Posted: 8:11 AM Economic growth was the mantra Thursday as European leaders gathered to sign off on measures to boost it around the continent.

Updated: 8:25 AM It's the first time in its 500-plus year history that the pope's personal choir will sing as a single chorus with another choir, let alone one from the breakaway Anglican church.

Posted: 8:06 AM A strong explosion rocked the Syrian capital Thursday near a busy market and the Palace of Justice, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.

Posted: 8:02 AM A court has sentenced Egypt's former oil minister and a fugitive businessman who was close to ousted leader Hosni Mubarak for 15 years after convicting them of corruption in a case involving natural gas exports to Israel.

Posted: 7:54 AM Bombings in and around Baghdad killed 14 people and wounded more than 45 on Thursday, authorities said, as a spike of violence made June Iraq's bloodiest month in almost a half a year.

Posted: 7:53 AM An official in the Palestinian militant movement said Kamal Ghanaja was a former aide to Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior commander who was himself assassinated in Dubai in 2010.

Posted: 6:25 AM Concerns raised over "baby boxes" by a U.N. committee dedicated to protecting the rights of children have sparked a debate over whether or not abandoning children in a safe environment should still be tolerated.

Posted: 5:33 AM Turkey deployed anti-aircraft guns and other weapons alongside its border with Syria, state television reported on Thursday.

Posted: 5:12 AM European leaders gathering Thursday in Brussels are set to sign off on a series of measures to boost economic growth but expectations of a breakthrough on the pooling of debt have fallen by the wayside.

Updated: 7:39 AM Queen Elizabeth II and a former Irish Republican Army commander offered each other the hand of peace Wednesday in a long-awaited encounter symbolizing Northern Ireland's progress.

Posted: 5:54 AM A toddler recovers from surgery that transplanted cloned skin onto her body after 80 percent of it suffered burns in a backyard accident.

Posted: 5:45 AM ple cofounder Steve Wozniak says the U.S. piracy case against Kim Dotcom is "hokey" and a threat to Internet innovation.

Posted: 5:41 AM Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, killing seven employees, kidnapping others and demolishing buildings, officials said.

Posted: 5:30 PM Turkey warned Tuesday that any Syrian military unit approaching its border will be treated as a direct threat, a serious escalation in tensions days after Syria shot a Turkish military plane out of the sky.

Posted: 5:41 AM Archaeologists in Greece's second-largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was the city's main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago.

Posted: 5:35 AM The election of an Islamist president in Egypt is turning longstanding U.S. policy in the Mideast inside out.

Posted: 10:06 AM Elliott Lake Mayor Rick Hamilton said workers still removing the debris. Officials were using two cranes in the stabilization efforts, more than 40 hours after the collapse occurred.

Posted: 10:01 AM Egypt's new president-elect, Islamist Mohammed Morsi, moved into the office once occupied by ousted leader Hosni Mubarak and started consultations Monday on forming his team and a new government, an aide said.

Posted: 9:47 AM Greece's new prime minister was released from hospital Monday, two days after undergoing eye surgery that will prevent him from traveling to a European Union summit in Brussels this week.

Posted: 9:45 AM Dozens of Syrian soldiers defected overnight to Turkey, crossing the border with their families as tensions between the two countries soared three days after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish military plane.

Posted: 9:42 AM A fire destroyed a revered Muslim shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday, prompting anti-government protests by residents angered over what they said was a slow response by firefighters.

Posted: 9:40 AM The West's standoff with Iran over its nuclear program was expected to top the agenda on Monday as Russian President Vladimir Putin began a 24-hour visit to Israel.

Posted: 9:38 AM The Spanish economy, the fourth-largest among the 17 countries that use the euro, is suffering from the aftershocks of a real estate bust that has devastated banks and families.

Posted: 9:34 AM The first seafood caught off Japan's Fukushima coastline since last year's nuclear disaster went on sale Monday, but the offerings were limited to octopus and marine snails because of persisting fears about radiation.

Posted: 9:30 AM Netcare Limited spokesman Jeffrey Wicks says the death toll likely will rise. He says 21 people have been hospitalized with three in critical condition.