They say the best defense is a great offense and boy, doesn’tSaddam Hussein (search)know it! Did you see the video of him at this court appearance Thursday? He was feisty. He was angry. He was shocked and, apparently, he was still convinced he was leading Iraq. The delusional grandeur not …

WASHINGTON – John Kerry (search)has gained back some key women voters from President Bush (search)this month, according to most recent surveys, leading some poll watchers to question just how real the so-called “Security Mom” demographic is in this election. “I’m a skeptic,” said Karlyn Bowman, a public opinion researcher for …

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s coast guard says a tug boat is heading to a ferry that ran aground overnight outside port on the Aegean island of Kassos with 282 passengers and crew on board. The Vitsenzos Kornaros had been on a route from the main port of Piraeus to Rhodes …

BEIJING – The more than 2,000 members of China’s top political advisory body have convened their annual meeting to put forward proposals for the national congress. Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, opened the session in Beijing on Tuesday, two days before the National People’s Congress …

BRUSSELS – The European Union is concerned that Russia might want to enforce its old gas contract with Ukraine once their current arrangement runs out, saying it could contravene Moscow’s peace obligations. EU energy chief Maros Sefcovic said Thursday that any return to the previous contract between Russia’s Gazprom and …

MOSCOW – Independent Crimean television station ATR has been raided by armed security officials, who told employees they were looking for archival footage of an anti-Russia protest last year. In an emotional video posted on YouTube, deputy director Liliya Budzhurova said that armed officials from Russia’s Investigative Committee and Center …

MINSK, Belarus – New cracks have emerged in a Russia-led economic alliance, with the president of Belarus warning that his nation may opt out of it. Alexander Lukashenko also sternly warned Moscow Thursday that his nation of 10 million will never be part of the “Russian world,” a term coined …

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says it has arrested 29 Palestinians suspected of links to the militant Hamas group in an overnight raid in the West Bank. Palestinian security officials said Wednesday the suspects were nabbed in and near the city of Nablus. The military says the raid was conducted …

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaican government is organizing a trade mission to Cuba with representatives from 18 private sector companies. Jamaican Industry Minister Anthony Hylton says the group’s members will meet with their Cuban counterparts from April 20-23 to talk about possible partnerships. William Mahfood is the director of one …

BUCHAREST, Romania – A Romanian court has sentenced a senior judge to 10 years and eight months in prison for demanding money from defendants in exchange for favorable verdicts. Stan Mustata was convicted on six counts of taking bribes, influence peddling and abusing privileged information between October 2013 and April …