CARACAS, Venezuela, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his science and technology minister will resign in the wake of a banking scandal involving his brother.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid upped the rhetorical tension Monday during debate on healthcare, invoking times of slavery and women's suffrage fight.

BENTON, Mo., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Rod Jetton, a recent speaker of the Missouri House, is facing a felony charge for allegedly assaulting a woman, a court official said Monday.

CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Friends of a Somali instrumental in the release of a kidnapped Canadian freelance journalist and her Australian companion say he deserves recognition.

JERUSALEM, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A gag order was removed Monday from the indictment of three Israeli Arabs on terror-related charges involving the Muslim Brotherhood, documents show.

BELGRADE, Serbia, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The European Union says it will unfreeze its Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia, citing the country's cooperation with the United Nations' war crimes tribunal.

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Gunmen opened fire on a military unit in northern Turkey Monday, killing seven soldiers and wounding four more in what authorities described as an ambush.

VATICAN CITY, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI will meet with Irish bishops to discuss a report that the Catholic Church in Dublin covered up years of sexual child abuse, the Vatican says.

DETROIT, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A proposed Michigan smoking ban is getting opposition from those who want an exemption for Detroit's non-tribal gambling casinos, politicians say.

KAMPALA, Uganda, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Uganda is considering legislation that would impose a death sentence for intentional or willful transmission of the virus that causes AIDS, authorities say.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Sarah Palin's favorable ratings have risen 5 percentage points to 46 percent since resigning as Alaska's governor this summer, poll results indicated Monday.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Talks between U.S. President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ranged from peace to Turkish-Armenian relations, the leaders said.

BERLIN, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Should Germans laugh about Adolf Hitler?

HARTFORD, Conn., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The former head of World Wrestling Entertainment, and a front-runner in Connecticut's Republican Senate primary, says WWE steroid testing was warranted.

TEHRAN, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Amnesty International Monday condemned excessive force by Iranian security forces during rallies in which protesters reportedly were beaten and detained.