Al-Qaida threat pushes Afghanistan to forefront of German campaign days before election

BERLIN — New threats by al-Qaida and fierce criticism of a German-ordered airstrike that killed dozens have pushed Germany’s mission in Afghanistan to the forefront of this country’s national election campaign.

Afghan fraud investigators to recount only a sample of suspect ballots to speed process

KABUL — The U.N.-backed panel investigating fraud in Afghanistan’s presidential vote has agreed to allow a recount of just a sampling of hundreds of thousands of suspect ballots to speed a process some fear could stretch into spring, an official said Monday.

Obama: Actions in ACORN video ‘inappropriate,’ favors investigation into scandal

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says there should be an investigation into the hidden-camera video involving employees at the activist group ACORN and a couple posing as a prostitute and her pimp.

Analysis: NYC mayor seeks support from big names who don’t matter and tiny groups no one knows

NEW YORK — Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg is likely to set another spending record in this year’s mayoral race, but he appears to be aiming for a more obscure honor as well — the candidate with the most peculiar endorsements.

NY governor ignores pressure to end 2010 election quest despite pressure from senior Democrats

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. David Paterson isn’t scrapping his plans to run for the office he inherited 18 months ago, despite growing pressure from Washington and intervention by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has contacted the governor and the White House over his concern.

Obama: ACORN video ‘inappropriate,” favors investigation into community group’s activities

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says there should be an investigation into the hidden-camera video involving employees at the activist group ACORN and a couple posing as a prostitute and her pimp. The two ACORN workers are seen apparently advising the couple to lie about her profession and launder her earnings to get housing aid.

ACORN grew from local charity to national conglomerate with radio stations, schools

WASHINGTON — Activist group ACORN started in 1970 to help poor people in Arkansas and by decade’s end went national, expanding into a multimillion-dollar conglomerate with a mission so far-flung that schools now bear its name, two radio stations are affiliates and a man its political arm endorsed is the president. Oh yeah — and it’s the unwilling star of a hot Internet video featuring a couple dressed as a hooker and her pimp.

Riding high polls, Japan’s new government freezes parts of stimulus package believed wasteful

TOKYO — Japan’s new prime minister ordered his Cabinet on Friday to freeze parts of a $154 billion stimulus package that his government believes are wasteful.

Afghan leader: Election was honest, critics cannot decide if runoff needed

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai called Afghanistan’s disputed election “true and fair” and said he would not accept a second round of voting simply to satisfy critics claiming massive fraud, after European monitors said more than a quarter of the votes were suspect.

Japan’s new Cabinet kicks off with strong public support, polls show

TOKYO — Japan’s new, largely untested Cabinet is starting out with high public approval ratings amid hopes that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s government will reinvigorate the world’s second-largest economy, polls showed Friday.

Indiana appeals court strikes down tough voter ID law previously upheld by US Supreme Court

INDIANAPOLIS — The state Court of Appeals on Thursday struck down an Indiana law requiring government-issued photo identification for voters, overturning on state constitutional grounds a strict law previously upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

GOP lawmakers want details on Afghanistan war plans; Gates urges time for Obama to study plans

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers turned up the pressure Thursday for more details on the war in Afghanistan, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates said “everybody should take a deep breath” and let the administration devise strategy at its own pace.

Biden says US will abide by Iraqi wishes for American troop withdrawal dates

BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden pledged Thursday to follow Iraq’s wishes should Baghdad decide to speed up the timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from the country.

Suicide car bomber strikes Afghanistan’s capital, killing 6 Italian soldiers, 10 civilians

KABUL — A suicide car bomber killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians Thursday in the heavily guarded capital of Kabul — a grim reminder of the Taliban’s reach amid political uncertainty in Afghanistan.

Afghan president defends election’s integrity, but says some officials “were partial” to him

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai defended the integrity of Afghanistan’s presidential ballot Thursday against charges of widespread fraud, but stopped short of declaring victory despite a substantial lead in the preliminary count.

