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VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI will be safe when he visits Germany next month, a top police official said, weeks after an attempted train bombing exposed holes in Germany’s counterterrorism strategy. Joerg Ziercke, head of the Federal Criminal Office, said in remarks published Sunday that the detention of three …

WASHINGTON – A Treasury Department agency that enforces economic sanctions against countries such as Cuba and plays a key role in efforts to catch terrorist financiers, drug dealers and money launderers, has a new director. Adam Szubin will take over as director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said …

Las Vegas is the ultimate destination for experiencing the thrills of high-stakes gambling in the world’s most glamorous casinos. But if you don’t find the idea of risking your hard-earned cash on the casino floor very enticing, not to worry! In a city like Vegas, there are plenty of outrageous …

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader and his running mate must pay more than $80,000 in expenses for the lawsuit that challenged their nominating papers and kept them off the 2004 ballot, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. There was an implication of “fraud and deception” in their …

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip – Israeli tanks and troops inched into northern Gaza early Thursday after militants fired a rocket at an Israeli city for the second day in a row, signaling the largest Israeli military operation in the seaside territory since Israel withdrew a year ago. A homemade rocket …

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A woman and her sister had to go to the hospital after a bartender mistakenly dipped their martini glasses in a caustic substance used to clean the restaurant’s fryer. The bartender ran out of sugar Saturday night at Doc’s Gumbo Grille downtown and asked a dishwasher that …

WASHINGTON – President Bush said Thursday that the United States is seeking a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff with North Korea, but cautioned that diplomacy will take time. Bush said he was pleased that leaders of China, South Korea, Japan and Russia, in telephone calls during the past few …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s top Shiite cleric demanded an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, warning Sunday that the Muslim world will “not forgive” nations that stand in the way of stopping the fighting. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued the call following the Israeli airstrike that killed at least 56 Lebanese, mostly …

NEW YORK – Stock investors will take a break from parsing Fed chatter and prognosticating interest-rate moves next week, turning their attention instead to the nitty gritty of corporate earnings on Monday when Alcoa Inc. (AA) kicks off the earnings season. Hopes are high that another solid quarter of earnings …

WASHINGTON – Implanon, a rod-shaped contraceptive implanted in the upper arm for up to three years, received federal approval, health officials said Tuesday. Food and Drug Administration approval clears Organon USA to sell the birth control rod in the United States, agency spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said. Implanon, which can stop …