• 51 Haitians die in Hurricane Gustav 8/28/2008, 4:32 p.m. EDT
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian officials are reporting 51 deaths from Gustav, raising the storm's overall toll to 59.

• Disposable diaper breaks fall, saves child's life 8/28/2008, 4:27 p.m. EDT
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — A disposable diaper has saved the life of an 18-month-old boy, breaking his fall from a third-floor apartment window, officials said Thursday.

• Putin:19 US poultry producers barred from Russia 8/28/2008, 4:10 p.m. EDT
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Vladimir Putin says 19 U.S. poultry producers will be barred from exporting their products to Russia.

• Mexican Supreme Court upholds legal abortion 8/28/2008, 3:55 p.m. EDT
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's Supreme Court voted 8-3 Thursday to uphold legal abortion in the capital, opening the possibility that similar measures could be adopted elsewhere in Mexico — and perhaps beyond.

• Senior Iraqi official suspected of militia links 8/28/2008, 3:39 p.m. EDT
BAGHDAD (AP) — A senior official in Nouri al-Maliki's government was in custody Thursday suspected of ties to Iranian-backed Shiite militias and plotting a June bombing that killed 10 people, including four Americans, Iraqi authorities said.

• Congo rebels, army clash near Congo gorilla park 8/28/2008, 3:31 p.m. EDT
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Rebels and the army fought one of their fiercest battles in eastern Congo this year on Thursday, exchanging machine-gun and mortar fire all day outside a national park that is home to some of the world's last mountain gorillas.

• UK: 3 men charged with terror offenses 8/28/2008, 3:20 p.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — Three British men questioned about an online threat to assassinate Prime Minister Gordon Brown have been charged with a range of terror offenses, police said Thursday.

• Pakistan's next president: Mr. 10 Percent? 8/28/2008, 3:20 p.m. EDT
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Asif Ali Zardari, the man poised to become Pakistan's next president, is still known as "Mr. 10 Percent" because of corruption allegations. Now his own lawyers say he may have suffered from mental health problems within the past year.

• After 1,500 years, pagans plan Acropolis prayer 8/28/2008, 3:18 p.m. EDT
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A small group of pagans pledged Thursday to hold a protest prayer among the ruined Acropolis temples, more than 1,500 years after Christians stamped out worship of the ancient Greek gods.

• US plans to close 15 Army facilities in Germany 8/28/2008, 3:17 p.m. EDT
BERLIN (AP) — The U.S. Department of Defense says the United States plans to cease operations at 15 minor Army facilities in Germany amid a wider effort to realign the military's overseas structure.

• Vietnamese Catholics complain of police violence 8/28/2008, 2:53 p.m. EDT
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Police used stun guns and beat parishioners protesting the arrest of fellow church members who have demanded the return of land they say was taken by Vietnam's communist government in the early 1960s, a Catholic priest said Thursday.

• Oil slick kills more than 200 penguins in Brazil 8/28/2008, 2:39 p.m. EDT
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) — More than 200 oil-slicked penguins have washed up dead on the beaches of a popular Brazilian resort, and officials say they are searching for a cause.

• Abbas: no to settlement of refugees in Lebanon 8/28/2008, 2:38 p.m. EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected the idea that Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon might be forced to stay there permanently, saying they should have the right to return home.

• Asian alliance rebuffs Russian plea for support 8/28/2008, 2:26 p.m. EDT
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — China and several Central Asian nations rebuffed Russia's hopes of international support for its actions in Georgia, issuing a statement Thursday denouncing the use of force and calling for the respect of every country's territorial integrity.

• Bombing of Pakistani government bus kills 8 8/28/2008, 2:01 p.m. EDT
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A surge of violence continued unabated in Pakistan's tribal border region Thursday, with a car bomb blasting a bus filled with Pakistani police and government workers off a bridge and killing eight people aboard.

• 70 African migrants missing in Mediterranean 8/28/2008, 1:47 p.m. EDT
GENEVA (AP) — A harrowing boat journey across the Mediterranean left some 70 African migrants missing after rough seas capsized the craft, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday, calling on Malta to release the eight survivors from detention.

