ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – A court in Ethiopia has handed jail terms ranging from seven to 22 years against 18 Muslims who were convicted on terror charges, including allegedly attempting to establish a religious government. The sentencing on Monday attracted outcry from Muslim activists who opposed the trial. Four of …

MANILA, Philippines – Officials say flash floods caused by heavy rain have killed at least seven people, including four children, in the southern Philippines. Two others remain missing. The regional Office of Civil Defense said the dead in southern Bukidnon province’s Valencia City included a 6-month-old girl and three other …

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. – Two tourists from France have been found dead after hiking in New Mexico’s White Sands National Monument, but a young boy was recused, authorities said Thursday. The child was found alive and treated for heat exposure Tuesday when the daytime temperature at the monument was 101 degrees, …

MIAMI – The mayor of Miami Beach and other South Florida leaders are joining the opposition to an orca’s decades-long captivity at the Miami Seaquarium. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other groups have sued in Miami federal court, saying the orca named Lolita should ultimately be …

BANGKOK – The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says it is appalled at the long prison sentences given to people convicted in Thailand of insulting the monarchy, and is calling for the immediate release of all people jailed for exercising freedom of expression. Its statement, released …

LOS ANGELES – Bumble Bee Foods agreed to pay $6 million to settle criminal charges Wednesday in the death of a worker who was cooked in an oven with tons of tuna. District Attorney Jackie Lacey said the settlement is the largest payout in a California workplace-violation death. Jose Melena, …

BUCHAREST, Romania – Education authorities in Romania are investigating some 400 cases in which students are suspected of getting into high schools without having the necessary grades. Education Minister Sorin Campeanu said Thursday the investigation involves schools in four counties. He says that the pupils had already been placed in …

SPRING HILL, Tenn. – A section of a Home Depot store in central Tennessee was shut down recently after an astute customer noticed something suspicious in the store’s garden center: a rattlesnake. Manager TJ Thompson told WKRN-TV that he shut down that section of the store and called wildlife experts, …

DHAKA, Bangladesh – A court in Bangladesh’s capital has sentenced six officials of a now-dissolved drug company to 10 years in jail for producing toxic paracetamol syrup that reportedly killed hundreds of children who developed kidney diseases and other ailments after taking the medicine in the 1990s. Judge M. Atoar …

SEATTLE – An explosion demolished part of a Motel 6 in Bremerton, Washington, on Tuesday night — critically injuring a gas company worker just minutes after the acting hotel manager had evacuated the building due to a leak. Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan told The Associated Press there were no …