Fugitive tied to 2006 airline bomb plot, four extremist fighters killed in strike in Pakistan.

Probe uncovers youth drug network in N. Va., reflecting wider problem that has gone unseen.

By allowing lenders to spin out of control, the Office of Thrift Supervision stands out among agencies that share blame for the financial crisis.

Some in region worry pro-Israel senator would be more hawk than dove if named secretary of State.

Large munitions shipments, unauthorized by Baghdad, raise fears of Kurd expansion in region.

Crumbling economy is increasing demand for services while reducing funding and resources.

After 16 years, standard gas is still used in most of the government's alternative-fuel vehicles.

On Monday, he is expected to name ex-Treasury chief Lawrence Summers as top economic adviser.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to remember everything? To see all our most important moments, all the priceless encounters, adventures and triumphs? What if memory never faded, but instead could be retrieved at any time, as reliably as films in a video store?

As it turns out, Knut the polar bear wasn't the first star zoo animal in Berlin. Knautschke the hippo, Bobby the gorilla and Swampy the alligator all won lasting popularity. So did many others, as a new book documents.

A German pensioner who had fallen on hard times devised a bizarre plan to force money out of the discount food chain Lidl. But the elderly man was tracked down by detectives and arrested.

Amsterdam is being forced to close 43 of its 228 cannabis-selling cafes to meet national regulations. The establishments, including the world famous Bulldog, are simply too close to highschools.

With chandeliers instead of neon lighting and designer furnishings instead of springless sofas, a newly revamped homeless hostel in south Berlin looks more like a hip hotel -- and aims to give some dignity to those worn out by life on the streets.

He has met Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and Che Guevara. He defended 'Carlos the Jackal' and Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie. Jacques Vergès, 83, is probably the world's most notorious attorney. His latest client is Khieu Samphan, the former head of state of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, who is on trial for war crimes.

Doubts are growing over the murder trial of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. A court in Moscow has the task of uncovering the reasons behind the killing, but the public is barred from proceedings for spurious reasons.

NATO has promised to send ships to the Gulf of Aden to work with a planned EU force against pirates off the coast of Somalia. Russia's navy has called for more cooperation from the West, while Germany works out just what its sailors can do.

The number of indicators pointing to foul economic weather continues growing. A new index released on Friday testifies to increasingly empty order books. Experts predict that over 200,000 jobs are at risk.

A leading German politician is suggesting a way to deal with the far-right NPD -- cut off state funding. His proposal has met with some skepticism and on Friday many German papers argue that it could set a worrying precedent.

Amid a debt-deflation spiral, the governments' greatest risk is enacting stimulus measures that are too little to fight the slump.