MADRID – Spain’s Banco Sabadell has made a 1.7 billion-pound ($2.6 billion) cash offer to buy Britain’s TSB, which last year split off from bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group. TSB Banking Group PLC shares soared 26 percent in London following its Thursday statement that Sabadell made an offer valuing each TSB …

BEIRUT – Syrian government warplanes pounded a suburb of Damascus on Sunday, killing at least 18 people and scattering shattered concrete blocks and mangled cars in the streets, activists said. The Local Coordination Committees activist collective and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday’s air raids targeted the …

Jacko’s Taco Hunt|Wedding Bells | Spector Case Moving Along | Man/Woman Behind Matrix? Jacko Gets Wacko on Purpose Another gold starincident involving Michael Jackson came to light yesterday. He made a weirdo appearance and got a lot of press — his favorite thing to do. Jackson apparently decided to visit …

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – Uruguay’s Air Force says an Argentine turboprop airplane has crashed and burned shortly after taking off, killing all 10 aboard. The Air Force says the dead from Thursday’s crash include seven Argentine passengers and one Portugese, as well as two Argentine crew members. Officials say the Beechcraft …

LONDON – A candidate in Britain’s national election has quit the race after a newspaper accused him of plotting with a far-right group to stir up racial tensions in order to win votes. The Conservative Party said Monday that Afzal Amin was no longer its candidate in Dudley North. His …

PRAGUE – Two Czech tourists who were abducted by gunmen two years ago as they were traveling on a bus through southwestern Pakistan have been released, the Czech government said on Saturday. “I am really glad to confirm that Hana Humpalova and Antonie Chrastecka … returned back to the Czech …

BOGOTA, Colombia – A former Colombian presidential candidate who became an icon of the country*s democratic left while presiding over its progressive constitutional court has died. Carlos Gaviria died Tuesday night at age 77, two weeks after checking into a Bogota hospital with a respiratory infection. President Juan Manuel Santos …

PARIS – The often quarrelsome French who make it a point of honor to shout their differences, for a parking spot or a high-minded idea, joined in a single cry of “Charlie” at Sunday’s unity march, the largest demonstration in Paris since France started keeping track. And that harmonious melding …

NAIROBI, Kenya – A Kenyan military spokesman says a Kenyan soldier and five militants were killed in firefight in the coastal county of Lamu between Kenyan troops and militants from the Somali extremist group al-Shabab. Col. David Odongo said Kenyan troops on routine “administrative duties” Wednesday near the Somalia border …

PATNA, India – A government official says at least three Muslims were burned to death when their thatched huts were set on fire during a clash between Hindu and Muslim groups in a village in eastern India. Atul Prasad, a Bihar state administrator, said the violence erupted Sunday after the …