Display Military Time? Yes No World Is Quickly Going Gray, U.N. Study Finds Feeling old? You're not alone. The whole world is getting older--a lot older, at a pace that has taken demographers by surprise and presented governments with economic and social challenges, the U.N. reported in a global aging study released Thursday. NATO Raid Fails to Net Bosnian Serb NATO-led peacekeepers staged a dramatic helicopter raid on two remote mountain villages Thursday but failed to capture Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who is wanted on war crimes charges by a U.N. tribunal. Scrap War Crime Tribunals by '08, White House Says Even as a U.N. war crimes tribunal pressed ahead with the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, the Bush administration Thursday denounced such courts as wasteful and mismanaged, and urged their abolition by 2008. Colombia Drug War Gains Disputed The amount of cocaine being produced in Colombia dropped significantly last year, anti-narcotics officials announced Thursday, making a controversial claim to success in the joint U.S.-Colombia drug war. Muslim Area Attacked by Hindu Mobs; 158 Killed Angry Hindus set fire to homes in a shantytown in western India's Gujarat state today, killing at least 27 Muslims as they slept, police said. The blaze brought the death toll from a series of attacks to at least 158. Afghan Recovery Fires Up Demand for Brick-Making Kabul is built of dirt. Squat little homes of mud and clay have been carved from the bare brown hills that ring the city, and vast adobe slums have risen from the earth itself. Alleged Russian Arms Dealer Gives Interview Victor Bout, the Russian businessman accused of illegally trading arms with the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists, dropped into a central Moscow radio station Thursday for a live 37-minute interview, but Russian law enforcement officials made no move to arrest him. Blair Agrees Iraq Is 'a Real Threat' British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday endorsed President Bush's decision to take on states that accumulate weapons of mass destruction and suggested that he would back U.S. action against Iraq. Fireworks Industry Propels Economy in Rural China Zhou Xiaorong was helping to build a new fireworks factory when he heard a boom from his nearby village. It was the sound of yet another tragedy for the industry. The epicenter was literally in the 28-year-old peasant's backyard. 21 Cubans Hole Up in Embassy Twenty-one Cubans were holed up in the Mexican Embassy on Thursday after plowing through the gates with a stolen bus. Cuba's government blamed an exile-run U.S. government radio station for repeatedly quoting a Mexican official as saying the embassy's doors "are open." Fleischer Retracts Dig at Clinton's Efforts in Mideast The chief White House spokesman suggested Thursday that the Clinton administration's unsuccessful efforts to bring peace to the Middle East actually triggered the latest violence in the region, but he later backed down and apologized. Sex Charges Stun Officials in West Africa West African officials expressed disgust Thursday at a U.N. report that has uncovered allegations of widespread sexual abuse of children by relief agency workers. Troops Going to Yemen, Report Says The White House has approved a mission to send hundreds of U.S. troops to Yemen to train and advise Yemeni forces hunting remnants of the Al Qaeda network, a published report said today. Kosovo Politicians Agree to Share Power at Last Kosovo's main ethnic Albanian parties overcame differences and pledged to share power, breaking a three-month stalemate. Martial Law Declared Amid Election Dispute President Didier Ratsiraka declared martial law, saying two months of strikes and mass protests that turned violent this week left him with no other choice. Nation to Double Whale Catch, Hunt New Type Japan plans to double its whale catch in the northwest Pacific and begin hunting a type of whale it has left alone for years, a government official said, rebuffing international criticism. Californian, 19 Others Jailed for Ties to Rebels Twenty people, including a U.S. citizen, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from five years to life for links to a rebel group accused of plotting against the government. Burning Train Survivor Dies in Rail Accident A survivor of Egypt's biggest train disaster died on his return trip by falling under another train, security sources said. U.S. Efforts in Caucasus Underscore Global Fight The Bush administration's move toward deeper military involvement in the former Soviet republic of Georgia is the latest demonstration of how, with a world view reshaped by Sept. 11, the administration is thrusting America more directly into distant conflicts that have raged for years. Russian Not an Arms Dealer, Caller Says A man who identified himself as the brother of a Russian businessman accused of transporting arms for Al Qaeda terrorists said Wednesday that his sibling was a common air carrier, not an arms dealer, who had no idea what his cargo was. U.S. Seeking DNA From Bin Laden's Kin The U.S. government renewed a request for DNA material from relatives of Osama bin Laden after a CIA missile struck a group of unidentified men in Afghanistan this month, a U.S. official said Wednesday. Southeast Asian Terror Exhibits Al Qaeda Traits Terror suspects connected to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network organized and financed a wave of deadly bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines over the last 14 months to advance a holy war aimed at carving out an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. Palestinian Attacks Claim 16 Israelis A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded ultra-Orthodox neighborhood here as the Jewish Sabbath ended Saturday night, killing nine Israelis, including five children. Hours later, Palestinian gunmen early today ambushed an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank, shooting dead at least seven soldiers and Jewish settlers.

