SEATTLE -- The case of D.B. Cooper, the mystery man who parachuted over Washington state in 1971 with $200,000 in ransom money, still haunts the FBI.In a news release Monday, the FBI issued a public plea for help in solving the case, which it described as "a mystery, frankly.""We've run down thousands of leads and considered all sorts of scenarios," the FBI said. "And amateur sleuths have put forward plenty of their own theories. Yet ... [full story]

BANGKOK -- Thai Princess Galyani Vadhana, the older sister of King Bhumidol Adulyadej, died of abdominal cancer Wednesday at the age of 84.The princess had been treated for the cancer at Siriraj Hospital since last June, the Bangkok Post reported.Princess Galyani, who was born in London, studied science, chemistry, the arts, history and languages, and went on to become a teacher, the newspaper said. She also was heavily involved in charitable work, including the Foundation ... [full story]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The Pakistani government, after earlier rejecting outside help, may accept an international investigation into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.Mohammed Sadiq, Foreign Ministry spokesman in the caretaker government, said Wednesday the investigation into the former prime minister's killing last week in Rawalpindi would be thorough and transparent and that the government is "open to receiving assistance from outside," CNN reported.Separately, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported that caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro, ... [full story]

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The complex and eccentric Iowa caucus highlights the high-stake politics of the U.S. presidential race as the sparsely populated state helps decide its outcome.Republican and Democratic presidential candidates spent a combined total of 18 months stumping in Iowa despite that fewer than 250,000 of the state's 2.9 million residents were expected to participate in Thursday's caucus process, USA Today said Wednesday.Election observers, including David Yepsen with The Des Moines Register, said ... [full story]

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- A U.S. diplomat was killed as he returned from a New Year's Eve party in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in an attack that also left his driver dead.The Sudanese government said John Granville, 33, was near his home when 17 shots were fired from another car, The New York Times reported. Granville was on his way home from the British Embassy.Walter Braunohler, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, said ... [full story]

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government denied local media reports that three men working for the Interior Ministry arrested as insurgents were Iranian citizens.The ministry's chief of operations, Maj. Gen. Abdel-Karim Khalaf, told Kuwait's KUNA news agency the unidentified men arrested by U.S. forces Monday in Baghdad would be freed and were not Iranian."I dismiss that the three persons ... may hold Iranian nationality," he said. "It is their right as Iraqis to go wherever they ... [full story]

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Arson at a church in western Kenya killed at least 50 people in post-election tribal violence sparked by allegations of vote-rigging.Correspondents from The Times of London and The New York Times said a mob doused the church with gasoline and set it afire on Tuesday in the town of Eldoret.The deaths pushed the toll past 300 since the Dec. 27 election that returned incumbent President Mwai Kibaki to power with a tiny ... [full story]

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria -- A series of attacks by a street gang Tuesday left at least 10 people dead in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.Authorities said the assaults, which appeared coordinated, occurred at two police stations, a hotel and a restaurant, The New York Times reported. The victims included at least four police officers and several of the attackers, the newspaper said.Police officials said the assailants were believed to be members of the Niger Delta Vigilante, one ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military said six Palestinian militants were killed and five others were wounded Wednesday in fighting in the Gaza Strip.IsraelNN.com quoted an unidentified military spokesman as saying five of the men were killed in gun battles and the sixth death was a result of an airstrike. The spokesman claimed the dead included members of the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah militants as well as Lebanese-based Hezbollah fighters.The Israeli strikes were in response to ... [full story]

SEATTLE -- Revelers in Seattle got bonus fireworks time as 2008 began thanks to a computer glitch.The three-man crew running the Pyro Spectaculars show worked manually after they realized the computer program was corrupted, a spokeswoman for the Space Needle said. That meant the fireworks were not in sync with the music, although viewers got both, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said."The whole show was supposed to last 8 1/2 minutes and it went for11 1/2 minutes," ... [full story]