TOKYO, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Japanese Emperor Akihito was asked about the touching subject of honoring the dead of World War II at a 73rd birthday news conference in Tokyo.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. immigration officials removed more than 4,500 illegal immigrants from the country in the past two weeks in one of the largest deportations of the year. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Julie Myers said 1,414 of those deported had c
SHIJIAZHUANG, China, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- At least 30 people involved in a deadly gypsum mine collapse in China face prosecution or administrative sanctions, a report said. Authorities say that the Kangli mine in Hebei Province in Northern China, and two neighboring gypsum mines, continued to ope
MOGADISHU, Somalia, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Ethiopia began moving attack helicopters and tanks into an area where Somali Islamists have battled pro-government troops, witnesses said late Saturday. Four helicopters and about 20 tanks were seen headed for the battle zone, the Voice of America reporte
WEST LAKE WORTH, Fla., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A Florida man found dead with his children in a fire is believed to have started the blaze to keep the house and his son and daughter from his ex-wife. Firefighters in West Lake Worth found the body of Tony Camacho in the master bedroom Thursday night. Cr
DETROIT, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A 3-year-old Detroit girl was killed when she was trapped by a power window in the back seat of her grandmother's car. Deputy Police Chief James Tate said that Autumn Stanford was apparently standing up on the back seat instead of being strapped in a chil
AURORA, Colo., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Authorities are blaming the more than two feet of snow that fell in the Denver for the collapse Friday of a supermarket roof in Aurora, Colo.
KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Sudan has agreed in principle to having U.N. troops as part of an expanded peacekeeping force in Darfur, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Saturday. Sadig al-Magli told the BBC the agreement showed Sudan's commitment to peace. The size of the force was no
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Unusually cold weather in southern California has filled Los Angeles homeless shelters to capacity. Rayshawn Evans Walker, a former New Orleans resident, told the Los Angeles Times that in past seven days he was only able to spend two nights under a roof
TEHRAN, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Iran Saturday condemned the U.N. Security Council for imposing sanctions on its nuclear program, calling them illegal and beyond the council's jurisdiction. The unanimous 15-0 vote "will discredit the decisions of the Security Council, whose power is dete
DALLAS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A final decision has yet to be made on where the George W. Bush presidential library will be located, but officials are reportedly leaning toward Dallas. The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that Laura Bush's alma mater, Southern Methodist University,
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council Saturday unanimously voted to impose sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. The 15-0 vote prohibits Iran from importing materials and technology used in uranium enrichment, which might then be used to build an atomic bomb.
LONDON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Islamic terrorists pose the greatest threat to British security since World War II, London's police commissioner said. "The threat of another terrorist attempt is ever-present," said Commissioner Ian Blair. "Christmas is a period when that might happen."
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The Minneapolis fire chief was demoted to a desk job after an internal report concluded she had intimate relationships with three firefighters. Bonnie Bleskachek, one of the nation's first openly gay big city fire chiefs, had engaged in inappropriate cond
NORTHFIELD, Minn., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- About 3,000 piglets and nearly 400 sows were killed in a barn fire at one of the largest hog operations in Minnesota.
MANCHESTER, England, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A majority of respondents in Britain said they believe religion causes more harm than good, results from a recent poll said. The Guardian/ICM poll also found the majority of its respondents do not describe themselves as religious.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A 350-pound Siberian tiger that mauled a keeper at the San Francisco Zoo remained on view Saturday, as zoo officials investigated what led to the attack. The experienced zookeeper, whose name has not been released, underwent emergency surgery and may lose
SACRAMENTO, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says his fellow Republicans should be staking a claim to environmental protection as an election issue. The newly re-elected governor, who owns four Hummers, told the Washington Post Saturday that global warming and t
WICHITA, Kan., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A Kansas judge has dismissed charges against a late-term-abortion provider, ruling the outgoing attorney general had overstepped his authority.
TUPELO, Miss., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The "war" to encourage a "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" has put nearly $1 million into two U.S. groups' coffers, it was reported Saturday.
LONDON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The collective spirit of air travelers lifted along with the freezing fog Saturday that stranded them in British airports over the past few days.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., sent holiday wishes and a plug for his party's agenda in the upcoming legislative year in the Democrats' Saturday radio address.
