Panel says Canada should stay in Afghanistan if it gets more support from other countries

TORONTO - An independent panel recommended Tuesday that Canada extend its military mission in Afghanistan only if another NATO country puts 1,000 soldiers in the dangerous southern province of Kandahar.

Putin’s anointed heir opens presidential campaign with call for crackdown on graft in Russia

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin's likely successor opened his election campaign Tuesday with a promise of stability and continued economic growth for Russia and called for a redoubled effort to root out corruption.

China’s top safety inspector calls for public whistle-blowing to reduce accidents

BEIJING - China's senior safety inspector urged the public and the media Tuesday to expose workplace accidents in a bid to end corruption and official misdeeds aggravating the country's high rate of work deaths.

Sierra Leone, Angola and Afghanistan have world’s highest child mortality, UNICEF report says

GENEVA - A newborn in Sierra Leone has the lowest chance in the world of surviving until age 5, and the prospects are almost as bad for children in Angola and Afghanistan, according to a U.N. report released Tuesday.

Mexico captures 11 alleged hit men from powerful Sinaloa drug cartel

MEXICO CITY - Eleven alleged hit men for the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel were captured Tuesday at two Mexico City mansions stocked with grenades, automatic weapons and body armor - a day after Mexican authorities reported nabbing one of the cartel's leaders.

Protesters fail to prevent Japanese whaler refueling in Antarctic Ocean

CANBERRA, Australia - Environmentalists again clashed with Japanese whalers Tuesday in the Antarctic Ocean, with Greenpeace activists failing in a risky attempt to prevent the fleet's factory ship from refueling.

Asian markets fall; Europe mainly higher after US rate cut

LONDON - Jitters about the U.S. economy sent global stock indexes lower again Tuesday before the Federal Reserve's surprise cut in interest rates. The move came too late for Asian markets, which had closed for the day, but helped Britain and France rebound higher.

Investigation into teenage suicide bombing in Iraq's Anbar province suggests family plot

BAGHDAD - His father was a senior member of al-Qaida in Iraq. His mother promised him they would meet again in paradise.

US says attacks from Iranian armor-piercing bombs down in Iraq; suicide bomb kills 6

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military worried Sunday about "mixed messages" from Iran, listing a dramatic drop in Iranian-made weapons reaching Iraq but no reduction in the training and financing of Shiite militants.

Lieutenant to Mexico's top alleged drug trafficker captured

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's army on Monday captured a top lieutenant of the powerful Sinaloa cartel who allegedly commanded squads of hit men and organized drug shipments north, officials said.

Cuba's new parliament could reveal Castro's political future

Suicide bomber kills 18 at Iraqi funeral, but misses security official who is apparent target

Israel goes electric: Government vows to introduce green cars by 2011

British defense chief says stolen laptop with personal data could have been targeted

New Zealand bids farewell to Mount Everest conqueror Hillary

From the Gulf to New England, cold grips the US

DURHAM, N.C. - A powerful winter storm dumped snow from Nashville to Nantucket, and arctic-like temperatures gripped much of the U.S. and hundreds of thousands of people lost power in the South.

Lawmakers push for Amtrak to allow small pets on trains

WASHINGTON - It all began with Lily, a 15-pound snowball of a French bulldog with the face of a tough guy and the personality of a princess.

Winter storm slams the South; bitter cold freezes Northeast

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Snow swirled sideways in Kentucky and the typically bustling state capital of Frankfort came to a frozen halt Monday as a storm walloped parts of the South, which unlike the Northeast, had been mostly spared this winter.

Egypt strikes Islamic State in Libya, pushes for international action

CAIRO - Egypt bombed Islamic State militants in neighboring Libya on Monday and called on the United States and Europe to join an international military intervention in the chaotic North African state after extremists beheaded a group of Egyptian Christians.

Nuclear plants delayed in China, watched closely by US firms

ATLANTA - U.S. power companies struggling with the escalating costs of building nuclear plants are closely watching similar efforts in China, where officials are expecting delays.

Eye-opener: US teens getting less & less sleep, study shows

CHICAGO - U.S. teens are getting sleepier: Many lack even seven hours of shut-eye each night and the problem has worsened over two decades, a study found.

'Fifty Shades of Grey' whips up stunning $81.7 million

LOS ANGELES - Audiences were more than curious to check out the big-screen adaptation of the racy phenomenon "Fifty Shades of Grey" this weekend. The erotic R-rated drama sizzled in its debut, earning an estimated $81.7 million from 3,646 theaters in its first three days, distributor Universal Pictures said on Sunday.

Alabama gay marriage fight echoes states' rights battles

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's judicial building office overlooks Montgomery's Dexter Avenue, a history-soaked thoroughfare topped by the Alabama Capitol where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated president of the Confederacy and where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. ended the 1965 march for voting rights.

Police say Copenhagen gunman had criminal record, gang past

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - The slain gunman suspected in the deadly Copenhagen attacks was a 22-year-old with a history of violence and may have been inspired by Islamic terrorists - and possibly the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Danish authorities said Sunday.

Flurry of sign-ups at health law deadline; web glitch fixed

WASHINGTON - After a computer glitch got patched up, supporters of President Barack Obama's health care law were out in force Sunday trying to get uninsured people signed up by the official deadline for 2015 coverage.

Schools react to takeover plan as Gov. Deal seeks support

ATLANTA - Georgia would become one of several states authorized to take over "chronically failing" schools if Republican Gov. Nathan Deal can hold members of his own party while attracting Democrats and placating some school officials frustrated by the proposal.

Alabama's stand against same-sex marriage crumbles

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Gays and lesbians could get licenses to marry in more than half of Alabama's counties Friday after a federal judge affirmed her ruling striking down the state's same-sex marriage ban.

Georgia Senate passes bills aimed at curbing child sex abuse

ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate passed two measures Thursday aimed at cracking down on what legislators say is a growing problem involving sexual exploitation of children in the state that extends far from inner cities into upscale suburbs.

Obama asks for fresh war powers, says Islamic State is 'going to lose'

WASHINGTON - Vowing that Islamic State forces are "going to lose," President Barack Obama urged Congress on Wednesday to authorize military action against terrorists who are cutting a swath across the Middle East. Yet he ruled out large-scale U.S. ground combat operations reminiscent of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Deal wants powers to take over failing schools

ATLANTA - Gov. Nathan Deal wants lawmakers to create a state-run district to take over failing schools, overseen by an appointed superintendent with broad new powers over those institutions.