PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A funeral was scheduled Friday for 17-year-old Norman Smith, a Pembroke Pines, Fla., youth who died after saving a young drowning woman.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Unrealistically short life expectancy projections for U.S. residents are about to make Social Security's financial problems even worse.
MADRID, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The Spanish government plans an all-out celebration of the 400th anniversary of Don Quixote, one of literature's most famous characters.
JERUSALEM, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A talkative Egyptian art forger led Israeli police to the gang indicted earlier this week for flooding the world art market with skillful forgeries.
OTTAWA, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Canada has taken another step away from Britain's monarchy, telling diplomats presenting credentials to no longer address their letters to the queen.
NEWARK, N.J., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The FBI is investigating laser beams shined into the cockpits of seven aircraft as they were about to land, the New York Times said Friday.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The American Bar Association is criticizing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for accepting expensive gifts, even though he disclosed all of them.
KAMPALA, Uganda, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Negotiators in East Africa appeared close Friday to settling two of the continent's bloodiest and longest wars, the Telegraph reported.
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Hospital ships and aircraft carriers steamed to South Asia Friday in a global response to the catastrophic tsunamis that have claimed at least 124,000 lives.
KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A bus slammed into an oil tanker in Pakistan Friday, killing at least 31 people and seriously injuring 11, the PakTribune reported.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Doing its part to help survivors of the deadly tsunami, a Sri Lankan brewery has switched from making beer to bottling water.
JAKARTA, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Indonesia will host an international summit next week to solicit emergency assistance for those countries hit by the tsunami and discuss reconstruction.
Heads of state or special representatives from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabian authorities Friday beheaded and crucified a Saudi national convicted of killing and robbing his mother.
NEW DELHI, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Three earthquakes of moderate strength occurred early Friday in the same area as Sunday's 9.0-strength quake, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
TEHRAN, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Iran's national security chief Hassan Rohani has blamed U.S. practices and policies in Iraq and elsewhere for the expansion of global terrorism.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- While the tsunami death toll in Sri Lanka continued to soar, officials said wild animals seemed to have escaped the disaster, with no dead animals found.
Tsunami waves reached two miles inland to the island's biggest wildlife reserve, home to elephants,
BANGKOK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Across Asia, candlelight vigils and prayer services were replacing traditional New Year's celebrations as people mourned the region's 125,000 tsunami victims.
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Iran and Syria are planning to downgrade their representation at the upcoming meeting of Iraq's neighboring countries in Amman in January, reports said Friday.
Beirut's daily As-Safir said the two countries' foreign ministers -- Iran's Kamal Kharazi an
GAZA, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops Friday in an air attack on the Gaza city of Khan Yunis, Palestinian reports said.
JAKARTA, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The Indonesian army Friday continued attacks on separatist rebels in devastated Aceh province, despite earlier calling a ceasefire to focus on aid efforts. "Our security operations continue," Lt. Col. Nachrowi of the military headquarters general informat
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Taiwan Friday celebrated the opening of the world's tallest building, Taipei 101; it is 1,676 feet high, with 101 stories.
A one-of-a-kind 8 x 4 foot portrait of Marilyn Monroe made from 2,100 bite sized stuffed cupcakes stands in the lobby next to her wax figure on the eve of Marilyn Monroe's 86th birthday at Madame Tussauds in New York City on May 31, 2012. UPI/John Angelillo