Japan’s new Prime Minister Hatoyama to make diplomatic debut in US

TOKYO — Japan’s new prime minister will make his diplomatic debut next week with a visit to the United Nations and an economic summit meeting in Pittsburgh, officials said Thursday, as a poll showed voters have high expectations for his new Cabinet.

Full, uncertified Afghan vote tally: Karzai has 54 percent; fraud probes still pending

KABUL — Afghan officials issued full preliminary results Wednesday showing President Hamid Karzai got 54.6 percent of the vote in last month’s election, a result that could be annulled by mounting fraud allegations. European Union election monitors say fraud is indicated in more than a quarter of the 5.6 million votes counted.

Health insurance emerges as issue in NJ, Va. gubernatorial campaigns, but in different ways

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey’s Democratic governor is taking every chance he can to point out his ties to President Barack Obama — even promoting the divisive “public option” for health insurance. Meanwhile, his Republican challenger is careful not to speak ill of the president.

ACORN plans internal investigation, will suspend additions to service programs

WASHINGTON — The community organizing group ACORN said Wednesday it is ordering an independent investigation after its employees were caught on camera appearing to advise a couple posing as a prostitute and pimp to lie about the woman’s profession to get housing help.

Full, uncertified Afghan vote tally shows Karzai at 54 percent; fraud probes pending

KABUL — Afghanistan’s election commission released preliminary vote totals Wednesday showing President Hamid Karzai with 54.6 percent of the vote in the first full results to be released since the country’s Aug. 20 election.

Afghan election officials to release full preliminary results after repeated delays

KABUL — Afghan election officials plan to release the full preliminary results Wednesday from last month’s presidential vote, though the much-delayed total has lost some significance in an election now likely to be determined by the outcome of fraud investigations.

House passes bill to let struggling Postal Service use retirement fund to cover shortfall

WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to let the struggling U.S. Postal Service cover a budget shortfall by reducing its annual payment to a health care fund for retirees by $4 billion.

Nebraska GOP Sen. Johanns calls for Justice probe of ACORN

WASHINGTON — A Republican lawmaker on Tuesday urged the Justice Department to investigate ACORN, a community organization under fire for several voter-registration fraud cases.

Recount ordered at 10 pct of Afghan poll sites because of fraud, could push Karzai into runoff

KABUL — Ballots from about 10 percent of Afghanistan’s polling stations need recounting because of suspicions of fraud, the chief election watchdog said Tuesday, increasing the chances that President Hamid Karzai could face a runoff.

Japan’s incoming leaders face worries they lack experience as presumptive PM finalizes Cabinet

TOKYO — Japan’s parliament was poised to name a former opposition leader prime minister Wednesday as worries mounted that his largely untested party wasn’t up to the task of reviving the struggling economy.

French legislators approve bill to cut off Internet for illegal downloaders

PARIS — France’s lower house of parliament approved a pioneering bill Tuesday allowing authorities to cut off Internet access to people who download illegally, a measure that entertainment companies hope will be a powerful weapon against piracy.

Recount order affects 10 pct of Afghan vote sites over suspect counts in presidential election

KABUL — Ballots from about 10 percent of Afghanistan’s polling stations must be recounted because of suspicions of fraud in last month’s presidential election, according to an order from a U.N.-backed body, an official said Tuesday.

Senior American UN official temporarily leaves Afghanistan in dispute with boss over election

KABUL — A top American official at the United Nations mission in Afghanistan has temporarily left the country following a disagreement with his boss over how to respond to widespread allegations of vote fraud in the Aug. 20 presidential election, officials said Tuesday.

German minister says EU pushing for election fraud investigation as it debates Afghanistan

BRUSSELS — German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says the EU is pushing for an investigation of “all fraud allegations” during Afghanistan’s elections.

Recount ordered at 10 pct of Afghan vote sites over suspect tallies in presidential election

KABUL — A U.N.-backed monitoring body ordered Afghanistan’s election commission to recount ballots from about 10 percent of the country’s polling stations because of suspicious totals in last month’s presidential vote, an official said Tuesday.