sentences.

• Tibetans continue protests against China in Nepal 8/28/2008, 6:59 a.m. EDT
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepalese police detained dozens of Tibetan exiles protesting in front of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Katmandu on Thursday.

• Malaysia's Anwar stages Parliament walkout protest 8/28/2008, 6:42 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has staged a walkout in Parliament with scores of other lawmakers.

• Owner lowers price on Titian for British galleries 8/28/2008, 6:25 a.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — An aristocrat wants to sell a masterpiece of Renaissance painting to British public galleries if they can meet his $92 million asking price.

• Gustav nears Jamaica as New Orleans keeps watch 8/28/2008, 6:19 a.m. EDT
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Tropical Storm Gustav was heading toward Jamaica early Thursday while many miles away, residents in the New Orleans area watched it with a nervous eye.

• Thai protesters defy court order to leave compound 8/28/2008, 6:15 a.m. EDT
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators, some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks, defied a court order to end their occupation of the prime minister's office compound on Thursday, vowing to remain until the country's leaders resign.

• 9 killed as violence spreads along Pakistan border 8/28/2008, 6:13 a.m. EDT
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected militants bombed a bus carrying prisoners in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least nine people, as fighting between security forces and extremists flared across the country's tribal belt.

• Russia frees Georgian soldiers, tensions persist 8/28/2008, 5:54 a.m. EDT
RUKHI, Georgia (AP) — Russian forces have turned over 12 Georgian soldiers at the border of separatist Abkhazia now under Russian control.

• Toyota lowers 2009 global sales target 8/28/2008, 5:52 a.m. EDT
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota lowered its global sales target for 2009 by 700,000 vehicles to 9.7 million Thursday, showing that even one of the world's most durable automakers is being hurt by rising material costs, a slowing U.S. market and soaring gas prices.

• Russia seeks support from eastern neighbors 8/28/2008, 5:42 a.m. EDT
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — Russia's president appealed to the leaders of China and four Central Asian countries for support Thursday amid the fallout over Moscow's invasion of Georgia and its recognition of the country's separatist regions.

• Gustav nears Jamaica; New Orleans keeps watch 8/28/2008, 5:26 a.m. EDT
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Tropical Storm Gustav was heading toward Jamaica early Thursday while many miles away, residents in the New Orleans area watched it with a nervous eye.

• 2 Chinese policemen killed, 7 injured in Xinjiang 8/28/2008, 5:24 a.m. EDT
BEIJING (AP) — The first outbreak of violence in China's western region of Xinjiang since a pair of high-profile attacks during the Olympics has left two Chinese policemen dead and seven more wounded, authorities and an activist said Thursday.

• 9 killed in bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan 8/28/2008, 5:23 a.m. EDT
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected militants bombed a bus carrying prisoners in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least nine people as fighting between security forces and extremists flared across the country's tribal belt.

• Taiwan ex-top cop indicted in laundering probe 8/28/2008, 5:08 a.m. EDT
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Prosecutors indicted Taiwan's former investigation chief Thursday for attempting to cover up alleged money laundering by former President Chen Shui-bian.

• Baby boy born on airliner en route to Australia 8/28/2008, 4:53 a.m. EDT
DARWIN, Australia (AP) — An Indian woman gave birth to a healthy boy aboard a jet airliner while flying to Australia to reunite with her husband.

• Somali aid worker freed after 2 months 8/28/2008, 4:42 a.m. EDT
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The head of the U.N. refugee agency's office in Somalia says kidnappers have released him from captivity after more than two months.

• South Ossetia: Georgian spy plane shot down 8/28/2008, 4:32 a.m. EDT
TSKHINVALI, Georgia (AP) — The interior minister of the separatist-held region of South Ossetia says his forces have shot down an unmanned Georgian spy plane.

• APNewsAlert 8/28/2008, 4:07 a.m. EDT
TSKHINVALI, Georgia (AP) — Official in Georgian separatist region says unmanned Georgian spy plane shot down.

• Pakistan: Lawyers rally for return of judges 8/28/2008, 3:48 a.m. EDT
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of lawyers are rallying in major Pakistani cities and disrupting traffic.

• Bomb kills US coalition member in Afghanistan 8/28/2008, 2:45 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S.-led coalition says a roadside bomb has killed one of its members in southern Afghanistan.

• Kashmir police kill suspected rebels in shootout 8/28/2008, 2:14 a.m. EDT
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Government forces ended a hostage crisis early Thursday in Indian-controlled Kashmir when they killed the last of three rebels believed to have seized eight people, army officials said.