• Dalai Lama admitted to hospital in India for tests 8/28/2008, 12:56 p.m. EDT
MUMBAI, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama was admitted to a hospital in this western Indian city on Thursday to undergo tests for abdominal discomfort, his spokesman said.

• 2 Chinese policemen killed, 7 wounded in Xinjiang 8/28/2008, 12:27 p.m. EDT
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese police clashed with members of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority in the far western region of Xinjiang, authorities and an activist said Thursday, the first reported outbreak of violence in the area since two high-profile attacks during the Olympics.

• AP interview: prosecutor expects Mladic's arrest 8/28/2008, 12:22 p.m. EDT
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's war crimes prosecutor said Thursday he expects the quick arrest of top war crimes fugitive Gen. Ratko Mladic, but predicted that the wartime Bosnian Serb military commander is not hiding in disguise like Radovan Karadzic was.

• Mideast running on different clocks at Ramadan 8/28/2008, 12:21 p.m. EDT
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — The start of the holy month of Ramadan next week is causing clock confusion in the Middle East. Egypt and the Palestinians are falling back an hour far earlier than usual, trying to reduce daylight hours for Muslims fasting until sunset in sweltering summer temperatures.

• US Army hearing on death of 4 Iraqis ends 8/28/2008, 12:12 p.m. EDT
VILSECK, Germany (AP) — Defense lawyers for two U.S. soldiers told a military court Thursday that their clients did not participate in the killings of four Iraqis last year and had little, if any, knowledge of them.

• Strong quake hits off British Columbia coast 8/28/2008, 12:00 p.m. EDT
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A strong earthquake struck off Canada's west coast early Thursday near Vancouver Island. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

• Duke offers British public a bargain masterpiece 8/28/2008, 11:51 a.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — A British aristocrat is offering two public art galleries a 50 million-pound (US$92 million) bargain — a Renaissance painting by the Italian artist Titian that has been on display in Britain for 200 years but now could be sold overseas.

• Plan aims to save Britain's red phone booths 8/28/2008, 11:26 a.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — A British politician says he has won a victory for an endangered icon — the red telephone booth.

• Chinese agencies embezzled $660 million in 2007 8/28/2008, 11:00 a.m. EDT
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese government auditors have uncovered the misuse of millions of dollars in disaster assistance as part of an embezzlement probe spanning 10 central government departments, state media reported Thursday.

• China's tallest building to open in Shanghai 8/28/2008, 10:51 a.m. EDT
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China's tallest building, the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, will open to the public on Saturday, 14 years after its developer began the project.

• UN official freed 2 months after Somalia abduction 8/28/2008, 10:49 a.m. EDT
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The head of the U.N. refugee agency's office in Somalia, kidnapped more than two months ago from his home and shot in the neck and knee, said Thursday he had been freed by his abductors.

• Thai protesters defy court order to leave compound 8/28/2008, 10:41 a.m. EDT
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators — some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks — defied a court order to end their occupation of the prime minister's office compound on Thursday, vowing to remain until the country's leaders resign.

• US coalition: 100 militants killed in Afghanistan 8/28/2008, 10:20 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A four-day battle that began with an ambush on a joint U.S-Afghan patrol in southern Afghanistan has killed more than 100 militants, the coalition said Thursday.

• China, Iraq reach $3 billion oil service deal 8/28/2008, 10:12 a.m. EDT
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China and Iraq have signed a $3 billion deal revising a prewar agreement for China's biggest oil company to help develop the Ahdab oil field, an official at the Iraq's Oil Ministry said Thursday.

• Kashmir police kill suspected rebels in shootout 8/28/2008, 10:11 a.m. EDT
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Government forces ended a hostage crisis early Thursday in the mainly Hindu city of Jammu in Indian Kashmir when they killed the last of three rebels believed to have seized eight people, army officials said.

