LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- In a historic ruling, an international court convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor on Thursday of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting notoriously brutal rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for "blood diamonds."

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) -- To the world's military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea lanes and a slew of potential conflicts.

LONDON (AP) -- London's theater industry is increasingly confident that culture won't suffer during a summer devoted to celebrating sports.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- Lawyers in South Africa's heartland quietly wrapped up arguments Thursday in the murder of a white supremacist, a case that has illustrated how far South Africa has moved from apartheid.

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Norwegian gunman Anders Behring Breivik insisted Tuesday he would massacre 77 people all over again, calling his July rampage the most "spectacular" attack by a nationalist militant since World War II.

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- With a defiant closed-fist salute, a right-wing fanatic admitted Monday to a bomb-and-shooting massacre that killed 77 people in Norway but pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, saying he was acting in self-defense.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- After Mr. Gay Ethiopia entered the Mr. Gay World contest, his father cut off all communications. Mr. Gay Zimbabwe withdrew, fearing the publicity was making life difficult for his mother.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- A satellite launch North Korea had hailed as a moment of national pride ended in failure Friday when the rocket disintegrated over the Yellow Sea, earning Pyongyang embarrassment as well as condemnation from a host of nations that deemed it a covert test of missile technology.

BEIRUT (AP) -- A U.N.-brokered peace deal for Syria appeared to collapse Sunday as the government made a new demand that its opponents provide "written guarantees" to lay down their weapons before regime forces withdraw from cities, a call swiftly rejected by the country's main rebel group.

LONDON (AP) -- Media executive James Murdoch, under pressure over his role in Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal, has stepped down as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting PLC, the company announced Tuesday.