The U.S. Embassy said it was closing the consulate pending a security review, but did not elaborate. Ciudad Juarez, across the river from El Paso, Texas, is at the center of Mexico's war on drug gangs.

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An official said an army raid was closing in one of Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel's safe houses in Guadalajara when he opened fire on soldiers. Coronel is believed to be one of the top three leaders of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel, the Sinaloa.

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The militants burned some of the bodies of the security officials in a brazen afternoon attack. Across the country, 23 Iraqi soldiers, police officers and other security forces were killed in shootings and roadside bombings.

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WikiLeaks' publishing of secret intelligence reports has done severe damage, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday, noting that his department would aggressively investigate how it happened. Adm. Mike Mullen said the group's founder may already have the blood of a soldier or Afghan family on his hands.

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A seldom-seen aspect of China's ambitious military modernization is the plight of demobilized soldiers who have fallen through the cracks -- and who have Beijing worried. Many veterans are taking to the streets to protest lack of jobs, health care and other benefits.

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On the surface, they appear to be simply farmyards, hotels or guesthouses run by provincial governments. In fact, they are part of a network of extrajudicial detention centers known as "black jails," where local governments hold people who come to Beijing to complain about abuses.

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A senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials say the body of Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove was found by villagers Wednesday. His colleague, Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, was found Sunday. The two went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan on Friday.

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It's been nearly five months since Iraq's the general elections, but the country's politicians have been unable to agree on much of anything, including who will be the next prime minister. Iraqi officials say the Obama administration is stepping up pressure to end the stalemate.

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The law signed by President Dmitry Medvedev allows the FSB to issue warnings or detain people suspected of preparing to commit crimes against Russia's security. Perpetrators face fines or up to 15 days detention.

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Last month, U.S. lawyers got a series of unexpected phone calls from Yemen. The father of Anwar al-Awlaki -- a cleric with al-Qaida ties who appears on a CIA "capture or kill" list -- was asking for legal advice as he seeks to protect his son.

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Tighter regulations and tougher safety standards in the aftermath of the Gulf spill could mean higher costs for companies engaged in offshore oil drilling. As a result, oil production could shift to countries with less governmental oversight and fewer safeguards.

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Authorities said Rogelio Segovia Hernandez was in charge of killings, drug dealing, extortion and kidnappings for the La Linea gang that worked for the Juarez cartel. There was a quarter-million-dollar reward on his head.

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Amid reports that hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean may run for president of Haiti, NPR's Lee Hill explores whether the philanthropist and cultural ambassador is eligible.

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Ivy Bean had become an online celebrity for her embrace of microblogging at such an advanced age. She had accumulated about 57,000 Twitter followers and maxed out at 5,000 friends on Facebook. Her tweets ranged from the mundane to the gossipy.

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The HMS Investigator, left in the ice in 1853, was found in shallow water along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada's western Arctic. The ship had been sent out in search of the doomed expedition of Sir John Franklin to chart the Northwest Passage.

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Hugo Chavez is accusing the U.S. of planning to attack his country, using Colombia as its proxy. Nothing new, except for the timing: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's term ends in a few days, and some observers say Uribe is stirring the pot as a parting message not just to Chavez, but to his own successor.

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WikiLeaks' editor-in-chief claims his organization doesn't know who sent it some 91,000 secret U.S. military documents on the Afghan war, telling journalists the website was set up to hide the source of its data from those who receive it.

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The domestic plane carrying 152 passengers and crew slammed into the hills surrounding Pakistan's capital Wednesday morning as it attempted to land amid poor weather conditions, officials said. Two American citizens were among the dead, according to the U.S. Embassy.

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Catalonia becomes Spain's first mainland region to ban bullfighting after a heated debate that pitted the rights of animals against preserving a pillar of traditional culture.

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Japan's shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines says an explosion, suspected to be an attack, has damaged one of its oil tankers near the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

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