Pakistan official: Iran has partially closed a border crossing, possibly due to mosque bombing

QUETTA, Pakistan — Iran has partially closed a border crossing into Pakistan following a deadly mosque bombing in southeastern Iran, two Pakistani officials near the border said Monday. The foreign minister said the frontier was open.

General Motors says it will close 9 more plants, idle 3 others as part of reorganization

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. said Monday it will permanently close nine more plants and idle three others to trim production and labor costs under bankruptcy protection.

Vandals hurl paint-filled balloons at US-designed Ara Pacis museum in Rome

ROME — Vandals threw paint-filled balloons at a controversial museum designed by U.S. architect Richard Meier overnight, splashing the red and green colors of the Italian flag against the outside white wall, police said.

Air France jet missing with 228 people over Atlantic after running into thunderstorms

SAO PAULO — An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris ran into a towering wall of thunderstorms and disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean. French President Nicolas Sarkozy told families of those aboard Monday that “prospects of finding survivors are very small.”

General Motors workers ‘go with the flow,’ hope for change after historic bankruptcy filing

DETROIT — For General Motors Corp. workers and others across the nation, reaction to the automaker’s historic bankruptcy filing Monday and the effect on their plants and lives ranged from resignation to fear.

AP IMPACT: More foreclosures in hurricane-prone communities mean more danger if storm strikes

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Mike Manikchand points toward his neighbors — a half-dozen empty, foreclosed-upon homes, sitting on weed-strewn yards — and he wonders: What will happen if a hurricane slams into southwest Florida this year?

South Korea, Thailand criticize North Korea; say nuclear test threatens world peace, stability

SEOGWIPO, South Korea — South Korea and Thailand criticized North Korea on Sunday, saying the country’s nuclear test threatens world peace and stability and harms efforts to prevent atomic proliferation.

North Korea test-fires another missile, slams UN Security Council as hypocrites

YEONPYEONG, South Korea — North Korea warned Friday it would act in “self-defense” if provoked by the U.N. Security Council, which is considering tough sanctions over the communist country’s nuclear test, and followed the threat with the test launch of another short-range missile.

2 new homes for ‘Slumdog’ kids? Government, filmmakers both offer apartments after eviction

MUMBAI, India — The government will give the two impoverished child stars of the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire” new homes, the state’s top official said Friday, creating the possibility that the homeless children will soon own not one but two new apartments.

2,400 civilians flee Sri Lankan war zone; medical staff abandons hospital under shell attacks

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Thousands of civilians braved rebel fire Thursday to break out of Sri Lanka’s war zone, the military said, as health workers abandoned the only hospital in the area — leaving hundreds of wounded behind — because of unrelenting shelling.

Comcast ’say on pay’ proposal to let shareholders vote on executive compensation fails

PHILADELPHIA — A proposal to give shareholders an advisory vote on executives’ pay packages at Comcast Corp. failed to gain traction Wednesday, with the chief executive saying such a practice raises “troubling aspects” about the direction of American capitalism.

Correction: April 3 Aon executive compensation story

NEW YORK — In an April 3 story about compensation received by Aon Corp.’s president and chief executive, Gregory C. Case, The Associated Press reported erroneously the amount of his performance-based cash award and the value of his overall pay package for 2008.

Health care industry pledge to slow spending leaves questions, critics

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama praised the health care industry’s promise to cut $2 trillion in costs over 10 years Monday, taking a sharply different course than President Bill Clinton did 16 years ago in an opening bid to overhaul the U.S. health system.

Brazil boosts flood aid for nearly 308,000 left homeless

SAO LUIS, Brazil — Brazil intensified efforts to get food and other aid to people isolated by severe flooding as waters kept rising in some areas Monday, including a jungle river nearing its highest level in more than 50 years.

Pakistan claims 700 Taliban dead in offensive; camps swell with refugees

MARDAN, Pakistan — Pakistani warplanes bombed suspected militant positions in a stronghold close to the capital Monday, pressing ahead with a fierce offensive that has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, many into crowded refugee camps.

