NEW YORK -- Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful John Edwards Tuesday chided his party for being too cozy with the business interests usually associated with Republicans.Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program, the senator from South Carolina and career trial lawyer said "replacing corporate Republicans with corporate Democrats … can't bring about the big change we need in this country."The jab came as Edwards was locked in a battle to separate himself from fellow senators Hillary Clinton ... [full story]

BOSTON -- Hundreds of U.S. troop tributes and patriotic displays on Massachusetts highway overpass bridges have been ordered removed amid safety concerns.The Massachusetts Highway Department announced this week all displays not taken down by the end of the week would be removed by road crews, the Boston Globe reported.The department's commissioner, Luisa Paiewonsky, said staff had noticed many more displays popping up over the state's 9,000 miles of highways that distract drivers, including political messages ... [full story]

Police are asking the public’s help in finding a man who wore a bandana over his face as he brandished a handgun, then fled with an undisclosed amount of money after he held up a Madras grocery store early this morning.   Police are seeking the masked man who held up Ahern's Grocery & Deli in Madras, Oregon at gunpoint. According to a news release prepared by Madras Police Sergeant Steve Webb, Ahern’s Grocery & Deli, a ... [full story]

GENEVA, Switzerland -- The Switzerland-based International Campaign to Ban Landmines marked the 10th anniversary Monday of the signing of a treaty by 122 nations.A spokesman for the organization in Geneva said the number of countries agreeing to ban the use, production, trade and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines has grown to 156 since the treaty was adopted in Canada in 1997.Major powers such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan and Russia have not yet joined ... [full story]

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan reportedly plans to boost the size of its army nearly three times to improve internal security and discourage any interference from neighbors.The defense ministry wants to increase the size from about 70,000 expected to be reached by year-end to about 200,000, the BBC reported, quoting spokesman, Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi.After the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001, the Bonn conference decided a 70,000-size army would be sufficient but that is ... [full story]

MOSCOW -- Opposition parties accused President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party of election irregularities Monday after it swept to apparent victory a day earlier.International monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also questioned the fairness of Sunday's parliamentary elections, CNN reported.The Novosti news agency reported with 98 percent of votes counted, United Russia received 64.1 percent of the vote, the Communist Party 11.6 percent, the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party 8.2 percent and ... [full story]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- An elections judge in Pakistan ruled Monday former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is ineligible to run for a parliamentary seat next month.Sharif leads the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, and had filed papers registering him as a candidate for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections, Dawn TV News reported.However, a rival candidate complained he had a criminal record as a result of the 1999 coup by Pervez Musharraf that ousted Sharif, the BBC said. ... [full story]

WARSAW, Poland -- A Polish government minister said a bird flu outbreak on two farms in central Poland is under control and poses no threat to humans.Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said the H5N1 virus was found on two turkey farms in the villages of Uniejewo and Mysliborzyce near Plock, 60 miles northwest of Warsaw, Polish Radio reported Monday.Sawicki said about 4,000 turkeys were culled in the Plock region and transport of fowl and meat was ... [full story]

YAOUNDE, Cameroon -- Thousands of Central African Republic refugees in eastern Cameroon are suffering from disease and malnutrition, United Nations officials said Monday.Workers for the U.N. and other humanitarian agencies say most of the 45,000 Mbororo animal herders and others fleeing violence in their country enter Cameroon in a weakened and traumatized state after walking for many days.Once settled, their health does not improve significantly, The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported.Three ... [full story]

BEIJING -- A 24-year-old man in Jiangsu province in east China died of bird flu, the 17th human victim of the deadly virus in the country, Xinhua reported Monday.Local health officials said the man died Sunday after developing fever, chills and other bird flu symptoms. He was admitted Nov. 27 to a hospital, where his condition deteriorated resulting in his death, the report said.The victim's respiratory tract sample showed positive signs of H5N1, the generic ... [full story]