A California man has been arrested in southwest Florida on an outstanding murder warrant in the death of his ex-wife.

Syria's state news agency says a power outage has plunged Damascus and southern Syria into darkness.

Demonstrations are being held across Spain to protest harsh repossession laws that have led to hundreds of thousands of evictions during the country's deep recession.

Guatemalan officials say an army captain sentenced to 20 years in prison for the slaying of a bishop has been arrested outside the facility where he was living.

Mexico's animal health agency says a bird flu outbreak at seven farms in central Mexico has affected as many as 582,000 chickens.

A rare shooting in broad daylight in one of Mexico City's most crowded tourist zones has killed a man.

Iran has ordered a six-month ban on pistachio exports to try to control the price of the nut, which doubled in the past month.

Police in the Cayman Islands say a woman drove off an intruder by biting him. It cost her a tooth, though.

The Vatican is being drawn into a new controversy over its embattled bank after acknowledging that the institution's new president is also chairman of a shipbuilder that is helping to make warships for the German navy.

The Spanish government has passed a draft bill that aims to make deep cuts to local administration and is expected to save some €7.1 billion ($9.5 billion).

Nearly 1,000 people injured by falling meteor in Russia, according to officials.

Police say an avalanche in the Scottish Highlands has killed two people and left a third in critical condition.

This was a Valentine's Day wedding that the bride's family wanted no part of: An Argentine woman married the man convicted of killing her twin sister.

France's foreign ministry says a French journalist detained in Iraq last month has been freed. Activists for media freedom and France's government had decried the detention.

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross say the expected releases of three hostages held by Colombian rebels have been postponed.

Online retailer Amazon says it will investigate reports that temporary staff at its logistics centers in Germany were subjected to a climate of intimidation.

Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been arrested after a 30-year-old woman was shot dead at his home in South Africa.

Ukrainian emergency officials say two people were killed and the fate of four is unknown after a passenger plane skidded past the landing strip and overturned in the eastern city of Donetsk.

The Russian Olympic Committee says it plans to appeal to the IOC to restore wrestling to the games.

South African authorities say at least 96 rhinoceros have been killed so far this year, as rampant poaching for their horns to sell to buyers in Asia continues.

British officials say a mysterious virus related to SARS may have spread between humans, as they confirmed the 11th case worldwide of the new coronavirus in a patient who they say probably caught it from a family member

Pope Benedict XVI is making his first public appearance since his bombshell announcement of his resignation, presiding over his weekly general audience and Ash Wednesday services.

Police say DNA tests have confirmed a New Zealand girl is not missing British youngster Madeleine McCann.

VATICAN CITY (AP) - One of Africa's brightest hopes to be the next pope, Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, says the time is right for a pontiff from the developing world.

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's lower house of parliament has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban smoking in public places, a contentious measure in a country with one of the highest smoking rates in the world.