Indonesiaр# Mount Merapi volcano erupted with clouds of hot gas and rained ash on surrounding areas on Monday, sending some nearby villagers scurrying for safety. Read more…

Gangsters stepped up their war against authorities in Brazilр# Sao Paulo state, torching buses and shooting at banks, security officials saidР Monday. Read more…

Five people, of whom four may have been children, died in an early morning fire that ripped through a townhouse building in Vancouver Monday, officials said. Read more…

The U.S. military on Monday announced the deaths of four American troops, including two soldiers who were killed when insurgents shot down their helicopter south of Baghdad. Read more…

The chief judge formally charged Saddam Hussein on Monday with crimes against humanity, including torture of women and children, murder and the illegal arrest of 399 people in a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980s. A defiant Saddam refused to enter a plea. Read more…

The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela Monday, banning all arms sales to one of its major oil suppliers for what it says is its lack of help in the war on terrorism, a State Department official said. Read more…

The Bush administration said Monday it will restore normal diplomatic relations with Libya after deciding to remove Moammar Gadhafiр# country from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. Read more…

AP - Taking issue with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the State Department said Friday the United States is not obliged under the Geneva conventions to give the committee access to all prisoners under U.S. jurisdiction. Read more…

AFP - US military authorities suspended a military trial of a Saudi "war on terror" detainee after a US court ordered a stay until the Supreme Court rules on whether the trials are legal. Read more…

AP - Immigrant 15-year-olds in the United States don't do as well in math, reading or science as native-born children, and many have only basic skills, a study finds. But immigrants aren't as far behind in the U.S. as they are in some other major nations. Read more…

AP - Pennsylvania voters Tuesday are expected to seal state Treasurer Bob Casey's nomination to run against conservative Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, and they may also show whether they are still mad at lawmakers for giving themselves a big pay raise in the middle of the night. Read more…

AP - Under pressure from fellow conservatives on immigration, President Bush was going before the nation Monday night with a prime-time speech calling for deployment of National Guard troops in states along the Mexican border. Read more…

AP - Republican Sen. George Allen had hoped for an easy slide to re-election and, from there, a launching pad to the presidency. Read more…

AP - President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, arrives at the White House every day wearing a jovial smile that masks his boss' political troubles and his own legal woes. Read more…

Romanian health officials on Wednesday acknowledged problems in caring for disabled and abandoned children, but disputed allegations ... Read more…

About 40% of the medical malpractice cases filed in the United States are groundless, according to a Harvard analysis of the ... Read more…

Only about one in five Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who screen positive for combat-related stress disorders are referred ... Read more…

In the midst of a last-minute push to get seniors to sign up for the new Medicare drug program, the Bush administration on Wednesday ... Read more…

Drug-resistant staph infections no longer threaten just hospital patients; for reasons unknown, they're striking even healthy ... Read more…

A Pfizer drug shown to help more than one in five smokers quit after a year's use received federal approval on Thursday, adding ... Read more…

The antidepressant Paxil may raise the risk of suicidal behavior in young adults, GlaxoSmithKline and the Food and Drug Administration ... Read more…

A Texas teenager stricken with rabies he likely contracted when a bat flew into his bedroom and bit him died Friday. Read more…

Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen remained in intensive care under sedation Saturday, one day after doctors spent nearly seven hours ... Read more…

This week, an Arizona family with a daughter who needs blood transfusions to survive is sponsoring its second annual International ... Read more…

Researchers suspect that a high-fat diet, being used by some to fight Parkinson's disease, also could stall brain tumors and ... Read more…