Islamist groups clash in Somalia, killing at least 20 in 2 days

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Pro-government Islamist fighters clashed in Somalia’s capital with gunmen who want to topple the Western-backed government and at least 20 people were killed, witnesses and hospital officials said Sunday.

Flooded Brazilians cast fishing nets and paddle boats to buy food, as aid slow to arrive

TRIZIDELA DO VALE, Brazil — Hungry and sick Brazilians in a region devastated by floods paddled canoes Saturday to buy food in neighboring towns and cast nets for river fish amid complaints that government aid was slow to arrive.

Damage assessment, cleanup begin after powerful Midwest storms splinter homes, kill 6

ST. LOUIS — Residents of the Midwest cleared away wreckage Saturday following a wave of powerful storms that splintered homes, knocked out power to thousands and killed six people.

Damage assessment, cleanup begin after powerful Midwest storms splinter homes, leave 4 dead

ST. LOUIS — Missouri’s governor planned to tour damaged areas Saturday as residents in parts of the Midwest clean up from powerful storms that splintered homes, knocked out power to thousands and left four people dead.

Thunderstorms packing winds up to 120 mph pounds Midwest, killing 4 and collapsing church

ST. LOUIS — Thunderstorms packing winds gusting to 120 mph pounded parts of the Midwest on Friday, leaving four people dead, collapsing a church and knocking out power to thousands, authorities said.

More than 30K ordered to flee Santa Barbara fire as ’sundowner’ winds fan the flames

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Turning the horizon a lurid orange and raining embers on roofs as it advanced, a raging wildfire that has destroyed scores of homes in the hills menaced this celebrity enclave and other coastal towns Friday, and the number of people ordered to flee climbed to 30,000. Authorities warned an additional 23,000 to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Afghans say airstrikes ordered by US forces kill dozens of civilians, many women, children

KABUL — Afghan officials said U.S.-ordered bombing runs killed dozens of civilians taking shelter Tuesday from a battle with Taliban militants, and villagers took several truckloads of bodies to show the provincial governor. The U.S. promised a joint investigation.

Mullen says he feels Pakistan nukes are secure but has grave worries about Taliban advances

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s top military officer said Monday that he is comfortable that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons remain secure, but is gravely concerned about Taliban advances there and in Afghanistan.

New swine flu cases reported around the world as Mexico says virus is ‘declining’ at epicenter

MEXICO CITY — The swine flu epidemic spread deeper into the United States, Europe and Latin America — and in Canada, back to pigs — even as Mexico’s government hinted Sunday it may soon be time to reopen businesses and schools in the nation where the outbreak likely began.

Mexico swine flu deaths ebb, but experts say virus can mutate, warn against complacency

MEXICO CITY — Mexico said a swine flu epidemic appears to be easing, but urged citizens Saturday not to let their guard down against a virus that has killed 17 people and is spreading across Asia and Europe. Experts warned the virus could mutate and come back with a vengeance.

NATO warship thwarts hijack, seizes explosives; Somali pirates get other ship

NAIROBI, Kenya — Special forces on a Portuguese warship seized explosives from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack on an oil tanker, but later freed the 19 men. Hours later and hundreds of miles away, another band of pirates hijacked a cargo ship, a NATO spokesman said Saturday.

Questions unanswered or unanswerable: 6 things we still don’t know about swine flu

Government officials, public health experts and business leaders have faced a lot of questions about swine flu this week, and three words keep popping up in their answers: “We don’t know.”

European workers rally on May Day amid worries over economic crisis

PARIS — Hundreds of thousands of European workers feeling the pinch of the economic crisis rallied at May Day protests Friday from Moscow to Berlin to Istanbul.

Business Highlights

New jobless claims rise; Americans’ spending jumps

Emirates to investigate member of ruling family over torture videotapes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Emirates will investigate a member of its ruling family over videotapes showing the sheik torturing another man, the country’s official news agency reported.