LONDON -- Questions about security in Britain's Parliament were raised Tuesday following a violent fight between a guest and police in a corridor, sources said. In the Monday night incident, police said a man identified as the director of a London publishing company got into a fight with another man who had also been invited to a media reception held by Conservative Party member of Parliament Eric Pickles in the Shadow Cabinet room, The Times of ... [full story]

BRUSSELS -- Discrimination and bullying against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgendered people remains a problem in Europe, a survey indicates. A major report released Tuesday by the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency found that, especially in Eastern Europe, harassment and attacks on gays and lesbians are ongoing, with politicians frequently turning a blind eye or siding with the perpetrators, the EU Observer reported. The survey was ordered in 2007 by the European Parliament and the result ... [full story]

LAHORE, Pakistan -- A Pakistani Taliban chief claimed responsibility for the attack on a police academy in Lahore in which 30 cadets and academy employees died. Baitullah Mehsud said he ordered followers to carry out Monday's attack and resulting eight-hour standoff with law enforcement officials, The Times of London reported Tuesday. He is the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan -- or Movement of Taliban, Pakistan. A second group, Fedayeen-i-Islam, also claimed responsibility for the deadly assault on the ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Attempting to eradicate poppy fields in Afghanistan is counterproductive, the United States' top envoy to the country says. Even though U.S. President Barack Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan calls for continued efforts to destroy the flowers used in the production of opium, Richard Holbrooke, the administration's coordinator of Afghanistan policy, called the practice "wasteful and ineffective" at a Brussels forum this month, USA Today reported Tuesday. Moves to eradicate poppies have been "pushing farmers into ... [full story]

BOSTON -- Boston College says it refused to allow a planned satellite speech by University of Illinois Professor William Ayers out of fear for students' safety. The move by BC officials followed a similar refusal to let the University of Illinois at Chicago education professor and former member of the 1960s radical anti-war group Weather Underground address students in person on the campus, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday. Administrators refused to allow both the Ayers visit ... [full story]

TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. -- A judge says three teenage girls in Tunkhannock, Pa., cannot be charged for appearing seminude in photos found on cell phones. U.S. District Judge James M. Munley Monday granted a request by the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the Wyoming County District Attorney's Office from filing felony charges against the girls, The Times-Tribune newspaper in Scranton, Pa., reported. The girls were among about 20 teenagers threatened with child pornography charges after Tunkhannock Area ... [full story]

DOHA, Qatar -- A meeting between the Saudi Arabian king and Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi in Qatar appears to have mended a feud between them, officials said. Gadhafi met with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and others at Al-Bahr Palace in Doha Tuesday on the sidelines of the Arab Summit in an effort to iron out disagreements that erupted earlier, the Qatar News Agency reported. Gadhafi stormed out ... [full story]

BALTIMORE -- In an unusual plea agreement, charges against a mother accused of starving her son will be dropped if the dead boy is resurrected, Maryland prosecutors say. Ria Ramkissoon, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of child abuse resulting in death in exchange for testimony against four co-defendants, The Baltimore Sun reported. The plea agreement includes a "process of deprogramming" for Ramkissoon and a promise the charge against her will be dropped if her 2-year-old ... [full story]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she backs Afghanistan's plans to conduct reconciliation talks with moderate Taliban members. In an address during an Afghan summit at The Hague, Netherlands, Clinton said, "(We) must support efforts by the government of Afghanistan to separate the extremists of al-Qaida and the Taliban from those who joined their ranks not out of conviction, but out of desperation." More than 80 countries and international organizations attended ... [full story]

EZULWINI, Swaziland -- The Southern African Development Community says it has suspended Madagascar for what it calls an unconstitutional change of government this month. In suspending Madagascar, SADC leaders, meeting Tuesday in Swaziland, called on its new president, Andry Rajoelina, to step down, the Voice of America reported Tuesday. The moves came after former President Marc Ravalomanana resigned under pressure and the island-nation's military handed power to opposition leader Rajoelina, who then took over as head of ... [full story]