Japan’s aging air force plans major overhaul

HYAKURI AIR BASE, Japan (AP) -- Warplanes bearing the bright red Rising Sun logo roared overhead Sunday as Japan held a once-every-three-years display to showcase one of the best air forces in Asia. The only problem -- most of its fighters were grounded.Underscoring Japan’s uphill battle in an incre

Oct. 16, 2011

Gunbattle rocks Tripoli; Libyans look for Gadhafi supporters

TRIPOLI (AP) ― Libyan fighters fanned out in Tripoli neighborhoods Saturday to search for armed supporters of fugitive leader Moammar Gadhafi a day after a major gunbattle rocked the capital for the first time in two months.Dozens of men combed apartment buildings for suspects and weapons in the Abu

Oct. 16, 2011

Liberia opposition pulls out of presidential poll; cites flaws

MONROVIA (AP) ― A group of Liberian opposition parties said Saturday they are pulling out of a recent presidential poll and threatened to refuse the results over allegations that election officials are skewing the outcome in favor of the president.Saturday’s statement was signed by eight parties, in

Oct. 16, 2011

U.S. claim of plot has ‘no legal logic’: Iran

With no guaranteed immunity for troops, under militants’ threats, Americans will cease operationsTEHRAN (AP) ― Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed U.S. accusations that Tehran was involved in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, saying Saturday the claims had no “legal logic.”The

Oct. 16, 2011

Hedge fund exec jailed for insider trading

NEW YORK (AP) ― Raj Rajaratnam, the Sri Lanka-born hedge fund billionaire at the center of the biggest insider-trading case in U.S. history, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years behind bars ― the stiffest punishment ever handed out for the crime.“His crimes and the scope of his crimes reflect a virus

Oct. 14, 2011

Fitch cuts UBS ratings, says more may follow

UBS AG, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc had long-term issuer default grades cut by Fitch Ratings, which put more than a dozen other lenders on watch negative as part of a global review. UBS’s long-term issuer default rating and its “support rating floor” were cut to “A”

Oct. 14, 2011

BlackBerrys buzz back to life, but damage done

NEW YORK (AP) ― BlackBerrys across the world buzzed back to life Thursday, leaving customers outraged and threatening to cost the granddaddy of all smartphones more business when it’s already struggling to keep up in a crowded marketplace.The three-day blackout interrupted e-mail and Internet servic

Oct. 14, 2011

US teen who faked pregnancy gets TV movie

SEATTLE (AP) -- Faking her pregnancy was the high school project that keeps paying off for one U.S. teenager.Gaby Rodriguez of Washington state was 17 last April when she told a high school assembly that she'd faked her baby bump for the past six months to see how the community would react.The proje

Oct. 14, 2011

‘Austin Powers’ henchman accused of killing cellmate

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) ― The California state prison cellmate of an actor from the first “Austin Powers” movie was beaten to death, local coroner’s officials said Wednesday.An autopsy performed Wednesday showed 50-year-old inmate Michael Graham died of “multiple blunt force injuries,” the Kern

Oct. 13, 2011

Egypt military denies shooting protesters

CAIRO (AP) ― Egypt’s military rulers blamed Christian protesters and “enemies of the revolution” on Wednesday for triggering the clashes that left 26 dead, almost all of them Christians. The accusation was sure to enflame the fury within and beyond the Christian community over the worst violence sin

Oct. 13, 2011

Man accused of spying on Syrian dissidents in U.S.

McLEAN, Virginia (AP) ― The United States accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government of using an American citizen to spy on anti-Syrian protesters in the U.S., an accusation that further strains relations between Washington and Damascus, which has unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissidents t

Oct. 13, 2011

U.K. pushes for gender equality in royal succession

LONDON (AP) ― Britain’s government is pushing its plan to change the rules on royal succession to provide equal treatment for princes and princesses, the prime minister said Wednesday.David Cameron said he has written to 15 other Commonwealth nations where Queen Elizabeth II is head of state request

Oct. 13, 2011

Myanmar still keeps many dissidents locked up

YANGON (AP) ― Myanmar freed an outspoken critic and a major ethnic rebel as it began releasing 6,300 convicts Wednesday in its latest liberalizing move, but kept some political detainees behind bars, dampening hopes for a broader amnesty.It was not clear how many of the country’s estimated 2,000 pol

Oct. 13, 2011

2012 presidential race: Romney inevitable?

Faltering Perry weighs TV ads to slow rival; Poll shows Obama is vulnerable, hurt by economyWASHINGTON (AP) ― The bitter fight for the Republican presidential nomination could soon get uglier, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry was poised to tap his substantial campaign funds and buy TV ads to criticize the r

Oct. 13, 2011