ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Ivory Coast’s president says he will run again in October elections that many hope will be peaceful, unlike the 2010 ballot. Alassane Ouattara submitted his candidacy on Wednesday for the Oct. 25 poll. He said he wants a calm election with results accepted by all. Ivory …

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s defense minister says the former head of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, did not die in Pakistan as Kabul announced last week. Khawaja Muhammad Asif was quoted by state media as saying Friday that “we totally deny that Mullah Omar died in Quetta or Karachi.” Instead, …

BEIJING – Chinese state media say a former general has been given a suspended death sentence for bribery and other crimes. The official Xinhua News Agency said a military court issued the ruling against Gu Junshan on Monday. Gu was deputy head of the People’s Liberation Army’s General Logistics Department, …

JACOB LAKE, Ariz. – Investigators are trying to determine how a 5-year-old Arizona boy died after he vanished from a campsite north of the Grand Canyon and triggered a massive search. A body believed to be that of Jerold Joseph Williams is going to be sent to a medical examiner’s …

LONDON – Researchers at Britain’s Cambridge University have released letters showing how slaves were priced for sale during the 18th century, giving an insight into the wealth and influence behind the pro-slavery lobby at the time. St. John’s College, which released the papers Thursday, said the papers helped show the …

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – A man admitted Thursday that he brought millions of dollars in counterfeit poker chips to use in a casino’s poker tournament, a scheme that was uncovered when he clogged a pipe by flushing the chips down the toilet in his hotel room. Christian Lusardi, 43, of …

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s state-run news agency says Kurdish rebels detonated a roadside bomb as a military vehicle was passing by, killing three soldiers. Anadolu Agency said six other soldiers were wounded in the attack on a highway between the eastern provinces of Bingol and Erzurum. The agency said the …

MINNEAPOLIS – The dental practice of a Minnesota man who killed a well-known lion in Zimbabwe has reopened. Walter Palmer’s River Bluff Dental said in a tweet Monday that it was beginning to see patients again. The tweet said Palmer wasn’t at the office. Palmer’s office in suburban Minneapolis had …

ATLANTA – Relatives of civil rights leader Julian Bond say they’re honoring his wishes to be cremated and his ashes spread in the Gulf of Mexico. Family members say a burial at sea will occur at 2 p.m. CDT Saturday in the Gulf in a private ceremony. Bond died last …

Diversité is a word high school French teacher Linda Misja knows well. Hanging in her Pennsylvania public school classroom is a poster that reads: “Everyone is different. Respect the differences.” Sadly, leaders of the state’s largest teachers union aren’t kindred spirits. They’re holding hostage $2,000 of Misja’s pay until she …