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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka pleaded for international help Thursday in what it called an “emergency humanitarian situation,” after a medical relief group warned that civilian casualties are rising rapidly in the country’s war zone despite the exodus of more than 100,000 in recent days. Red Cross spokeswomen Sarasi …

McALLEN, Texas – A Mexico City toddler who became the first swine-flu death on U.S. soil spent a day shopping at a huge indoor mall in Houston one day before he began to show symptoms. Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, who interviewed members of the Brownsville family with whom the …

ADELAIDE, Australia – Ex-world champion cyclist Jobie Dajka has been found dead at his home, Australia’s Nine TV network reported late Tuesday. Nine reported in a late night news bulletin that the 27-year-old Dajka was dead but did not give details. The South Australia state police media unit and Cycling …

NEW YORK – The credit card bill is a 30-page study in conspicuous consumption. A quick scan shows a restaurant charge of more than $2,800, $2,000 in spending at a Parisian boutique and $441 at a gourmet bagel shop. The total amount due: more than $100,000. Eye-popping numbers aside, the …

UNITED NATIONS – Israeli President Shimon Peres on Wednesday called a U.N. investigation accusing Israel of recklessness during the war in Gaza “outrageous” and said the Jewish state will not apologize for defending its citizens against Hamas missile attacks. He conceded that the Israeli military made some mistakes — as …

WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration has found at least 20 Web sites that may be fraudulently marketing products with claims that they guard against or cure swine flu, an agency official said Monday. The FDA publicly rebuked one such site Monday — http://rebuildermedical.com — for offering a $199 …

An ambulance believed to be carrying suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk has left U.S. immigration offices in Cleveland as federal agents prepare to deport him to Germany. Immigration officials would not comment Monday evening on where the ambulance was headed, but it drove toward nearby Cleveland Burke Lakefront …

SEOUL, South Korea – Embattled former President Roh Moo-hyun — a reformist shamed by a corruption scandal that tarnished his image as a “clean” politician — jumped to his death while hiking in the mountains behind his rural home in South Korea, his lawyer said. He was 62. Roh was …

Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter is on life support and in “extremely critical condition” after she was discovered hanging from a treadmill cable in her family’s Phoenix home, police said. Exodus Tyson’s 7-year-old brother found her Monday with her neck in a cord dangling from the exercise machine, police Sgt. Andy …

Investigators reportedly have uncovered evidence of airline repair centers hiring low-wage mechanics who are unable to read English. Aircraft repair requires even experienced mechanics to frequently consult manuals that are written in English and leave a detailed record of what repairs they have made, according to WFAA-TV. Still, hundreds of …