BRUSSELS -- The European Commission says Britain must toughen its Internet privacy laws to avoid a court battle over privacy with EU regulators. EU officials are threatening to sue the British government over its decision to allow a U.S. company to monitor the activities of Web surfers in an effort to target advertising at them, the EU Observer reported Wednesday. EU information commissioner Vivianne Reding says Britain's move to allow the company Phorm to partner with Internet ... [full story]

NEW DELHI -- Talks with Pakistan won't resume as long as terrorists use the country as a springboard to attack India, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday. Pakistan also must show a sincere effort to bring to justice those behind the November attack on Mumbai in which more than 160 people died, the Press Trust of India reported. "The present situation is (such that) so long as Pakistan chooses to allow its territory to be used ... [full story]

MONTREAL -- A massive international sweep of nearly all Hells Angels motorcycle gang members in or from Quebec was launched in Montreal Wednesday, targeting 156 people. At an early morning news conference, the Surete du Quebec provincial police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said 1,200 police officers were executing 177 search warrants related to 22 murders that took place between 1992 and 2009, along with drug trafficking activities, The Gazette newspaper reported. Those being rounded up ... [full story]

COMILLA, Bangladesh -- At least eight people died and another 35 were injured Tuesday in a bus crash in Rangpur, Bangladesh, emergency officials said. The bus was en route from Nilphamari to Comilla on the Rangpur-Bogra Highway when it left the road and overturned in a ditch, The Daily Star reported. The injured were taken to Rangpur Medical College Hospital. Copyright © 2009, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved. [full story]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has signed a controversial law to allow Islamic law in an area of the North West Frontier province, observers said. Zardari signed the measure after the country's National Assembly approved a resolution asking for what seems to Pakistan's allies to be a concession to Taliban militants in efforts to implement a peace deal in the province, Pakistan's English-language newspaper Dawn reported Tuesday. The National Assembly passed a resolution ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- The United States and Israel will conduct their most complex military exercise ever, jointly testing three ballistic missile defense systems, officials said. The exercise, called Juniper Cobra, will be conducted in Israel later this year, and include the Arrow 2 missile interceptor system, the U.S.'s terminal high altitude area defense and the ship-based Aegis ballistic missile defense system, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday. The test also would likely include launching interceptors from these ... [full story]

TOKYO -- Inspection records for components used in Japanese nuclear power plants have been falsified, manufacturers Hitachi Ltd. and Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd. say. The companies said Tuesday they had informed Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry about the falsified data, which relates to the welding of pipes to moisture separator reheaters at Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Omaezaki and Chugoku Electric Power Co.'s Shimane nuclear power plant in Matsue, The ... [full story]

MOMBASA, Kenya -- Pirates seized two freighters Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, NATO and EU officials said. Crew members aboard a 35,000-ton Greek ship were thought to be unharmed after being kidnapped, said the EU Maritime Security Center. Just hours later, a second ship was hijacked, said NATO officials, who offered no further details. Meanwhile, the rescued captain of a U.S. ship was en route Tuesday to Mombasa, Kenya, to join his ... [full story]

ZAGREB, Croatia -- A Croatian court sentenced a man to 12 years in jail for sexually abusing his wife, including forcing her to have intercourse with dogs, reports said. The Croatian Supreme Court ruled the 47-year-old Osijek, Croatia, man, whose name was withheld, was guilty of raping his wife, 33, and forcing her to perform the sexual act with their three dogs, the 24 Sata daily said Tuesday. Early in 2008, the man suspected his ... [full story]

OTTAWA -- More than 60 percent of Canadians asked gave the Conservative government a passing grade in a national poll for its management of the economic downturn. The Ipsos Reid polling group questioned 2,035 adults across Canada for the Canwest News Service and found, on average, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's economic management had 60 percent support, with some notable regional differences. Support was highest at 72 percent in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, while Quebec ... [full story]

L'AQUILA, Italy -- Aftershocks from last week's earthquake still rock L'Aquila and surrounding towns in Italy's Arbuzzo region, officials report. Since the 6.3-magnitude quake struck April 6, more than 800 temblors, including several measured between 4 and 5 in the Richter scale, have shaken the region, Environmental News Service reported Tuesday. The latest official report indicated the quake killed least 294 people with 30 missing, injured more than 1,000 and left 40,000 homeless. More than ... [full story]

NAGASAKI, Japan -- Ten men were rescued and 12 were missing Tuesday after a Japanese fishing boat sank in rough waters off Nagasaki Prefecture, the coast guard said. The 135-ton Daiei Maru No. 11 capsized and disappeared near Hirado Island, just west of the island of Kyushu, Kyodo news reported. Seven patrol boats and two planes were dispatched to search for the missing fishermen, said the Japanese coast guard. The boat belongs to the Tachiura ... [full story]

CAIRO -- A captured militant has admitted Hezbollah was planning to carry out three suicide bombings in Egypt aimed at Israeli tourists, an Egyptian report indicates. The Egyptian daily al-Ahram reported Tuesday Sami Shihab, the alleged head of a Hezbollah cell based in Egypt, has confessed to police the militant group had plotted three simultaneous bombings at different tourist spots in the Sinai peninsula, and then planned to publish a statement taking responsibility for the ... [full story]