SEOUL - Negotiators for the South Korean government said they reached an agreement with the Taliban to free 19 South Korean hostages held in Afghanistan for 41 days.“The agreement was reached on conditions that South Korea withdraw its troops stationed in Afghanistan by year’s end and impose a ban on its Christian nationals’ missionary work in Afghanistan,” said a spokesman for the South Korean president at a Seoul news conference Tuesday.The hostages will be released ... [full story]

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - U.S. Democratic presidential hopefuls are united on the need for universal healthcare but divided over the role of the healthcare industry.At a forum on cancer, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards chided New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for accepting donations from healthcare lobbyists, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday."If you give drug companies and insurance companies and their lobbyists a seat at the table, they'll eat all the food," Edwards said ... [full story]

VIENNA - Iran claimed to have addressed questions from an international nuclear monitoring agency regarding experiments with plutonium.A text released Monday in Austria outlined the plutonium issues and a timetable for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, said a U.N. document released by Iran.The IAEA is investigating charges Iran is enriching atomic material to develop nuclear weapons.The IAEA is to file a report on Iran this week in advance of its 35-nation board of ... [full story]

NEW YORK - Thai separatists and militants have killed at least 2,196 civilians in their fight against government troops since 2004, a human rights group claimed Tuesday. A 104-page report by Human Rights Watch in New York said militants are intentionally targeting Buddhist and Muslim civilians in shootings, bombings and machete attacks.The group said by comparison, there were more than 3,000 attacks on civilians from January 2004 to July 2007, during which time there were ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - Some prominent Sunni leaders say a new reconciliation agreement won't persuade them to rejoin Iraq's national unity government, it was reported.The agreement reached Sunday includes measures to regulate Iraq's oil industry, rehabilitate purged former members of the once ruling Baath party and release detainees held without trial, London's Financial Times reported Tuesday.The agreement, representing the main political parties in Iraq, was hailed by the White House as "an important symbol of (the) commitment ... [full story]

DHAKA, Bangladesh - The Bangladesh Supreme Court has denied bail to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been held since mid-July on corruption charges.In its ruling, the high court granted the government’s appeal to reverse a lower court’s decision that granted bail to her, Bangladesh’s Daily Star reported Tuesday. The ruling means she may have to stay in jail for an indefinite period as Bangladesh is under emergency rule by a military-backed interim government.Since ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - A man arrested Sunday is thought to be the leader of an Iraqi terror cell allegedly funded by deposed leader Saddam Hussein's daughter, the U.S. military said.The U.S. military said a raid in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit netted the unidentified man, who was under interrogation about a series of attacks on coalition forces using rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs, CNN reported.With guidance from U.S. Special Forces, Iraqi troops staged the raid, the military ... [full story]

Police say that while estimates are not yet available, burglars who broke into the Crook County Middle School in Prineville, Oregon early Monday morning likely caused thousands of dollars in damage to computers, cafeteria equipment, and other property.   Crook County Middle School in Prineville, Oregon suffered thousands of dollars in damages at the hands of burglars who vandalized the school early Monday morning - photo by crookcounty.k12.or.usAccording to a news release issued by the Prineville Police Department, officers ... [full story]

PARIS - Tougher sanctions against Iran are the only way avoid the "catastrophic" alternative of a nuclear outcome, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.Sarkozy, in a blunt speech Monday, predicted "an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran" if Iran doesn't curb its nuclear enrichment program, The New York Times reported. Addressing France’s ambassadorial corps, Sarkozy didn't say France would participate in, or support, military action against Iran, The Times reported.Even raising the idea of force, ... [full story]

BASRA, Iraq - British forces announced their withdrawal from a base shared with the Iraqi police in Basra.The departure is part of plans by the British military to completely withdraw from the city, Alsumaria reported Monday. The base is expected to be completely in control of Iraqi security forces within one or two weeks.Iraqi Army Border Guard Brig. Ali Ibrahim says security forces will be ready to take full responsibility of the base when British ... [full story]