Associated Press

State environmental officials found up to 2,000 dead catfish near the mouth of the Neuse River today. And officials believe that drought conditions may have forced the fish to go belly up.

More than one million pilgrims were ordered to leave the Shiite holy city of Karbala on Tuesday as the police imposed a curfew after two days of violence that included raging gun battles between what appeared to be rival Shiite militias.

A man convicted in the shooting death of a convenience store clerk became the 400th person on Wednesday to be executed in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982. By Michael Graczyk

Despite a persistent gray haze, officials said Tuesday an exercise that removed more than 1 million private vehicles a day from Beijing's gridlocked streets was a success that could mean a clearer sky during next summer's Olympics. By Christopher Bodeen

Eight Indian men were injured in a possible racist attack by about 50 Germans at a fair in eastern Germany over the weekend, police said Monday.

One reactor at a north Alabama nuclear plant was idle Friday and two others operated at reduced power because of the record-breaking heat wave, an outage that an industry watchdog said could be a sign of trouble for nuclear energy in a warming climate. By Jay Reeves

Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report. By Pauline Jelinek

A Danish minister on Tuesday dismissed moves by Russia and Canada to assert sovereignty over the Arctic, saying territorial claims in the potentially resource-rich region could not be settled by flag-planting and political visits.

Canada's prime minister announced plans Friday for an army training center and a deepwater port on the third day of an Arctic trip meant to assert sovereignty over a region with potentially vast energy resources. But Denmark was staking its own claim with a scientific expedition.

Conditions are so bad in Macedonia that ordnance buried since World War I is exploding

China's intelligence services are gearing up for next year's Beijing Olympics, gathering information on foreigners who might mount protests and spoil the nation's moment in the spotlight.

Rolf Disch has harnessed the sun in his city of Freiburg, starting with his own house. It looks like an upside-down Apollo spacecraft and serves as a testing ground for ideas dreamed up by the 63-year-old solar architect. By Paul Burkhardt

If American motorists would use rechargeable "plug-in" hybrid-electric vehicles in large numbers, the United States could see a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century, says a study released Thursday.

Muddy slopes, slushy peaks, unused lifts – this town in the French Alps is living out the nightmare of many a ski resort in a century scientists say is doomed to keep getting warmer. By Thierry Boinet

'Reaper' packs bombs, missiles. By Charles J. Hanley

The City of Light wants to be the city that bikes.

Dozens of families fled their homes as a wildfire raced out of a canyon in the Black Hills, destroying 27 houses and killing one homeowner who tried to go back to save some belongings, authorities said. By Joe Kafka

President Bush this month is giving an obscure White House office new powers over regulations affecting health, worker safety and the environment. Calling it a power grab, Democrats running Congress are intent on stopping him.

President Bush commuted the sentence of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Monday, sparing him from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case.

The flood is bad enough, engulfing homes to the rooftops and turning neighborhoods into floating junkyards of children's toys and family heirlooms.

International experts will meet next month to discuss the threat to health posed by global warming, which directly or indirectly contributes to about 77,000 deaths annually in Asia-Pacific, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

Asian business and government leaders have accused rich countries of hypocrisy, saying they run polluting industries with cheap labour in China and then blame the country for worsening climate change.

Southeastern Europe continued to sizzle under an intense heat wave Monday, with temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius leading to the deaths of four people in Greece and Cyprus and sparking two dozen forest fires in Italy.

Southeastern Europe baked in searing temperatures yesterday, with nearly 30 deaths blamed on the heat in recent days across the region.

The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detainee facility and move its terror suspects to military prisons elsewhere, The Associated Press has learned. By Matthew Lee

Severe flooding in China has left at least 128 people dead and 24 missing, with direct economic losses passing the $US1 billion ($A1.2 billion) mark.

A proposal to hit oil companies with $29 billion in new taxes advanced in the Senate on Tuesday, targeting the money to energy conservation, wind turbines, electric hybrid cars and clean coal technology. By H. Josef Hebert

Violence in Iraq, as measured by casualties among troops and civilians, has edged higher despite the U.S.-led security push in Baghdad, the Pentagon told Congress on Wednesday. By Robert Burns

Less rainfall cited as one factor, so is overfishing of predators