• Anwar, back in Malaysia parliament, stages walkout 8/28/2008, 9:52 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim rejoined Malaysia's Parliament on Thursday, resurrecting his mission to become prime minister a decade after he was charged with sodomy and his career written off.

• APNewsAlert 8/28/2008, 9:10 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — US-led coalition says over 100 militants killed during battle in southern Afghanistan.

• Iraqi forces starting to lead but need US aid 8/28/2008, 8:08 a.m. EDT
BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) — The Iraqi battalion leader huddled over the map with his American advisers, showing them how he planned to surround a Sunni enclave where al-Qaida militants were believed hiding.

• Indian political party campaigns against English 8/28/2008, 8:03 a.m. EDT
MUMBAI, India (AP) — A regional political party has threatened to attack stores in Mumbai that place English-language signs more prominently than ones in the local Marathi language or refuse to use Marathi signs.

• Malaysia blocks anti-government news Web site 8/28/2008, 8:02 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that often runs afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep cyberspace uncensored.

• UN criticizes Afghan decision to free rapists 8/28/2008, 8:01 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations has criticized Afghanistan's government for freeing two men convicted of raping a woman in northern Afghanistan after they served only a portion of their 11-year sentences.

• Georgia: S. Ossetia ethnic cleansing nearly done 8/28/2008, 8:01 a.m. EDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Georgia's foreign minister says the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from the separatist province of South Ossetia has nearly been completed.

• Malaysia blocks anti-government news Web site 8/28/2008, 7:29 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that often runs afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep cyberspace uncensored.

• Lebanese officer dies in helicopter attack 8/28/2008, 7:15 a.m. EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Attackers opened fire on a military helicopter Thursday, killing a Lebanese army officer and forcing the craft to make an emergency landing, a senior security official said.

• Georgia warns of ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia 8/28/2008, 7:10 a.m. EDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Georgia's foreign minister warns that ethnic cleansing of Georgians is taking place in South Ossetia and will soon be completed.

• UN criticizes Afghan decision to free rapists 8/28/2008, 7:07 a.m. EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations has criticized Afghanistan's government for freeing two men convicted of raping a woman in northern Afghanistan after they served only a portion of their 11-year sentences.

• Tibetans continue protests against China in Nepal 8/28/2008, 6:59 a.m. EDT
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepalese police detained dozens of Tibetan exiles protesting in front of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Katmandu on Thursday.

• Malaysia's Anwar stages Parliament walkout protest 8/28/2008, 6:42 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has staged a walkout in Parliament with scores of other lawmakers.

• Owner lowers price on Titian for British galleries 8/28/2008, 6:25 a.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — An aristocrat wants to sell a masterpiece of Renaissance painting to British public galleries if they can meet his $92 million asking price.

• Gustav nears Jamaica as New Orleans keeps watch 8/28/2008, 6:19 a.m. EDT
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Tropical Storm Gustav was heading toward Jamaica early Thursday while many miles away, residents in the New Orleans area watched it with a nervous eye.

• Thai protesters defy court order to leave compound 8/28/2008, 6:15 a.m. EDT
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators, some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks, defied a court order to end their occupation of the prime minister's office compound on Thursday, vowing to remain until the country's leaders resign.

• 9 killed as violence spreads along Pakistan border 8/28/2008, 6:13 a.m. EDT
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected militants bombed a bus carrying prisoners in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least nine people, as fighting between security forces and extremists flared across the country's tribal belt.

• Russia frees Georgian soldiers, tensions persist 8/28/2008, 5:54 a.m. EDT
RUKHI, Georgia (AP) — Russian forces have turned over 12 Georgian soldiers at the border of separatist Abkhazia now under Russian control.

• Toyota lowers 2009 global sales target 8/28/2008, 5:52 a.m. EDT
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota lowered its global sales target for 2009 by 700,000 vehicles to 9.7 million Thursday, showing that even one of the world's most durable automakers is being hurt by rising material costs, a slowing U.S. market and soaring gas prices.