MOSCOW - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said Tuesday recent opposition protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg do nothing to advance stability in Russia. The so-called March of Dissent rallies that saw at least 420 people arrested in the country's two largest cities were counter-productive, Gorbachev told the Novosti news agency. "Somebody wants to complicate the situation in the country and push for instability," Gorbachev said. "We must learn our lesson, and tell those who ... [full story]

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria - Human Rights Watch said Tuesday Nigeria's regional elections last weekend were so corrupt, they should be rerun. The report said observers and journalists saw cases where there was no voting taking place, yet Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission later reported voter turnout in excess of 90 percent. As well, it said observers watched ballot boxes being stuffed with ballots marked in favor of the ruling People's Democratic Party in plain view. ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency claimed Tuesday Iran has been recruiting visiting Israelis to spy for Tehran, the Jerusalem Post reported. At a Jerusalem news conference, an unidentified security official said the practice has been going on for two years, with Iran detaining Israelis trying to enter Iran, and sometimes forbidding them to leave until they agree to provide information. While Israel doesn't consider Iran an enemy state, Iran only allows Israelis to ... [full story]

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Taliban insurgents are suspected in a roadside bombing that killed five U.N. workers in the Afghan city of Kandahar on Tuesday, police said. U.N. officials confirmed one of their vehicles carrying four U.N. workers from Nepal and a local Afghan driver had been destroyed, the BBC said. Provincial Police Chief Asmatullah Alizai also confirmed the deaths to reporters. It was a remote-controlled bombing and the vehicle was destroyed, Alizai said. Elsewhere, there ... [full story]

NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday came under sharp attack for his comments lauding Rahul Gandhi, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi political family. At an election rally in northern Uttar Pradesh state, which is in the middle of hotly contested assembly elections, Singh, seeking support for his Congress party, reportedly praised Gandhi as a new leader and said the party scion should be seen as the future of the state, the country's ... [full story]

LONDON - British officials are attempting to confirm last weekend's online report that abducted BBC reporter Alan Johnston has been executed by a militant group. The New York Times reported Monday that while the Tawhid and Jihad Brigades alleged to have executed Johnston in an e-mail on Sunday, both the BBC and the British government have yet to officially confirm that report. The 44-year-old journalist had been the BBC's Gaza correspondent at the time of ... [full story]

LONDON - Amnesty International warned that the Middle East is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis unless something is done about Iraq war refugees. In a statement released Monday, the organization estimates that more than 3 million people have been forcibly displaced by the conflict in Iraq. "Syria and Jordan, who together new host some 2 million Iraqis, have borne the brunt of the refugee exodus so far, but there must be a limit ... [full story]

MIAMI - Nearly two dozen Cubans survived rough waters off Florida to walk ashore near Miami on Monday. The 21 Cubans reportedly started sailing Friday morning and encountered cold winds and choppy water before reaching Florida, The Miami Herald and WFOR-TV said. "The conditions were rough and the waves were huge out there, but everyone stayed calm," said a man identified only as Andre. The migrants appeared during the night at the toll booth along ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - An online statement found Sunday that was signed by the Palestinian Jihad and Tawheed Brigades alleges BBC reporter Alan Johnston has been executed. YNetNews reported that the Internet statement it obtained Sunday alleges the al-Qaida affiliated Palestinian organization executed the abducted journalist in response to the actions of the British and Palestinian governments. "Our demand was that all of those who are responsible for the journalist ... release our prisoners who are being ... [full story]

LONDON - Police in Britain are reporting that animal rights extremists are targeting farmers more than ever, at a rate of one incident every nine days. The London Sunday Telegraph reported that farmers are worried that extremists are widening their scope. Most farmers who have experienced threats and harassment are poultry farmers. The report comes after police have curbed attacks on various animal research facilities. In one incident, animal rights extremists caused hundreds of thousands ... [full story]

SANA'A, Yemen - About 130 Somali and Ethiopian migrants reportedly died at sea off the Yemeni coast after coast guard fire caused their boats to capsize. Three boats carrying 460 migrants were believed to have left Somalia April 9, arriving in Yemeni waters April 12, AllAfrica.com reported. "As the smuggling boats entered the Yemeni waters, coast guards began firing on them, causing one boat to capsize," said Sadat Mohammed, head of refugee affairs in the ... [full story]

GAZA CITY, Gaza - Three explosions that shook the Gaza Strip over the weekend are being seen as a sign of growing strength of al-Qaida-inspired Islamic extremists in the area. The explosions damaged two Internet cafes and an American Protestant bookstore, YNetNews reported. No injuries were reported, but authorities were warning Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that dangerous groups were proliferating. Attacks on businesses, internet cafes and music stores have become regular occurrences in Gaza, YNetNews ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - Six members of Iraq's cabinet plan to resign their posts at the urging of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, The Washington Post reported. Citing officials close to Sadr, the newspaper said the cabinet members will quit Monday. The news came as a series of bombings killed dozens in Baghdad Sunday, in one of the capital's deadliest days since a U.S.-led push to curb violence in Baghdad began two months ago. Sadr asked the ministers ... [full story]