GAZA - A negotiator says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been assured that a BBC journalist abducted by Islamic extremists is still alive. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said sources told the president that Alan Johnston, who was captured last month in Gaza, was not killed by the Kataeb al-Jihad al-Tawheed -- which translates as "the Brigades of Holy War and Unity" -- as some reports suggested, The Times of London reported Thursday. "All sources in ... [full story]

BIRMINGHAM, England - A debt-ridden British gambler on trial in England for the 2006 slaying of two massage parlor employees has suddenly pleaded guilty. Garry Harding, 22, admitted in Birmingham Crown Court that he killed the two women at Rachael's Health Studio in the Frankwell area of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, last July 1 with a hammer. Police said his computer showed he had researched methods of murder and robbery on the Internet. He said that he ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - Members of a right-wing Israeli organization are demanding the release of Yigal Amir -- the man who assassinated former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Committee for Democracy has planned a series of ads to appear in newspapers and on billboards comparing the plight of Amir to the planned release of Palestinian prisoners aimed to securing the release of Israeli Defense Forces soldier Gilad Schalit, the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. The Post said the ... [full story]

KABUL - Afghan and coalition forces foiled a Taliban attempt to set up ambush posts in southern Afghanistan after a battle that left 24 insurgents dead, CNN reported. The intense seven-hour long battle took place at nightfall Wednesday in the northeast corner of Helmand province's Sangin district, the U.S.-led coalition command told CNN. The report said two coalition soldiers, who suffered minor injuries, were evacuated to a nearby medical facility. The command told CNN the ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has warned U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates about miscalculations that could lead to an unwanted Israel-Syria war. In a meeting with Gates in Jerusalem, Olmert said he had no plans to attack Syria. But, he said the smuggling of arms from Syria to Hezbollah must be stopped. They referred to efforts being made by moderate Arab countries to tackle radical Islam, which they called "the most immediate and ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - The apparent executions of 20 Iraqi security officers an insurgent group claims it kidnapped last week was posted on the Internet Thursday. The video shows the men crouching on their knees lined up in a field as a masked gunman shoots each of them in the back of the head. A photographer follows the gunman, and two other masked men holding guns can also be seen in the footage, CNN reported. Audio of ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber struck central Baghdad on Thursday, killing 12 people, injuring 28 others and setting off explosions in a truck loaded with gas cylinders. The blast was close to a police checkpoint in the Jadriyah district, and two of the dead were police officers, the Alalam news network reported. Mortar shelling also killed three people in southern Baghdad, Alumaria reported. Southeast of Baghdad in Nasiriyah, officials reported finding a mass grave close ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran has doubled its uranium enrichment capabilities within the last two months, The Washington Post reported. An IAEA letter seen by the newspaper said inspectors at Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz noted earlier this week there are eight sets of centrifuge cascades in operation. There had been four in February. In February, Iranian officials said the goal was to have 18 cascade sets in operation by May. ... [full story]

CAIRO - The Arab League has decided that Egypt and Jordan will lead negotiations with Israel on the initiative for peace with the Palestinians. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Egypt and Jordan would explain the initiative to the Israeli government because they had peace treaties with Israel. However, he said "there will be no Arab normalization for free," Haaretz reported Thursday. "Once Israel stops its practices in the occupied territories, mainly lifting the sanctions ... [full story]

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland - More than 100 seal hunting ships were stranded by heaving ice floes along the northeastern coast of Newfoundland, the Canadian Coast Guard reported. The hunt season opened six days ago but treacherous ice conditions frustrated crews of ships known as longliners and prevented many from capturing any harp seals, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said. Coast Guard Capt. Brian Penney, superintendent of ice operations with the coast guard, said even a guard ... [full story]

TIJUANA, Mexico - Wednesday killed a security guard and took five hostages at a Tijuana, Mexico, hospital in an apparent effort to free a prisoner undergoing treatment. Police blocked off surrounding streets and killed one gunman in an exchange of gunfire, El Universal reported online. A second gunman was reportedly still inside the hospital with the hostages. Copyright ©  2007, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved. [full story]

MALATYA, Turkey - Attackers in Malatya, Turkey, slit the throats of three people Wednesday at a company that publishes Bibles. Security officials told Today's Zaman, Turkey's third-largest newspaper, that four people were detained after the killings at the Zirve Publishing House. The lone survivor, who jumped off the building apparently to escape the attackers, was hospitalized and listed in critical condition with a head injury, the report said. The NTV news channel showed video of ... [full story]

HAIFA, Israel - Normal life came to a sudden halt in downtown Haifa Wednesday as Israeli police searched door-to-door for a wanted Palestinian man. Workers were told to stay inside their offices and schools were put on alert, YNetNews reported. The 32-year-old Palestinian, who was not identified, was arrested near the district courthouse a few hours after the door-to-door search began. There was conflicting information about whether he was authorized to enter Israel. The man ... [full story]