World - McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD — Christians in Mosul are fleeing their homes after a spate of killings this week that left 12 Christians dead in one of the largest Christian communities in Iraq.

WASHINGTON — President Bush is set to remove North Korea from the U.S. list of terrorist-sponsoring nations as early as Saturday in an end-of-term bid to save a deal to eliminate the secretive communist nation's nuclear weapons program, State Department officials said Friday.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism suffered a major blow Friday when a suicide bomber attacked a tribal gathering that was part of an emerging anti-Taliban movement, killing at least 30 and injuring 100.

WASHINGTON — The economic crisis could help the military recruit and retain troops, Pentagon officials said Friday, potentially ending years of extraordinary bonuses and waivers that have become necessary to keep enough troops to fight two wars.

BEIJING — China sits on a huge pile of money, and its policymakers crave global assets. So why doesn't China spend a little and save the world from global financial meltdown?

PARIS — At the end of Europe's worst financial week in decades, after repeated and failed attempts to halt the tailspin of global markets and restore trust in economic leaders, some European economists are throwing up their hands in frustration.

BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeing a shift in violence in Iraq from mass car bombings to assassinations using magnetic bombs, weapons with silencers and bicycle bombs.

LONDON — A day after the United Kingdom unveiled a big bailout plan of its own, the approach crafted here is being talked about by many analysts as the right way forward for other countries too — possibly including the U.S.

WASHINGTON — The highest-ranking U.S. military officer warned Thursday that the situation in Afghanistan will likely get worse next year and that it will take time to turn it around because it has been headed in "the wrong direction" for the last two years.

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court temporarily blocked the release of 17 Chinese-born Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a day after a landmark decision required them to be freed to the U.S.

WASHINGTON — With the U.S. economy in crisis and military spending at its highest level since World War II, military officials and experts are worrying that America may have to start reining in defense spending.

MOSCOW — Russia, until recently the darling of foreign stock funds, is facing deeper economic problems in the ongoing crisis than many other countries are because of rampant speculation by investors who bought shares with loans they can't repay.

LONDON — The British government took a bold gamble to try stemming its financial crisis on Wednesday, unveiling a sweeping rescue plan that partly nationalizes its major banks. But the initial reaction from financial markets and people on the street was chilly.

BAGHDAD — Iraq's presidency council passed a critical law Wednesday to organize provincial elections that were originally scheduled for Oct. 1 and now are likely to be held sometime early next year.

CARACAS, Venezuela — They don't call him President Bush in Venezuela anymore.

WASHINGTON — A nearly completed high-level U.S. intelligence analysis warns that unresolved ethnic and sectarian tensions in Iraq could unleash a new wave of violence, potentially reversing the major security and political gains achieved over the last year.

PARIS — One day after being buffeted by record stock market losses, European leaders embraced an incremental approach Tuesday in response to the economic crisis that has overwhelmed global markets.

BEIJING — More than a decade after its last major economic crisis, East Asia is spooked by the prospect of a new global financial storm coming its way.

AWJA, Iraq — In the hometown of Saddam Hussein, they still call the late dictator The President. Inside a hall that once held an office Saddam used once or twice a year lies his tomb. A sheet embroidered with gold covers the burial site: "There is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger."

NAIROBI, Kenya — Jerome Corsi, the controversial author of a much-criticized book slamming Sen. Barack Obama, was detained in Kenya on Tuesday for an immigration violation as he arrived for a press conference to promote his book.

WASHINGTON — Fear and uncertainty were hot commodities in global markets Monday.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A wave of violence from Islamic extremists against politicians in Pakistan intensified Monday with a suicide bombing at the home of an opposition lawmaker that left at least 18 dead.

Alan Wong of Sacramento, Calif., is the most successful American restaurant owner in China. In an interview with McClatchy Beijing Bureau Chief Tim Johnson, Wong tells some secrets.

BEIJING — Alan Wong still remembers the day back in 2000 when his father hit him up with that annoying question about his lack of gumption in finding a career.

BAGHDAD — Eleven members of an Iraqi family were killed Sunday during a U.S. raid in Mosul, including three women and three children, officials said.

TBILISI, Georgia — A large group of influential Georgian opposition leaders has mounted a blistering political campaign against U.S.-backed President Mikheil Saakashvili, accusing his government of running an autocratic regime that tramples human rights and stifles democracy.

BAGHDAD — Iraq's presidency council has agreed to approve a long-delayed law that will allow most of the country to hold provincial elections early next year, officials said Friday.

BAGHDAD — Suicide bombers targeting Shiite worshippers killed at least 20 people and injured dozens more at Baghdad mosques Thursday morning, officials said.