U.S. forces in Afghanistan have opened a fact-finding investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier in the hands of the Taliban, CNN has learned. The investigation, informally called an AR 15-6 after the Army regulation that governs such matters, was confirmed by three military officials. The Defense Department announced Bergdahl disappeared from his combat outpost sometime after he finished his guard duty shift on the night of June 29. Military officials have said he ...

A lumbering grey shadow can often catch your eye as you drive along one of Bangkok's most polluted and congested streets, Sukhumvit. If this were not Bangkok, you would think you'd had one too many beer Singhas, but in this city of contradictions, anything seems, and often is, possible. And so it is that spotting a huge elephant, dodging the tuk-tuk motorcycle rickshaws, the ubiquitous taxis and blizzard of traffic is nothing out of the ordinary. I remember seeing my ...

Seconds after the news first hit the airwaves, your own shock merged with everyone else's in the immediate vicinity. And you could feel it rolling through the rest of the planet like a runaway diesel. (CNN) -- Seconds after the news first hit the airwaves, your own shock merged with everyone else's in the immediate vicinity. And you could feel it rolling through the rest of the planet like a runaway diesel. As with most things you neither ...

When the sun went down, their voices did not. "Allah O Akbar!" the crowds on the tops of building chanted over and over. Cell phone footage shows the nighttime scene in Tehran, Iran, which was sent to CNN's iReport. As the camera pans with a jerk from building to building, protesters whistle and shout loudly while cars are heard honking in support. The phrase, which means, "God is great" has become a rallying cry for protesting Iranians ...

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, flashing a broad smile, declared victory Tuesday in the country's 25-year civil war against the Tamil Tiger rebels. "We are celebrating the defeat of terrorism," he said in a nationally televised speech before parliament. "We have won and restored democracy in the country." Rajapaksa announced that Wednesday would be a national holiday, to celebrate the end of a war that has led to an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 deaths. Meanwhile, a rebel Web site said ...

The Sri Lankan military said Monday that they killed three top leaders of the Tamil Tigers and the son of the rebel group's founder. CNN was unable to confirm the account because of safety and access reasons. The deaths were the result of continuing armed encounters with the last remnants of the rebel group, who are now cornered in a small stretch of land in the country's north, according to the military. The offensive against the rebel group is in ...

The latest video from Somalia's al Qaeda-backed Al-Shabaab wing is as slickly produced as a reality TV show but with a startling message -- complete with a hip-hop jihad vibe. "Mortar by mortar, shell by shell, only going to stop when I send them to hell," the unidentified voice raps on the video, which runs at least 18 minutes. The video also shows a man reported to be Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, dubbed "The American" by al Qaeda. He apparently is ...

The most amazing part of the exchange to me is that I didn't go into the East Room intending to ask President Obama about AIG. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The most amazing part of the exchange to me is that I didn't go into the East Room intending to ask President Obama about AIG. After frantic preparation for the prime-time newser with several colleagues, especially lead CNN White House producer Tim McCaughan, I had several provocative questions in my ...

Pakistani police made several arrests Wednesday as they continued to hunt for the gunmen responsible for an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team which left seven people dead. Authorities released photos of two suspects involved in the ambush on the visiting team's convoy Tuesday as players and match officials made their way to Lahore's cricket stadium, killing six police officers and a driver. They also offered a 10 million rupee ($125,000) reward for information leading to arrests. Investigators cannot ...

Rescuers in Germany reduced the number of people they were searching for in a building collapse from nine to two, a fire department spokesman said late Tuesday. Seven people who earlier had been reported missing contacted authorities to say they were safe, the spokesman explained. The two remaining victims are men missing from a residential building heavily damaged when another building collapsed, said the spokesman. The spokesman said it was too dangerous to enter the residential building and that the ...