LONDON – Tony Blair said Monday that he might cancel a planned public appearance in London to promote his new memoir because of potential disruption from protesters.
The former British prime minister told ITV television that a bookstore signing session could cause unnecessary “hassle and cost” for police. Protesters demonstrating against Blair’s decision to join [...]

BEIJING – Senior U.S. and Chinese officials met Monday to steady relations upset by disputes over currency, trade and military affairs despite calls for a tougher line on Chinese economic policies that some say are contributing to American unemployment.
With congressional elections in two months, President Barack Obama is under pressure to kick-start the economy [...]

BAGHDAD – Only one of Nidal Haidar’s six sisters is married. She has given up on ever getting hitched.
“Our chances of finding husbands are diminishing as we grow older,” said Haidar, a 38-year-old dressmaker from Baghdad. “I am at an age where anyone who may propose to me will either be a widower or [...]

CAIRO (AFP) – A prominent opposition journalist is to go on trial for allegedly libelling Egypt's foreign minister in a newspaper, a judicial source said on Sunday.
Hamdi Qandeel could face prison or a fine if found guilty of the charge of “insulting and libelling a public servant or citizen performing their work,” the source [...]

DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh issued a red alert on Sunday over an outbreak of anthrax which has infected nearly 300 people and killed about 150 cattle in the north of the country in the past two weeks.
The outbreak was first detected on August 19 in Sirajganj district, 150 km (90 miles) from the capital [...]

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Police in El Salvador have found two buried oil drums stuffed with millions of dollars in cash possibly linked to the illegal drug trade, authorities said Saturday.
The first barrel was found Thursday on a ranch in the town of Penitente Abajo, about 40 miles (62 kilometers) from the capital.
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KABUL (AFP) – Taliban insurgents appear to be making good on threats to kill candidates in Afghanistan's parliamentary elections, adding a grim dimension to the ambitions of political hopefuls in the war-torn country.
In recent weeks, three candidates and at least seven campaign workers have been killed, and many others kidnapped and injured, in attacks [...]

Robert Gates, US defence secretary, said on Wednesday that America’s war in Iraq was over and that the US had moved into the final phase of its engagement in the country.
Asked by the Financial Times whether the US was still at war in Iraq, Mr Gates replied: “No, I would say we are not.” He [...]

CAIRO – The bearded young cleric yells at a young woman for lifting her traditional veil from her face while speaking to him on the street, and rants against Egyptians who adopt Western lifestyles and values. His followers beat up an opponent.
That is the image of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood depicted in [...]

SYDNEY – A French skyscraper climber nicknamed “Spider-Man” pleaded not guilty Friday to charges related to his bare-handed climb up a 57-story building in downtown Sydney.
Alain Robert, known for climbing some of the world’s tallest and best-known buildings without ropes or other equipment, was arrested Monday at the top of the Lumiere building.
He [...]