Libyans on Tuesday celebrated Col. Moammar Gadhafi's 40 years of rule with lavish pageantry -- complete with a lengthy parade, an elaborate stage production and spectacular fireworks. The massive celebration for 67-year-old Gadhafi came less than two weeks after Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, who was convicted of murdering 270 people by blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, was freed from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. The world watched as al Megrahi, who has ...

Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino was remembered as an icon of democracy at a solemn funeral mass on Wednesday, the country's official news agency reported. Aquino, the former housewife propelled to the head of a "People Power" movement that pushed out longtime strongman Ferdinand Marcos after her husband's assassination, died on August 1 at the age of 76. Current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the mass after returning from a trip to the United States, the Philippines News Agency reported. Other ...

Hurricane season is two months old and not a single named storm has popped onto the radar. If that makes people complacent, it only makes weather watchers worry even more about what is to come. Officials and insurers are concerned about the ramifications of a "Big One," and Florida, the most ravaged of states, is looking at several novel approaches to riding out the storms — or even preventing them altogether. The most innovative is a proposal from ...

Usain Bolt gave further evidence if any was needed of his superlative form ahead of the world championships with an outstanding victory over 100 meters in the London Grand Prix on Friday night. The Jamaican superstar ran a blistering 9.91 seconds into a strong 1.7 meter headwind to leave a world class field, including arch-Jamaica rival Asafa Powell trailing. Compatriot Yohan Blake finished second in 10.11 seconds with Antigua's Daniel Bailey third. Powell faded to sixth in 10.26 seconds. But ...

Ousted Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya stood a mere feet from his country's border Friday afternoon, surrounded by supporters as he attempted to fulfill a vow to return nearly a month after being removed by a military-led coup. Zelaya stopped about 100 yards short of the border and sat in his vehicle for several minutes under a strong rainstorm. It was not immediately known whether he would try to cross into Honduras any time soon. His arrival came minutes after ...

At least 20 people were killed and 40 injured Friday as a result of a major road accident in southern Russia, officials said. Winehouse was accused of assaulting a woman at a London charity ball last year. She had pleaded not guilty to the charge of common assault. "Amy would like to thank her family, friends, and her legal team for their support during this difficult time," said a statement issued by her spokesman. "She has always maintained her innocence ...

Michael Jackson's single white glove was his trademark -- an iconic image for a performer whose career constantly set, then redefined, pop culture trends. But it also was an early effort to mask a skin condition that he would struggle with for the rest of his life, say some who were close to him. Actress Cicely Tyson, a friend of Jackson's, said the two shared a fashion designer in the 1980s. "All of a sudden, he said, 'I'm doing this ...

Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Michael Jackson on Thursday, showing the late entertainer in a pose from the concerts he had planned to hold this month. Sculptors at the wax museum started working on the figure four months ago. They had intended to display it this month, to coincide with the start of Jackson's "This is It" comeback tour in London. The new figure is modeled on a Jackson pose from the concert poster, the museum said. It ...

On Father's Day weekend, while dads were playing catch with their sons and preparing the backyard barbecue, women rushed to theaters to see a romantic comedy with a female star. The Proposal, with Sandra Bullock as a Canadian publishing exec who must marry her harried male assistant in order to stay in the U.S, whacked the opposition and topped the North American box office. In doing so, it outran the industry swamis' predictions, confounded the movie critics who ...

An airborne camera slowly pans over a range of thickly forested and jagged mountains. "This is the area of Piochar," says Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, citing the suspected hideout of the Swat Valley's Taliban leadership. The camera stops, and zooms in as crosshairs appear on the screen. "This is a training camp," adds the military's chief spokesman. "If you look, you can see where [the Taliban fighters] practice firing, where they live." Small, blurred makeshift battlements are faintly visible. ...