BASRA, Iraq -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Wednesday militant gunmen in Basra have 72 hours to drop their guns and cease illegal activity.In a national broadcast Maliki said militants will face "the toughest penalties" if they don't hand over their weapons to the nearest security station and vow to refrain from terrorist activities, reported KUNA, the Kuwaiti news agency.Basra was the scene Tuesday of heavy fighting in which medical personnel said at least ... [full story]

OTTAWA -- Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day appealed to Saudi officials in Riyadh Wednesday for clemency for a Canadian sentenced to death.Officials in Day's office told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., the minister's Middle East tour included a meeting to seek clemency for Mohammed Kohail, who this month was sentenced to public beheading for his role in a school brawl last year in which a Saudi youth was killed.Spokeswoman Melisa Leclerc said Day would express ... [full story]

MOSCOW -- NATO fighters intercepted Russian bombers conducting refueling exercises near Alaska Wednesday, a spokesman for the Russian air force said.The NATO fighters intercepted two strategic bombers and two aerial tankers conducting a 16-hour patrol over the Arctic and Pacific Ocean, RIA Novosti said."During the flight over neutral waters near Alaska, the Russian planes were accompanied by NATO fighters," Russian air force Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky said.This is a common occurrence since Russian President Vladimir Putin ... [full story]

SUEZ, Egypt - The U.S. Navy said Tuesday it was investigating an incident in which one of its chartered cargo ships fired in the vicinity of two small Egyptian boats.While U.S. military officials told American Forces Press Service there were no reports of casualties from the Global Patriot as a result of the Monday night encounter in the Red Sea near the Suez Canal, Egyptian security sources told the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA one Egyptian ... [full story]

MIAMI - At least two people died and four people were injured Tuesday when a section of a construction crane fell through the roof of a building in Miami, police said.Rescuers at the high-rise construction site were searching for more victims using a specially trained dog, The Miami Herald reported. Witnesses and police said the section of the crane fell from a 46-story luxury building under construction north of the city's downtown, crashing through a nearby ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - A top Bush administration lawyer told the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday that U.S. citizens being held by the military in Iraq have no right to access U.S. courts.Two naturalized U.S. citizens, Mohammad Munaf and Shawqi Ahmad Omar, are being held by the U.S.-led Multinational Force Iraq for alleged ties to terror. Both are accused in kidnappings and killings. The military wants to turn them over to the Iraqi courts but the two men claim ... [full story]

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee, Tuesday blamed lender complacency, in part, for the current mortgage crisis.The Arizona senator called for more transparency in lending and higher capital reserves for lenders. He also called on homeowners to provide responsible down payments -- suggesting that the Federal Housing Administration consider increasing its minimum down payment "as conditions allow." He told the Santa Ana, Calif., crowd he would not play "election ... [full story]

Consumers are being urged to discard certain brands of fresh cantaloupe in the wake of a salmonellosis outbreak investigation, Oregon public health officials announced. The implicated products were grown in Honduras and grown or packed by "Agropecuaria Montelibano," also known as "Agrolibano." Agropecuaria Montelibano is a major supplier of cantaloupe to the United States. The cantaloupe were identified as the source of an outbreak of Salmonella Litchfield, a rare strain of the disease, which affected ... [full story]

GLADSTONE, Ore. -- A normally quiet residential neighborhood in Gladstone was awakened early Monday morning to the sound of shotgun blasts, police reported.   The front window of the home was one of those damaged by shotgun blasts early Monday morning - Gladstone Police photo  Gladstone Police said a neighbor reported seeing a thin, white man with curly blonde hair running away about 4:30 a.m. when the shots were heard. He was reported to be carrying what the witness ... [full story]

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. – A 17-year-old Portland girl who absconded from the Oregon Youth Authority was injured Sunday morning when she crashed and rolled a reportedly stolen vehicle as she attempted to flee from pursuing deputies.   Highway 217 northbound on-ramp to Highway 26 eastbound was closed for about 1 1/2 hours to complete the investigation and remove the debris - WCSO photo According to a Washington County Sheriff’s Office news release, Phillicia Johnsen of northwest Portland ... [full story]