Rights group says it has found 1,500 bodies in unmarked graves in Indian Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India — Rights workers have discovered several unmarked graves containing about 1,500 unidentified bodies in Indian Kashmir, a prominent rights group said Thursday, alleging that some of corpses were likely innocent people killed by government forces.

Defiant Afghan voters trickle to polling centers, express hope, fear and pride

KABUL — Some Afghans voted eagerly Thursday in the presidential election, even though threats of violence kept many from the polls.

Transcript: Controller was joking on phone about barbecuing a dead cat just before collision

WASHINGTON — An air traffic controller was joking on the phone about barbecuing a dead cat minutes before a small plane collided with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River, transcripts obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press show.

Some memorable quotes from former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung

Some memorable quotes from former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung:

Hurricane Bill strengthens in Atlantic on track to Bermuda; weakening Ana could drench Haiti

MIAMI — The first hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season was gaining strength far off in the ocean Monday, while the Florida Panhandle and Alabama were soaked by the remnants of a weakening tropical storm.

NJ man tells police Michael Jackson memorabilia stolen from North Las Vegas storage facility

LAS VEGAS — A New Jersey businessman alleges part of his collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia was stolen from a southern Nevada storage facility and auctioned without his knowledge.

Lotto fever burns in Italy for euro131.5 ($186 million) jackpot; Germans fly in to buy tickets

ROME — Germans, Austrians and other foreigners are heading into Italy to play the lottery ahead of a record €131.5 ($186 million) jackpot, including some who flew into Milan for a few hours just for a chance to win Thursday night.

Officials: Pakistani army attacks northwestern bases of key Taliban commander, killing 12

PARACHINAR, Pakistan — Helicopter gunships pummeled a key Taliban commander’s bases in Pakistan’s northwest, killing at least 12 insurgents Thursday as government forces ratcheted up pressure on the militants following their top leader’s reported death, officials said.

SC gov defends using state plane for personal trips, says flights similar to predecessors

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday justified his use of state planes for personal trips in which he often brought along his wife and four sons, saying his taxpayer-funded travel was no different than that of his predecessors.

Authorities say police questioned, searched health club gunman a week before shooting

PITTSBURGH —The man who carried out a massacre in a women’s aerobics class had been questioned a week earlier by police because he matched the description of a man seen pulling what appeared to be a grenade from a computer bag, authorities said Monday.

Relatives of Peru police killed in Amazon unrest seek charges for ex-interior minister, others

LIMA, Peru — Relatives of police officers killed during a government crackdown on Amazon Indian protesters are seeking criminal charges against Peru’s former interior minister and three police chiefs, a lawyer said Thursday.

Georgia, Russia push for public opinion victory on war’s anniversary

TBILISI, Georgia — A year after their war, Russia and Georgia are locked in a battle of words and images over how the world will remember the conflict. Each seeks to be exonerated, each wants its adversary condemned — and both say the other side is spoiling for a new fight.

Kraft Foods 2Q profit rise 11 percent, but sales fall on foreign currency translation

MILWAUKEE — Kraft Foods Inc. said Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose 11 percent even though its revenue slipped as the dollar’s strength weighed down international sales.

NY AG: Citigroup, which got $45 billion in govt. money, paid more than $5 billion in bonuses

NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc., one of the biggest recipients of government bailout money, gave employees $5.33 billion in bonuses for 2008, New York’s attorney general said Thursday in a report detailing the payouts by nine big banks.

Administration looking for Chinese help to narrow trade gap and boost US jobs

WASHINGTON — Two days of high-level talks between the United States and China are expected to expose sharp differences on trade and soaring U.S. budget deficits, but the discussion could be more amicable in the area of foreign policy.

Chechen government, separatist leaders hold talks in Oslo; first in 8 years

OSLO — A Chechen separatist leader and a senior representative of the regional government said Friday they have met for talks to bring stability to the war-scarred Russian region. It was the first such contacts between the two sides in eight years.

Government considers 7 states for mercury storage site, but most say they don’t want it

RICHLAND, Wash. — The federal government is trying to find a location to store the nation’s excess mercury deposits, with seven states being considered. But the government is quickly finding out that very few people want the stuff.

Israel rejects US call to halt housing project planned in disputed area of Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — Israel on Sunday rejected a U.S. demand to suspend a planned housing project in east Jerusalem, threatening to further complicate an unusually tense standoff with its strongest ally over settlement construction.

Witness says she needed no help in deciding that pastor who married 8-year-old was ‘a demon’

TEXARKANA, Ark. — A woman who says she was a child bride of evangelist Tony Alamo told jurors Wednesday that the minister had so many partners that he had to schedule when he would have sex with them.

Oil dips below $60, early stock market optimism levels off

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Oil prices dropped under $60 a barrel Tuesday, as the stock market pulled back from early enthusiasm about better-than-expected earnings for Goldman Sachs.

AP sources: Obama tells key lawmaker he wants Senate health committee bill by week’s end

WASHINGTON — House Democrats are moving ahead with sweeping health care legislation that would tax the wealthy and require Americans to buy affordable insurance as President Barack Obama prods a Senate committee chairman to act quickly on a companion bill.

More bones found at Ill. cemetery at center of gravedigging scheme, grounds closed to public

ALSIP, Ill. — Distraught families hoping to determine whether loved ones’ final resting places at a historic black cemetery near Chicago were desecrated in a gravedigging scandal were met with more gruesome discoveries: additional human bones strewn about the grounds.

Indonesian president sweeps election, under preliminary results; opponents refuse to concede

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s president swept elections to win a second term, preliminary results showed Thursday, but his opponents refused to concede defeat and called the vote undemocratic.

North Korea test-fires 2 short-range missiles amid heightened tensions over nuclear program

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles Thursday, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said, a move that aggravates already high tensions following Pyongyang’s recent nuclear test and U.N. sanctions imposed as punishment.

Train carrying gas derails and explodes in Tuscan town killing 6, injuring 30

ROME — Two cars filled with liquefied natural gas exploded when a freight train derailed in the middle of a small Italian town, setting off an inferno that killed at least six people and injured 50 others, officials said Tuesday.

Officials: UN envoy in Myanmar to pave way for sensitive visit by secretary-general

YANGON, Myanmar — A U.N. special envoy was in Myanmar on Friday to pave the way for a possible visit by the U.N. secretary-general that would be politically delicate because of the continuing trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

US, SKorea hold defense talks amid NKorea’s nuclear, missile threats

SEOUL, South Korea — Top U.S. and South Korean defense officials met Friday for talks expected to focus on heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the North a “stumbling block” to world peace and security.

Honduras lurches toward constitutional crisis pitting president against military, courts

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — With backing from Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, Honduras’ leftist president pushed ahead Friday with a referendum on revamping the constitution, risking his rule in a standoff against Congress, the Supreme Court and the military.

Michigan finally gets good news with GM deciding to build small car at Oakland County plant

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Michigan has snatched back a few of its fast-disappearing auto jobs, winning a high-stakes competition with two other states to build General Motors Corp.’s next-generation subcompact car.

Officials say UN envoy arrives in Myanmar to pave way for Ban while Suu Kyi trial continues

YANGON, Myanmar — A U.N. special envoy arrived Friday in Myanmar to pave the way for a possible visit by the U.N. secretary-general that would be politically delicate because of the continuing trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.