El Salvador floods, mudslides kill 124, 60 missing
VERAPAZ, El Salvador (AP) — Mud and boulders loosened by heavy rains swept down a volcano and partly buried a small town Sunday, swallowing up homes as flooding and landslides across El Salvador killed at least 124 people, authorities said. Hundreds of soldiers, police and residents dug through rock and debris in Verapaz looking for another 60 people missing from the mudslide, which struck before dawn Sunday while residents were still in their beds.
Iraq electoral law passes, sets up national vote
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's parliament ended weeks of debate Sunday and passed a long-delayed law paving the way for the planned January election to go forward, sidestepping a crisis that could have delayed the U.S. troop withdrawal. The decision appeared to resolve a key sticking point — who will be allowed to vote in the disputed, oil-rich city of Kirkuk. The issue had threatened to delay Iraq's key parliamentary elections, which in turn would affect how quickly American combat forces could leave the country.
Germany celebrates memory of Berlin Wall falling
BERLIN (AP) — With concerts and memorials on Monday, Germans will celebrate the day the Berlin Wall came crashing down 20 years ago. On that cold night, they danced atop the wall, arms raised in victory, hands clasped in friendship and giddy hope. Years of separation and anxiety melted into the unbelievable reality of freedom and a future without border guards, secret police, informers and rigid communist control.
Clinton: Berlin Wall festivities not just a party
BERLIN (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Europeans and Americans on Sunday to see the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall as a call to action against new global threats. On the eve of celebrations marking 20 years since the collapse of the wall that divided East and West Berlin, Clinton said the hard work that went into ending the Cold War must be channeled to meet fresh challenges, including the fights against extremism and climate change.
Brazil student expelled after wearing mini-dress
SAO PAULO (AP) — A Brazilian university has expelled a woman who was heckled by hundreds of fellow students for wearing a short, pink dress to class — publicly accusing her Sunday of immorality. The private Bandeirante University in Sao Bernardo do Campo, outside Sao Paulo, said 20-year-old Geisy Arruda disrespected "ethical principles, academic dignity and morality."
Karzai vows to keep corrupt officials out of govt
KABUL (AP) — The embattled Afghan president pledged Sunday that there would be no place for corrupt officials in his new administration — a demand made by Washington and its international partners as they ponder sending more troops to confront the Taliban and shore up his government. Also Sunday, NATO reported three more coalition soldiers — one American and two Britons — died in combat with the Taliban in western and southern areas. The latest losses pushed Britain's combat death toll in the eight-year Afghan war to 201.
Police: Suicide bomber kills 3 in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber in a rickshaw detonated his explosives near a group of police constables in northwest Pakistan's main city of Peshawar on Monday, killing three people, police said. The attack was the latest in a weeks-long string of strikes that have killed more than 300 people and appear aimed at distracting the government from its offensive against the Taliban in the South Waziristan tribal region. Security forces have been the primary targets.
New fair targets France's 260,000 annual divorces
PARIS (AP) — The city of romance got a lesson in love's hard knocks Sunday, as thousands flocked to the French capital's first divorce fair. In France, nearly one out of two marriages ends in divorce, according to the country's National Institute of Demographic Studies. More than 130,000 divorces were registered in 2007, as compared to just 50,000 three decades ago.
Saudis take mountain from Yemen rebels
SAN'A, Yemen (AP) — Saudi Arabian forces seized a strategic mountain straddling the border with Yemen and cleared it of Shiite rebels after five days of fighting that have left three Saudi soldiers dead, a Saudi defense official said Sunday. Meanwhile, rebels said they shot down a Yemeni fighter jet. While Yemen acknowledged the crash, it attributed it to a "technical error."
Pakistani gov't pressured on post-offensive plan
ISLAMABAD (AP) — As Pakistan's army plows ahead with its offensive in South Waziristan, its success is at risk because the government has yet to come up with a plan to run and rebuild the lawless territory so that the Taliban and al-Qaida don't re-emerge. The Pakistani army launched a ground offensive in the Afghan border region in mid-October, pitting some 30,000 troops against up to 8,000 insurgents in an operation praised by U.S officials. In recent days, the soldiers have entered three major Taliban bases in South Waziristan, largely securing one of them, though many militants are believed to have simply fled the fighting.
