UNITED NATIONS (AP) ― Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Monday that he will seek a second term as head of the United Nations, pledging to keep leading the world body as a “bridge-builder” at a time of unprecedented global change. His re-election is virtually assured. The former South Korean foreign minister finally made public what has been the U.N.’s worst kept secret ― that he wants a se...

Activist casts doubt on account; official says authorities will respond firmly to attacks BEIRUT (AP) ― Armed men killed 120 Syrian security forces and torched government buildings Monday in a northern region where troops have unleashed deadly assaults on protesters for days, Syria said. The government vowed to respond “decisively,” hinting at an even more brutal crackdown by a regime known for ...

SANTIAGO (AP) ― An erupting Chilean volcano sent a towering plume of ash across South America on Monday, forcing thousands from their homes, grounding airline flights in southern Argentina and coating ski resorts with a gritty layer of dust instead of snow. Booming explosions echoed across the Andes as toxic gases belched up from a 5 kilometer long fissure in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic c...

NEW YORK (AP) _ A teary-eyed congressman from New York confessed Monday that he tweeted a lewd photo of himself to a young woman and admitted ``inappropriate'' exchanges with six women, reversing his string of denials about the incidents. In an apparent attempt to end the scathing headlines that the allegations have drawn, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, a democrat, apologized repeatedly in a half-hou...

NEW DELHI (AP) ― Hundreds of police officers swooped down Sunday on the venue of a hunger strike by a charismatic Indian yoga guru and forcibly removed him and thousands of his supporters. Officers detained Baba Ramdev for security reasons, but later released him, said Rajan Bhagat, a police spokesman in the Indian capital, New Delhi. Renowned yoga guru Baba Ramdev performs Yoga exercises befor...

SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- Embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia for medical care after he was wounded in a rocket attack on his palace, a senior government official said Sunday. Saleh's abrupt departure threatened to deepen the crisis in his impoverished nation shaken by months of protests against his 33-year rule. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (AP-Yonhap News) His depart...

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) -- A top al-Qaida commander and possible replacement for Osama bin Laden was killed in an American drone-fired missile strike close to the Afghan border, a fax from the militant group he heads and a Pakistani intelligence official said Saturday. A supporter of the Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami reacts during a rally against drone attacks, in Karachi, Pa...

TOKYO (AP) ― The Japanese government wants the country’s suit-loving salarymen to be bold this summer. Ditch the stuffy jacket and tie. And for the good of a country facing a power crunch, go light and casual. Japan’s “Super Cool Biz” campaign kicked off Wednesday with a government-sponsored fashion show featuring outfits appropriate for the office yet cool enough to endure the sweltering heat. ...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ The images began arriving in Joshua Kaufman's inbox. The grainy photos are low-lit and intimate: a man curled up on a couch, sound asleep; the same man propped up against pillows on a bed, shirtless. Who was this stranger sitting with Kaufman's stolen laptop? Kaufman collected the images and took them to police, who did not help him. So he went online, publishing the pictur...

Egyptian protesters carry national flags and banners as they call for the replacement of the ruling Armed Forces Council by a civilian council during a rally in the port city of Alexandria, Egypt, May 27, 2011. (Xinhua-Yonhap News) CAIRO (AP) ― Activists and bloggers are pressing Egypt’s military rulers to investigate accusations of serious abuses against protesters, including claims that soldie...