QUETTA, Pakistan -- Crowds of supporters greeted the Pakistani chief justice in Quetta, Pakistan, for the first time since his release from five months of detention.Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived to a throng of supporters from trade unions, lawyers' groups and various political parties, the Pakistani English daily Dawn reported.The crowds chanted slogans of "Long live the chief justice" and other cries opposing Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as heavily armed security guards escorted Chaudhry's bullet-proof ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- The increasingly radical nature of sermons and media reports from Hamas overshadow the prospects of reaching a common ground with Israel, analysts say.The official Hamas media network, al-Aksa, runs several programs and sermons that some say serve to indoctrinate young Palestinians to radical Islamic positions.The combination of political rhetoric invoking historical Palestine, calls for military resistance against Israel while advocating social programs suggests a irreconcilable division between Israelis and Palestinians, The New York ... [full story]

PHOENIX -- Republican strategists say Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has not used the time the extended Democratic nomination battle has given him wisely.Observers say they wonder about the direction the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is taking and why he hasn't scheduled more fundraising events, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.McCain hasn't been able to capitalize fully on the Democratic nomination battle between Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to get his message out to ... [full story]

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- A man and two teenagers were in police custody in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, facing murder charges in a weekend triple slaying at a house party, police said.Police did not identify the suspects, but said they were 15, 18 and 25 years old, and each faces three counts of first degree murder and three counts of attempted murder in the non-fatal shootings of three other victims, the Winnipeg Sun reported."They (suspects) knew the ... [full story]

MOSCOW -- Some cult members awaiting the end of the world in a Russian cave emerged Tuesday due to structural concerns of their hideout, government officials said.Oleg Melnichenko, the deputy governor of the Penza region in west-central Russia, said two rooms in the hideout collapsed Tuesday. Fourteen people, including two children, left the cave due to the collapse, the Interfax news agency reported.Fourteen cult members remained in the cave. Melnichenko said crews fixed the structure ... [full story]

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- The Nepalese prime minister and congressional president said he canceled plans to address election rallies in several cities across the country.Nepalesenews.com cited a feature from Nepalese daily, Kantipur, saying Girija Prasad decided to stay out of the campaign because his role as the head of state creates a conflict of interest when addressing rallies for his political party, Nepali Congress Party officials said.The election coordinator for the Nepali Congress Party, Prakash Sharan ... [full story]

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Police in Edmonton, Alberta, were trying Tuesday to determine why a trucker wreaked traffic havoc before driving off a bridge and dying in a fiery crash.Motorists called city police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about 1 p.m. Monday, reporting that a tractor-trailer was weaving into oncoming westbound traffic on the Yellowhead Trail highway, the Edmonton Sun reported.Witness Zack Novak, 45, told the newspaper he followed the truck for about 10 miles."He ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- Mortars fired Tuesday from Gaza injured two residents in southern Israel as Palestinians said the Israeli military killed two alleged Hamas operatives.Palestinian residents in Gaza said the Israeli military, apparently responding to rocket attacks, arrested several gunmen and killed at least two people.The Israeli operation marks the first time in several weeks its military entered Palestinian territory and The Jerusalem Post reported operations focused more on Islamic Jihad elements rather than Hamas.Meanwhile, two ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Government auditors in a report berated the U.S. Defense Department's weapons budget, saying major systems exceeded their budgets by $295 billion.Besides cost overruns, the Government Accountability Office found the systems are delivered about two years late on average, The Washington Post reported Tuesday."It's not getting any better by any means," Michael Sullivan, director of the GAO's acquisition and sourcing team, told the Post. "It's taking longer and costing more."The GAO selected 72 of ... [full story]

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- A Tamil Tigers chief met with a suicide squad prior to a deadly attack on a Sri Lankan navy vessel, a government defense official said Tuesday.Velupillai Prabhakaran, or Thambi, met with an elite squad of suicide bombers prior to the March 22 attack. A Sri Lankan defense officials said 10 sailors listed as missing from the attack are "presumed dead," the Press Trust of India reported.Thambi is the leader of the ... [full story]