Top officials mourn a colleague allegedly killed by a drug cartel. 'We will not be intimidated,' one says. >>

As the country faces an uncertain political era, an old-style military parade through Red Square is intended as a show of muscle. >>

As Israel celebrates its 60th birthday, polls show that internal issues worry the populace as much as the threat of war. >>

Frustrated by years of failed peace talks for a two-state solution, some are giving up hope of independence and pushing the idea of a single democratic state with equal rights for all. >>

Middle East milestones

Israel's declaration of statehood 60 years ago this month led to decades of conflict with the Palestinians over the land. It was only in the 1990s that the goal of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel became the basis for peace negotiations. >>

Anti-Israel groups say Italy's decision to honor Israeli writers ignores the plight of Palestinians. Festival organizers say their goal of broadening horizons is misconstrued. >>

The now ex-president is expected to have an enhanced role as premier, and some wonder who will wield the real power in the Kremlin. >>

Those who earn the old peso are seeing its purchasing power decline. To them, powdered milk and sweet potatoes are luxuries. >>

MEXICO CITY -- Phantoms come, phantoms go. They swirl around Leonora Carrington, a tiny woman of 91 with a tart intellect and a posh British accent, as she sips Earl Grey tea at her kitchen table. They rise like black vapors from the pavement of Avenue Reforma, where a menagerie of Carrington's enigmatic bronzes startle pedestrians and spook passing cars. >>

Ehud Olmert says he accepted political donations from Jewish American businessman Morris Talansky. He vows to quit if indicted. >>

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says meetings cannot take place while the nation's two key allies are engaged in the 'exchange of attacks and accusations.' >>

U.S.-based Dui Hua asks China to free political prisoners as a goodwill gesture prior to the Beijing Olympics in August. >>

More than 15,000 have been infected, and 28 children have died. >>

Spain formally laid claim Thursday to a shipwreck that yielded a $500-million treasure, saying it has proof the vessel was Spanish. >>

Human rights groups unveil a touring exhibit to draw attention to conditions at the U.S. detention facility. >>

Militants fired rockets into a British base in Iraq's southern oil town of Basra, killing two contractors and wounding four other civilians, the U.S. military said Thursday. >>

Park Kyung-ni, 81, one of South Korea's most celebrated novelists who was best known for her epic saga set against 19th- and 20th-century turbulence on the Korean peninsula, died Monday of lung cancer in a Seoul hospital. She had been in a coma since suffering a stroke April 4, the Korea Times reported. >>

President Evo Morales agreed Thursday to stand for election in a nationwide recall vote, gambling that Bolivians will reelect him after just two years in office and shore up support for his pending reforms. >>

Eight Western states on Thursday rejected a company's plan to ship tons of radioactive waste from Italy for disposal in Utah, saying importing foreign loads would violate the group's rules. >>

Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, has moved into Europe with a $2.1-billion investment in the continent's largest cellphone retailer, the companies announced Thursday. >>

Mugabe greets him at the airport. >>

The French director released the film under a pseudonym to keep the focus on the work, not on him. >>

The nation's top organized crime officer, Edgar Millan Gomez, is shot dead in his home, the third police killing in a week. Officials blame the Sinaloa drug cartel. >>

Dark images and even darker behavior is the hallmark of the pop-music subculture. Click here for a photo gallery. >>

A Tibetan woman took the Olympic torch the last steps to the top of Everest today, realising "a dream of all Chinese people", but Tibetan exiles criticised Beijing for politicising the Games. >>

The nation's new chief nominates his mentor and predecessor, Vladimir Putin, for prime minister. Many believe Putin will remain in control. >>

At least five are killed when members of the ruling party round up opposition backers in a village north of Harare and pummel them. >>

Sunni and Shiite Muslims target each other with rocks and gunfire in Lebanon's capital. Many roads are closed. >>

Ash drifts across the Andes to coat Esquel, and residents complain of irritated eyes and throats. The situation could last for months. >>

Experts predict a short-term global problem but say the next Myanmar harvest will benefit from the storm's soaking. >>