U.S. Joins Forces With Afghans in Major Assault At least one American and five Afghan government fighters were killed in a major new offensive launched Saturday against an Al Qaeda stronghold in the remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan, according to U.S. and Afghan officials. Pope Makes a Virtual Visit to Russia He may never set foot on Russian soil in his lifetime, but Pope John Paul II visited in spirit and image, at least, in a teleconference Saturday night that was criticized by the Russian Orthodox patriarch as "an invasion." Macedonians Say 7 Terrorists Killed in Clash Police in Macedonia killed seven foreign terrorists Saturday who were planning attacks on embassies and other targets, Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski said. The dead men were apparently Pakistanis, authorities said. A Roman Rally Against 'Protections' for Premier More than 100,000 people marched behind Italy's re-energized center-left opposition leaders Saturday to denounce government measures aimed at shielding Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from criminal prosecution and the loss of his multibillion-dollar business empire. Death Toll in India's Sectarian Riots Reaches 485 Poor Muslim farm workers hiding in a one-room house were a perfect target for Hindus bent on revenge. Prince Edward, Wife to Give Up Day Jobs Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie Rhys-Jones, who were criticized for their behavior as private sector executives, announced Saturday that they will quit their jobs to spend more time fulfilling their royal responsibilities, including planning the queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. 2 Mexican Immigration Officers Fired for Deporting Citizens The Mexican government has fired two immigration officials for deporting seven fellow citizens who could not produce official citizenship documents. The officials apparently thought the seven were from Guatemala. U.S. Widening Its Interests in Islamic World, Officials Say In a gradual but increasingly visible change since Sept. 11, the United States is shifting its focus and priorities in the Islamic world away from Arab nations, particularly states caught up in the Arab-Israeli conflict, to a wider set of interests in Asia, Africa and the Persian Gulf, according to U.S. officials and regional experts. Former Russian Rainmaker Tries Role of Dissident A few years ago, he was Mr. Inside, one of Russia's most powerful businessmen and politicians. He was at home in the thick of shadowy Kremlin deals, helping to make and break prime ministers and presidents. India Arrests 3 Men in Attack on U.S. Center Three men were arrested in eastern India in connection with a January shooting attack at an American cultural center, police said Saturday. Terror Investigators Use Wiretaps at Mosque Six men arrested on suspicion of terrorist links were recorded talking about weapons and terror training camps on wiretaps installed in a Rome mosque, judicial sources said. Magazine Issue Banned for Article on Monarchy Thai police are blocking distribution of the latest issue of the Economist magazine because it contains an article perceived to be critical of the monarchy. U.S. Navy Jet Crashes, Killing 1 of 2 Aboard A Tomcat fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, killing one of the two crew members, the Navy said. Pakistani Embassy Staff Member Detained Police detained a Pakistani Embassy staffer and his driver for a few hours, but Indian officials denied Pakistan's allegation that the two were beaten. 50,000 March Against Basque Separatist Group About 50,000 people marched in the Spanish town of Portugalete to condemn the latest attack blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA. Sectarian Violence Racks India Neighbors battled neighbors with sticks, steel rods and swords in the narrow dirt lanes of this city's Naroda district, where dozens of homes and shops were looted and burned during three days of violence between Hindus and Muslims. A British Royal's Gaffe in Australia No one would ever accuse him of political correctness. In his long career as Queen Elizabeth II's consort, the duke of Edinburgh has mastered the princely gaffe with ill-considered remarks about Indians, Scots, women and deaf people, among others. Brazilians Battle Dengue Outbreak At least 23 people have died and tens of thousands have become ill in the worst outbreak of dengue fever in Rio de Janeiro in a decade. The epidemic is slowly spreading to other Brazilian cities and has even infected the nation's presidential race. Vengeance Takes Its Toll After Taliban's Fall in Afghanistan The killing began at 10 a.m. on the 20th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Four hours later, 37 Pushtun villagers had been dragged from their homes and slain by paramilitary forces from the rival Hazara ethnic group. Package With Caustic Chemical Sent to Blair Packages containing a caustic substance disguised as eucalyptus oil were sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair and a Scottish legislator, Scotland Yard said. Israeli Sweep of Refugee Camps Goes On Israeli troops with sniffer dogs crept along narrow concrete alleys, climbed through windows and scaled balconies in this crowded Palestinian shantytown Friday but largely came up empty in their hunt for terrorists. U.S. Joins Forces With Afghans in Major Assault At least one American and five Afghan government fighters were killed in a major new offensive launched Saturday against an Al Qaeda stronghold in the remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.