MONACO (AFP) – A scheme floated here at an annual meeting of giants in the insurance industry could come up with a 20-billion-dollar insurance payout if an oil rig blows up, kills people and spreads pollution.

BANGKOK (Reuters) – The Thai government apologized Tuesday to a region where thousands died in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami after a botched warning drill this week caused hundreds to flee their homes, convinced another wave was coming.

BEIJING — Authorities killed rats and fleas on Tuesday as they disinfected a town sealed off after three people died of pneumonic plague in a remote farming town in northwestern China, according to the provincial health department. Police set up checkpoints around Ziketan in Qinghai province after the outbreak was first detected last Thursday. The lung infection is highly contagious can ...

SARGODHA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani police submitted on Tuesday charges of plotting terrorism against five young Americans detained last year, a lawyer said. The students, in their 20s and from the U.S. state of Virginia, were detained in December in the town of Sargodha, 190 km (120 miles) southeast of Islamabad, and accused of contacting militants over the Internet and plotting ...

SYDNEY – A clash Wednesday off Antarctica between a Japanese whaler and a boat from a protest group partly bankrolled by former game show host Bob Barker left the anti-whaling vessel badly damaged and each side accusing the other of life-threatening behavior. The bow of the Ady Gil — a sleek, wave-piercing power boat that resembles a stealth bomber — was ...

JERUSALEM – Israeli settlers have hauled bulldozers, cement mixers and other construction equipment into a Jewish settlement deep inside the West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian officials said Saturday, a day before the end of a government-mandated halt to settlement building.

WASHINGTON — Two new surveillance systems set up in Haiti after January's monster earthquake showed no major outbreaks of disease, and might form the basis of one long-term improvement for the Caribbean nation's health, researchers reported Thursday.

NEW DELHI – With athletes trickling into New Delhi on Saturday and cleaning crews rushing to scour their rooms, the Commonwealth Games chief said India was working hard to ensure it is prepared to host the beleaguered sporting event — though much remains to be done.

OKCULAR, Turkey – Hundreds of earthquake survivors huddled in aid tents and around bonfires Monday in eastern Turkey, seeking relief from the winter cold after a strong temblor knocked down stone and mud-brick houses in five villages, killing 51 people. The damage appeared worst in the Kurdish village of Okcular, which was almost razed. At least 15 of the village's 900 ...

BEIJING - The global spread of swine flu will endanger more lives as it speeds up in coming months and governments must boost preparations for a swift response, the World Health Organization said Friday. There will soon be a period of further global spread of the virus, and most countries may see swine flu cases double every three to four days ...

Much has been written about their lives, their predicament and their health. One by one, the 33 Chilean miners trapped in a gold and copper mine since the start of August are expected to be lifted out of the earth starting Tuesday night.

Reuters - Brazenly provocative, the bare-breasted young women of Femen are becoming an eye-catching -- if unsolicited -- fixture on Ukraine's political scene

(CNN) -- The challenges faced by the 33 Chilean miners entombed for the past two months are not likely to end with their rescue. Quite correctly, the initial emphasis is on physical safety, ensuring an error-free evacuation and looking to the men's nutrition, hydration and overall general physical well-being. But just as important, their psychological well-being will need close monitoring since ...

BEIJING – China's Red Cross asked citizens around the country Friday to urgently donate blood because of an acute shortage that has prompted delays in some surgeries.

JERUSALEM – A U.S. envoy was shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah on Friday as part of an emergency mission to rescue Mideast peace talks facing collapse because of a spat over Israeli settlements.

CAIRO – Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden called for the creation of a new relief body to help Muslims in an audiotape released Friday, seeking to exploit discontent following this summer's devastating floods in Pakistan by depicting the region's governments as uncaring.

BAGHDAD – Iraq's dwindling Christian community was grieving and afraid on Monday after militants seized a Baghdad church during evening Mass, held the congregation hostage and triggered a raid by Iraqi security forces. The bloodbath left at least 58 people killed and 78 wounded — nearly everyone inside.