A U.N. special representative wants an "independent investigation into the authenticity of a video" purportedly showing Sri Lankan troops killing two "naked and helpless men," as other corpses lay nearby. "These images are horrendous and, if authentic, would indicate a serious violation of international law," Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, said. Alston's comments were made in a United Nations press release on Friday, and Alston has ...

World number one Dinara Safina and most of the top women's seeds at the U.S. Open coasted through to the second round, but Ana Ivanovic was knocked out by Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko in a playoff thriller that was decided by the last point. Safina, who crashed out of the second round of the Rogers Cup in Canada in late August, survived a scare from Australian teen Olivia Rogowska, winning 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4. In other women's first round play, number ...

On a sand swept stretch of Afghanistan, a high-ranking Polish general put his country's mission there into perspective. He explained to a NATO delegation that Polish troops remind Afghan locals of two things about the mission: They are not Soviets and they know how difficult it is to live under foreign occupation. It is hard to ignore the incomparable price Poland paid during World War II. It was attacked by Germany, invaded by the Soviets, and became home to the ...

Defending champions Manchester United handed title rivals Arsenal their first defeat this season on Saturday night, while Chelsea and Tottenham continued their perfect start to the English Premier League campaign. United came from behind to clinch a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford against the London club, who saw their city rivals make it four wins from four earlier in the day as Chelsea crushed Burnley 3-0 and Spurs snatched a 2-1 victory against Birmingham. Alex Ferguson's United moved into third ...

With the new General Motors Corp. expressing second thoughts about selling Opel to Canadian partsmaker Magna International Inc. — or anyone else, for that matter — a flip side to GM's indecision has emerged. Why would Magna want Opel when acquisition of the bankrupt European carmaker could jeopardize billions of dollars in business with existing customers — and possibly lead to its ruin? Negotiations between GM and Magna — based in Aurora, Ont., it's one of the world's ...

German federal prosecutors said Friday they have arrested a man suspected of helping a terrorist cell that allegedly plotted attacks against U.S. troops in Germany. The prosecutor's office identified the man only as "Kadir T.," and said he is a German of Turkish origin. He is suspected of acquiring a video camera and night-vision equipment for the Islamic Jihad Union group, prosecutors said. The items were allegedly shipped to Waziristan in Pakistan, prosecutors added. Four men trained by ...

European diplomats visited the family of a jailed Cuban dissident Thursday over concern the government has arrested him on criminal charges in a bid to block his political activities. Representatives from Sweden, the current president of the European Union, as well as diplomats from the United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, and Poland, drove to the Havana home of Darsi Ferrer and talked to his wife. Ferrer has been an outspoken critic of the Cuban government and has even organized ...

Worldwide tributes for U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, who has died after a long battle with brain cancer, poured in Wednesday, led by politicians hailing his role in securing a lasting peace in Northern Ireland. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose administration presided over the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which led to an end to decades of sectarian violence in the province and established a united ruling Assembly, praised Kennedy's commitment to the process. "I saw his focus and determination ...

German prosecutors are investigating Porsche's former chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking and other people close to the sports carmaker, alleging market manipulation and passing on inside information in their failed takeover attempt of Volkswagen. Prosecutors in Stuttgart on Thursday raided the headquarters of Porsche, which recently agreed to merge with VW after an attempt to acquire the much bigger rival had pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. A Porsche spokesman rebuffed the prosecutor's allegations. He confirmed that Mr Wiedeking and ...

Brad Pitt gets top billing in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," but Austrian actor Christoph Waltz may have turned in the most memorable performance as a Nazi "Jew Hunter." Waltz, a 52-year-old veteran of German television, was hardly known outside of Europe, until now. Tarantino, insisting on actors with geographic origins similar to their characters, chose Waltz to play a complex and unforgettable villain: Nazi Col. Hans Landa. Landa mixes charm, humor and intelligence with great cruelty and opportunism ...