LONDON (AP) — Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper company on Thursday agreed to pay damages to 36 high-profile victims of tabloid phone-hacking, including actor Jude Law, soccer player Ashley Cole and former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. In settlements whose financial terms were made public, amounts generally ran into the tens of thousands of pounds […]

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Sea piracy worldwide dropped slightly in 2011 for the first time in five years but Somali pirates have intensified attacks and remained the greatest threat, a global maritime watchdog said Thursday. The number of attacks dipped to 439 last year from 445 cases in 2010, the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hikers in the Hollywood Hills found a human head in a plastic bag Tuesday when two of their dogs began playing with the object, Los Angeles police said. The women made the discovery on a popular trail below the Hollywood sign at about 3:45 p.m., police said. “Two of the dogs […]

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s planned 40-year cap on nuclear power plants could be extended up to 20 years, but exemptions will be rare, the government said Wednesday. Japan currently does not have a limit on the operational lifespan of reactors, and the government had hinted when it announced the cap that extensions were a possibility. […]

LONDON (AP) — Palace officials Wednesday announced details of a massive pageant on London’s River Thames to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee year. Plans call for roughly 1,000 boats of various sizes to gather June 3 for an unprecedented tribute to the queen, who is marking the 60th year of her reign. The flotilla will […]

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The U.S. government’s decision to pull out all its Peace Corps volunteers from Honduras for safety reasons is yet another blow to a nation still battered by a coup and recently labelled the world’s most deadly country. Neither U.S. nor Honduran officials have said what specifically prompted them to withdraw the […]