BEIJING -- Chinese President Hu Jintao Wednesday promised a policy of free religious belief that will also encourage all believers to help develop the Chinese society.The policy will give support to self-governance of religious groups, he said.Speaking to a meeting of the Political Bureau's committee on religious affairs, Hu, who is also general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, said, "We shall fully carry out the party's policy of free religious belief and manage the ... [full story]

PERUGIA, Italy -- Police investigators in the Italian city of Perugia have been unable to determine a motive in the slaying of a British exchange student last month.While police have arrested three people in relation to the homicide based on solid evidence, they have been unable to learn what prompted the death of 22-year-old Meredith Kercher, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday.Police have Kercher's roommate, 20-year-old U.S. citizen Amanda Marie Knox, in custody, as ... [full story]

TUALATIN, Ore. -- Police in Tualatin, Ore., have determined Ryan Osbrink, a decorated U.S. Marine, likely shot and killed his wife by accident last weekend.Police said based on their two-day investigation, it appeared Osbrink had been practicing drawing his pistol when he accidentally shot his wife, Kimberly, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Wednesday.The 24-year-old Marine was found by police on Sunday attempting to revive his injured wife at their home, but she later succumbed to her ... [full story]

ATLANTA -- Atlanta court officials are reviewing procedures after learning a clerk's error led to a man languishing in prison an extra seven months."We were all shocked and terribly upset," said Judith Cramer, court administrator, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "No one had ever seen anything like this before."David Glass, 44, of Atlanta, was ordered released immediately at a hearing last Thursday when the error was discovered. He'd been sentenced to four months in jail on ... [full story]

DETROIT -- Eastern Michigan University has been fined $357,000 for mismanaged reporting on the rape and death of a coed on campus a year ago.The fine was levied by the U.S. Department of Education's Administrative Actions and Appeals Division over the death last December of Laura Dickinson, 22, who was found in her dorm room Dec. 15, 2006, two days after her death. She was naked from the waist down and had a pillow over ... [full story]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A U.S. federal judge has barred Florida from enforcing a voter registration law that requires matches with driver's license and Social Security data bases.U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle ruled Tuesday that enforcing the law has caused "actual harm to real individuals" by rejecting applications from people who are entitled to vote, the Miami Herald reported.The NAACP and other organizations argued that members of minority groups were disproportionately likely to be denied voter ... [full story]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new book suggests that the United States could look to Europe for a model for reforming its air-traffic control system."Managing the Skies: Public Policy, Organization and Financing of Air Navigation," by Clinton V. Oster of Indiana University and John S. Strong of the College of William and Mary, is to be published in January."The U.S. is not keeping pace," said Oster, an associate dean in the School of Public and Environmental ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Navy is grounding 39 of its 161 aging four-engine, P-3C turboprop patrol planes over concerns of wear and tear on the airframes.The aircraft went into service in 1969. John Milliman of Naval Air Systems Command told the Florida Times-Union there were concerns about potential cracks in the trailing edge of the wing between the engines.He said 10 of the 39 planes due for assessment are currently in service around the world, ... [full story]

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A Connecticut doctor controversial for the treatment he prescribes for Lyme disease patients has been sanctioned for prescribing antibiotics over the telephone.The Connecticut Medical Examining Board ordered two years of probation for Dr. Charles Ray Jones, who practices in the New Haven, Conn., area, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported. He was also fined $10,000 and must pay a monitor to supervise his practice.Jones, unlike many doctors, is willing to prescribe antibiotics for ... [full story]

TORONTO -- A Toronto convenience store owner was charged with fraud and theft Wednesday for allegedly stealing a $5.7 winning ticket from its owners while scanning it.At a Toronto news conference, Ontario Provincial Police Chief Superintendent Bob Goodall said Hafiz Zulqarnain Malik, 60, was charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of theft over $5,000, the Globe & Mail reported.Detective-Inspector Paul Beesley said officers had "restrained or seized" $5 million in ... [full story]