World News

BARCELONA, Spain - African countries ended a boycott of meetings at U.N. climate negotiations on Tuesday, after winning promises for more in-depth talks on how much rich nations need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

ROME - The Vatican on Tuesday denounced a ruling by the European court of human rights that said the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and education freedoms.

ROME (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that crucifixes should be removed from Italian classrooms, prompting Vatican anger and sparking uproar in Italy, where such icons are embedded in the national psyche.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan authorities have detained a suspect in the shooting deaths of two National Guard soldiers.

PANAMA CITY - Panama's government is building four air and sea monitoring stations to fight trafficking of drugs, weapons and migrants.

MEXICO CITY - Officials in Mexico's capital said Monday they had identified four bound bodies found in a sport utility vehicle over the weekend with hand-lettered messages identifying the dead men as kidnappers.

BARCELONA, Spain - African countries ended a boycott of meetings at U.N. climate negotiations on Tuesday, after winning promises for more in-depth talks on how much rich nations need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

PRETORIA (AFP) - Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba urged the European Union to listen to his country's concerns over a proposed trade pact that has already been signed by several other southern African nations.

KHARTOUM (AFP) - US envoy Scott Gration was shuttling between rival Sudanese leaders on Tuesday in a bid to resolve a row over rules for a promised vote on independence for the south that threatens to derail nationwide elections.

KABUL (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai vowed Tuesday his new government would eradicate corruption and unite the country after months of political chaos, while offering an olive branch to Taliban insurgents.

WASHINGTON - The United States says North Korea's use of more nuclear fuel for weapons violates the North's past commitments at international disarmament talks.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Monday he would have preferred to leave the White House in a coffin because he loved being commander in chief, but signaled his political life was over.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government, facing public impatience over the pace of vaccinations for the H1N1 flu, signaled on Tuesday that it might no longer sole-source vaccines for future pandemics.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Competition watchdog wants "anti-competitive" realtors to change the way they work, and wants new rules that could help new players to enter the market and allow for consumers to pay less.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Metanor Resources Inc said on Tuesday the bodies of all three missing miners have been found following an accident at its Bachelor Lake gold mine in northwestern Quebec.

SYDNEY (AFP) - A blaze at an oil rig off Australia was brought under control on Tuesday when experts managed to plug a leak that has spewed tonnes of crude over the past 10 weeks, the well's operator said.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Twelve people were feared dead on Tuesday more than 24 hours after an unidentified boat sank in rough seas far off Australia's northwest an official said.

SYDNEY - Planes and ships searching a remote patch of the Indian Ocean found no signs Tuesday of additional survivors from the sinking of a suspected asylum-seeker boat. Eleven people were believed missing, while 27 were rescued.

PRAGUE - A charter meant to transform Europe into a more unified and powerful global player passed its last major hurdle Tuesday and looks set to become law within weeks.

LONDON - Women faced their share of trouble at the Tower of London, including three queens who were beheaded there.

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea claimed Tuesday that it has successfully weaponized more plutonium for atomic bombs, a day after warning Washington to agree quickly to direct talks or face the prospect of a growing North Korean nuclear arsenal.