International Headlines

Israel said Wednesday it may expel Venezuela's top diplomat from the country in a tit-for-tat gesture after the South American nation ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave over the increasingly bloody ground war in Gaza.

Two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship were patrolling the waters in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on Wednesday, according to news reports, and at least 15 vessels have requested their protection.

A member of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan has been killed in the country's volatile south, the International Security Assistance Force said.

A 19-year-old woman who handled ducks in northern China has died in Beijing from bird flu, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

An audio message reportedly from al Qaeda's deputy chief vows revenge for Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza and calls the Jewish state's actions against Hamas militants "a gift" from U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.

German billionaire Adolf Merckle, one of the richest men in the world, committed suicide Monday after his business empire got into trouble in the wake of the international financial crisis, Merckle's family said Tuesday in a statement.

A leading Zimbabwean human rights activist must remain in custody until the Supreme Court decides whether the charges against her are valid, a judge ruled Tuesday.

As the Israeli military surrounded densely populated Gaza City on Tuesday, it says it has killed 130 Hamas fighters since beginning a ground offensive over the weekend.

Any cease-fire in the Gaza conflict will require "clear and definitive action" to halt the smuggling of weapons and money into the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday.

Mohammed Abu Hassanin may be a young boy, but he's old enough to know he's scared of the attacks being launched by Israel in Gaza.

Several European countries said Tuesday their supply of natural gas from Russia had been cut or reduced amid a dispute over payments between Russia and Ukraine.

China has released a blacklist of 19 major online portals and Web sites, including Google and Baidu, that it claims provide and spread pornographic or obscene content, state media reported.