It's a wrap! Hospitals test new, more modest gown

The British government is getting behind a plan to replace drafty open-backed hospital gowns with versions that preserve patients' modesty.

Netanyahu's government tries to save settler house

The Israeli government has stepped in to save a house built illegally by Jewish settlers in a volatile Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem, complicating already troubled U.S. efforts to renew Mideast peacemaking.

Dubai tower shut after visitors stuck in elevator

Visitors on the observation deck of the world's tallest tower heard a loud boom, then saw dust that looked like smoke seeping through a crack in an elevator door 124 floors above the ground. The 15 people inside were trapped for 45 frightening minutes until rescuers managed to pry open the doors.

Over 60 feared dead, 400 hurt in Afghan avalanches

A series of avalanches engulfed a mountain pass in Afghanistan, trapping hundreds of people in their buried cars and killing as many as 64 people so far, authorities said Tuesday.

Gates wants Iran sanctions in 'weeks, not months'

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to see the United Nations slap sanctions on Iran in "weeks, not months."

Sri Lankan parliament dissolved ahead of new vote

Sri Lanka's president dissolved parliament Tuesday to make way for spring elections a day after authorities arrested a key opposition leader, crippling the only serious threat to the ruling party's stifling grip on power.

A meal fit for a King? No, but the plate is!

A British woman says she's shocked that a dusty dish on her shelf has been identified as a very valuable 260-year-old antique made for the King of Prussia.

UN slams Haitian hospitals for charging patients

The United Nations has warned that it will cut off shipments of free medicine beginning immediately to any Haitian hospitals that it finds are charging patients.

Ivory Coast opposition protests voter list probe

Protesters torched a police station in western Ivory Coast while claiming their names had been removed from voter rolls in advance of this year's presidential election.

2nd German traveler camps out in Brazil airport

A German man who went to Brazil for a woman he met on the Internet has been camping out in an airport for more than a month after thieves took all his money and possessions, authorities said Tuesday.

Nigeria: Vice president empowered by lawmakers

Nigeria's parliament empowered Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to run Africa's most populous nation Tuesday in place of an ill and absent president, striving for a political end to a crisis that ground the government to a virtual halt and triggered the resumption of an insurgency in the vital oil sector.

Vatican intrigue hits new level with leak denial

The Vatican denied Tuesday that it leaked documents that led to the resignation of a prominent Catholic editor, intervening in a tale of ecclesiastical intrigue that has dominated Italian headlines for weeks.

Nigeria footage: uniformed men shoot unarmed men

An international news channel is showing chilling footage of men in uniforms shooting unarmed men after they purportedly were arrested during clashes last year with Muslim militants in northern Nigeria.

China gives 5 years to activist who probed quake

A Chinese activist who investigated the deaths of thousands of children crushed in their schools during the Sichuan earthquake was sentenced Tuesday to five years, underscoring the government's determination to suppress questions about why the buildings fell.

Russian military calls US missile defense a threat

U.S. missile defense plans are a threat to Russian national security and have slowed down progress on a new arms control treaty with Washington, Russia's top military officer said Tuesday.

US Army closes in on targeted southern Afghan town

U.S. Army soldiers launched a preliminary operation Tuesday in support of a planned U.S.-Afghan attack on the largest Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan.

Protesters burn library in southeastern S.Africa

Protesters have torched a library in an impoverished area of South Africa in what began as a march to call for more jobs.

Witness: Demjanjuk's statements inconsistent

A top German investigator testified Tuesday that John Demjanjuk has given conflicting stories about where he spent the rest of World War II after being captured by the Germans in 1942.

Iranians protest at Rome's Tehran embassy

About 100 Iranians protested Tuesday in front of the Italian embassy in Tehran, shouting "Death to Italy, Death to Berlusconi, " Italy's foreign minister said. Protests were also held outside the French and Dutch embassies.

Palestinian force makes gains in West Bank

The security men brandished their weapons and ordered the suspicious car to halt, forcing the occupants to get out and put their hands in their air. The suspects were quickly handcuffed, frisked and made to kneel on the ground as the vehicle was swept for explosives.

Tymoshenko camp vows to challenge Ukraine vote

Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko plans to legally challenge the results of the presidential runoff that opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych appears to have won, her campaign said Tuesday.

Greece leads European stocks higher on rescue hope

Greek stocks led European and U.S. markets higher on Tuesday on hopes that EU officials will provide the region's most heavily indebted economies with some form of support to keep the market crisis at bay.

Life imitates art in Oscar-nominated Israeli film

There's a reason for the gritty feel of reality in "Ajami," an Oscar-nominated Israeli film about the lives of Arabs and Jews in the impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods of this Mediterranean city: Its amateur actors' lives eerily mirror their art.

Palestinian refugee agency warns of funding gap

The head of the U.N. agency aiding Palestinian refugees is warning of a looming funding shortfall and appealing for another $100 million.

Stranded panda lured to safety in China

It was like getting a cat out of a tree _ Sichuan style.