PARIS (AFP) - Violence between police and Gypsies prompted French President Nicolas Sarkozy to summon ministers for crisis talks on Wednesday, warning that the minority posed security "problems".
BARCELONA (AFP) - Catalonia's parliament on Wednesday voted to ban bullfighting from January 1, 2012, becoming the first region in mainland Spain to outlaw the centuries-old tradition.
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) - A roadside bomb ripped through a crowded Afghan bus Wednesday, killing up to 25 civilians in a southwestern province on the Iranian border in one of the deadliest such attacks in months.
BEIJING (AFP) - At least 12 people died and more than 300 were injured by a powerful explosion triggered when a chemical pipeline ignited in eastern China on Wednesday, state media said.
MOGADISHU (AFP) - Clashes in Mogadishu pitting Islamist insurgents against Somali government troops backed by African Union forces have killed at least 17 civilians, medics said Wednesday.
NANTERRE, France (AFP) - French police on Wednesday searched the home of the daughter of L'Oreal cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt amid probes into the billionaire's financial affairs, a judicial official said.
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - A Pakistani airliner carrying up to 152 people crashed in a ball of flames Wednesday into densely wooded hills outside Islamabad amid heavy rain and poor visibility, killing everyone on board.
BARCELONA (AFP) - Catalonia's parliament on Wednesday voted to ban bullfighting from January 1, 2012 becoming the first region in mainland Spain to act against the centuries-old tradition.
BARCELONA (AFP) - Catalonia's regional parliament met on Wednesday to vote on whether to become the first region on mainland Spain to ban bullfighting.
KARBALA, Iraq (AFP) - A series of attacks in Baghdad and a holy Iraqi city killed 12 people, while five others died in a helicopter crash, as major religious ceremonies came to a close, officials said on Wednesday.
