AP - North Korea fired a barrage of short-range missiles off its east coast Thursday, a possible prelude to the launch of a long-range missile toward Hawaii over the July Fourth holiday.

AP - U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan.

AP - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq on Thursday to visit U.S. soldiers, just two days after all American combat troops withdrew from Baghdad and all of Iraq's cities and towns.

AP - After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein stayed in Baghdad until he saw "the city was about to fall." Months later, he was caught hiding at the same farm where he had fled in 1959 after taking part in an attempt to kill the country's prime minister.

AP - A top diplomat said Thursday he is heading to Honduras to demand the return of the president toppled at gunpoint — a mission he said is likely to meet rejection, bringing diplomatic and economic punishment for the impoverished Central American nation.

AP - Air France Flight 447 slammed into the Atlantic Ocean, intact and belly first, at such a high speed that the 228 people aboard probably had no time to even inflate their life jackets, French investigators said Thursday in their first report into the June 1 accident.

AFP - A high-level Australian delegation will travel to India next week to give safety assurances following a wave of attacks on Indian students, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Thursday.

Time.com - On a propaganda drive, Tehran blames foreigners for unrest after the disputed election. But millions of Iranians remain angry and unconvinced