Botched Spanish fresco restoration rides global fame

MADRID — The image appears on T-shirts and cellphone covers, coffee mugs and wine labels. And the 80-year-old pensioner who just weeks ago was mortified by the global stir she created with her botched restoration of a fresco of Christ is now looking to get …

Pakistan: anti-film ads feature Obama, Clinton

ISLAMABAD — New advertisements on Pakistani television that show the U.S. Embassy seal are condemning an anti-Islam video that was produced in the United States and triggered protests and riots in many countries. The television ads feature clips of President Barack Obama and Secretary of …

Soldier unexpectedly gives birth while serving in Afghanistan

LONDON — A British soldier has given birth to a son while serving in Afghanistan at the same camp where Prince Harry is deployed and a Taliban attack last week killed two U.S. Marines. The birth in a combat zone field hospital is thought to …

Syrian activists: airstrikes kill at least 30

BEIRUT — Syrian opposition activists said a regime airstrike hit a gas station in the north of the country Thursday, setting off an explosion that killed at least 30 people and wounding dozens more. The explosion went off in the town of Ain Issa, about …

Powerful storm leaves 5 dead, 81 hurt in Paraguay

ASUNCION, Paraguay — A powerful storm killed five people and injured 81 in Paraguay as it blew across the southern cone of South America on Wednesday, ripping roofs off ramshackle homes and leaving thousands of people without shelter.

No deaths were reported outside Paraguay, but …

15 die in truck crash in southwest Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Police in Nigeria’s southwest say at least 15 people have died in a crash involving two trucks and many other vehicles.

Ogun state police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said Wednesday a truck driver collided head-on with cars and motorbikes on a highway …

France steps up security at embassies after cartoons inflame prophet film tensions

PARIS — France stepped up security Wednesday at its embassies across the Muslim world after a French satirical weekly revived a formula that it has already used to capture attention: Publishing crude, lewd caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

Wednesday’s issue of the provocative satirical weekly …

Senegal votes to do away with Senate to save money

DAKAR, Senegal — Senegalese lawmakers, who are divided between a 150-seat national assembly and a 100-seat senate, voted to do away with the senate, passing a law which dissolves the institution in order to save an estimated $15 million.

Minister of Justice Aminata Toure explained …

What is the meaning behind ‘Gangnam Style’ video?

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean rapper PSY’s “Gangnam Style” video has 220 million YouTube views and counting, and it’s easy to see why. No Korean language skills are needed to enjoy the chubby, massively entertaining performer’s crazy horse-riding dance, the song’s addictive chorus and …

YouTube blocked in Saudi Arabia to stop anti-Islam film

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — YouTube said Tuesday that it was stopping users in Saudi Arabia from viewing an anti-Islam video that has sparked protests across the Muslim world, after the kingdom’s press agency reported that the ruler had banned all access to the film …

One dead, four hurt in helicopter crashes in Mexico

MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — A government helicopter carrying a crew making a tourism video crashed Tuesday into a lake in western Mexico. The video director drowned, while three crew members and a state employee escaped.

Michoacan state prosecutors spokesman Carlos Arrieta said the helicopter struck …

2 unarmed police officers shot dead in Britain

LONDON — Two unarmed officers were gunned down by a wanted fugitive in the Manchester area of northern England, police said Tuesday, a dramatic shooting which has shocked the country.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy told a news conference that Fiona Bone, 32 — who was …

Al-Qaida threatens attacks on U.S. diplomats

CAIRO — Al-Qaida’s branch in North Africa on Tuesday called for attacks on U.S. diplomats and an escalation of protests against an anti-Islam video that was produced in the United States and triggered a wave of demonstrations in the Middle East and beyond. While demonstrations …

Panetta: U.S. concerned about Afghan insider attacks

BEIJING — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday the U.S. is concerned about the impact insider attacks are having on its forces in Afghanistan. But he insisted Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander there, is taking necessary steps to protect the force while …

French court orders magazine to hand over topless Kate photos

NANTERRE, France — A French court ordered a magazine publisher to hand over all digital copies of topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge within 24 hours and blocked further publication of what it called a “brutal display” of William and Kate’s private moments. Under …