Honolulu, Hawaii (CNN) -- In a marked shift from previous positions, senior Obama administration officials now say they are starting to see an al Qaeda connection to the attempted terror attack on a U.S.-bound airliner.

At least 23 people have died in two suicide bombs in the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, with conflicting reports about the provincial governor's fate.

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea announced Tuesday that it has custody of an American who entered the country illegally last week — the first possible word from Pyongyang about an Arizona man who activists say wanted to bring international attention to the reclusive country's dire human rights situation.

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russia needs to develop "offensive strike systems" to preserve strategic balance with the United States, without producing its own missile defense, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

Clashes have taken place overnight in the Iranian capital, Tehran, following anti-government protests on Sunday in which at least

JERUSALEM – Israel plans to build nearly 700 new apartments in east Jerusalem, the Housing Ministry said Monday, drawing tough criticism from both the Palestinians and the United States

Four protesters have been killed amid violence between anti-government crowds and police in Iran's capital, Tehran. Opposition sources said the nephew of former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was among those killed when police opened fire.

Pope Benedict XVI has had lunch with 150 needy and homeless people at a soup kitchen in Rome. It was his first journey outside the Vatican since he was attacked during Christmas Eve Mass inside St Peter's Basilica.

Romulus, Michigan (CNN) -- A Nigerian man is "talking a lot" to the FBI, said a senior U.S. official, after what the United States believes was an attempted terrorist attack on an inbound international flight.

(CNN) -- A kidnapped girl was rescued on Christmas Day after a dramatic police chase on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona. Police said a stranger pulled 5-year Natalie Rose Flores into his pickup truck at an apartment complex and took off with her at about 2:15 p.m., after which police issued an Amber Alert.

Countries across the Indian Ocean are marking the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic tsunami that killed almost 250,000 people. In Indonesia's Aceh province, where 170,000 died, thousands held prayers in public mosques and private homes.

SHAKTOI, Pakistan – A top Pakistani Taliban commander says he has sent thousands of fighters to neighboring Afghanistan to rebuff incoming U.S. troops, a claim that comes as a Pakistani army offensive is believed to have pushed many of his men to flee their main redoubt.

An American Airlines plane has overshot the runway on landing in the Jamaican capital Kingston, injuring more than 40 people, officials say.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed as a US forgery a document allegedly showing plans by Tehran to test a nuclear bomb trigger.

(Reuters) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a hacking that targeted Citigroup Inc and resulted in the theft of tens of million of dollars, the Wall Street Journal said, citing U.S. government officials.

Iranian reformists have clashed with police after the funeral of a dissident cleric, opposition websites say. Earlier, tens of thousands took part in a procession for Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri in the holy city of Qom.

President Barack Obama's main domestic priority, healthcare reform, has cleared a key hurdle in the US Senate. Senators voted 60 to 40 along party lines to end debate on a compromise

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – A slow-moving storm that blanketed swaths of the mid-Atlantic with nearly 2 feet of snow reached southern New England on Sunday, continuing its assault on the East Coast after causing at least

One of Iran's most prominent dissident clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri, has died aged 87. Hoseyn Ali Montazeri was a moving spirit in the 1979 revolution which created Iran's Islamic state, and was at one stage set to become its leader.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed a US-backed climate deal in Copenhagen as an "essential beginning".

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced his new cabinet Saturday, retaining 11 previous ministers.