After claiming to feel great remorse for his part in Khmer Rouge atrocities, the defendant in Cambodia's first genocide trial on Friday surprised the court with a last-minute plea for his freedom, saying he should not have been prosecuted and has already spent ten years in jail. Read More

South Korea's president announced Friday he is willing to meet North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il in order to resolve the nuclear stand off on the divided peninsula and tackle other thorny issues. Read More

A key anti-Taliban tribal leader was assassinated Friday in a roadside bombing, the latest in a series of attacks against pro-government militias in the Afghan border area of northwestern Pakistan. Read More

The United States was "hell bent" on a 2003 military invasion of Iraq and actively undermined efforts by Britain to win international authorization for the war, a former British diplomat told an inquiry Friday. Read More

NATO governments may increase their fighting forces in Afghanistan by up to 6,000 soldiers in response to President Barack Obama's expected call for tens of thousands of additional U.S. service members, diplomats said Friday. Read More

The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board censured Iran on Friday, with 25 nations backing a resolution demanding that Tehran immediately freeze construction of its newly revealed nuclear facility and heed Security Council resolutions to stop uranium enrichment. Read More

The Philippine politician whose wife and relatives were among 57 people massacred in an apparent bid to stop him from running for governor filed his candidacy papers Friday, vowing only his death could stop him. Read More

Namibia's longtime ruling party may see its grip on this desert nation weakened in elections that began Friday, with a challenge from a new breakaway party hoping to attract voters dissatisfied with corruption and leadership scandals. Read More

Vast crowds of pilgrims cast stones at walls representing the devil on the third day of the annual hajj on Friday as Muslims around the world began celebrating Eid al-Adha, the most important holiday of the Islamic calendar. Read More

The U.S. military says an American soldier has died of noncombat-related injuries in Iraq. Read More

A top Dubai finance official said the emirate fully expected fallout from its debt problems and assured foreign creditors that Dubai World's request to postpone payment on some of its $60 billion in debt was "carefully planned." Read More

Poland's president has approved legislation that allows for people to be fined or even imprisoned for possessing or buying communist symbols. Read More

A top Iraqi official warned Friday "it is too early" to claim a breakthrough in a political crisis over the fragile democracy's election law, all but assuring that a national vote will be pushed past its deadline. Read More

A man accused of murdering Dutch civilians as a member of a Waffen SS hit squad said at his trial Friday that he was proud about being chosen as a volunteer to fight for the Nazis. Read More

Norway has no right to criticize Iran for confiscating Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi's medal, Iran's foreign ministry said Friday. Read More

Sri Lankan elections officials said Friday that the nation would hold early presidential elections on Jan. 26 in what is expected to be a battle between two men revered for their efforts to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels. Read More

Russia's once-mighty navy faces further dramatic decline after 2015, when most Soviet-built ships will have to be mothballed, a retired admiral was quoted as saying Friday. Read More

Indonesia has rejected a push by the resort island of Bali for rare turtles to be legally slain in Hindu ceremonies, siding with conservationists of the protected reptiles against religious advocates, an official said Friday. Read More

Germany's labor minister says he is resigning from the Cabinet amid the fallout from an airstrike in northern Afghanistan that already cost the head of the armed forces his job. Read More

The campaign posters are inflammatory: Minarets rising like missiles from the national flag. Read More