UK's Brown seeks new approach on Pakistan border

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday he will press Pakistan to allow U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan to take a new approach to hunting Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who slip back and forth between the neighboring nations.

Brown told a London news conference that he will talk with Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, within days to draw up a revised strategy on halting the flow of fighters across the border.

U.S. President George W. Bush and Brown discussed strategy on Afghanistan in a video conference call Thursday, the British leader's office said.

"What's happening on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan …

Lion proudly highlights plight of wild

The last lion has joined the pride in Bath.

Called Big Game?, it has been chosen to highlight the plight ofthe real lions in the wild.

It joins around 100 other sculptures as part of the Lions of Bathpublic arts project.

The newest and final addition has taken up residence outside TheHuntsman Pub and has been sponsored by design company WalkerJansseune.

Big Game? was decorated by Lion Aid, and aims to highlight thefact that lions in the wild are declining because of hunting.

A Lion Aid spokesman said: "Lion Aid are very proud to beassociated with the Lions of Bath 2010 campaign and wereparticularly honoured to have …

Woods Ready for Masters After Doral Win

MIAMI - By the time Brett Wetterich put the slightest bit of pressure on Tiger Woods at the CA Championship, it was too late. And as he walked to the 18th green, Wetterich knew it, too.

"Finishing second," he said, "is not such a bad thing."

Especially not when you're finishing second to Woods at an event he dominates, on a course that ranks as one of his favorites, and when he says his game makes him "very pleased."

Augusta National, you are on alert.

Woods is ready for the Masters, stating so with an emphatic win at Doral on Sunday, when he shot a 1-over 73 and finished two strokes ahead of Wetterich for his 56th career victory, one that earned him …

World markets mixed on worries about Fed plan

Stock markets were mixed Friday as investors turned cautious amid worries the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest move to combat recession in the world's largest economy could lead to rampant inflation.

In afternoon European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent to 3,818.69, France's CAC 40 added 0.1 percent to 2,778.50, and Germany's DAX lost 0.5 percent to 4,024.65.

Banking stocks, which had surged earlier in the week after the Fed announced it would start buying Treasurys to help open up tight credit markets, fell across Europe on Friday. HSBC dropped 18 percent, Barclays slipped 4.4 percent and Dexia lost 9.5 percent.

"I think some of …

WTA Tour Bank of the West Classic Results

Results Saturday from the $700,000 Bank of the West Classic on the hard outdoor courts of the Taube Family Tennis Center (seedings in parentheses):

Singles

Semifinals

Victoria Azarenka (8), Belarus, def. Sam Stosur (1), Australia, 6-2, …

Chicago police officer arrested in teenager's beating

A Chicago police officer was arrested over the weekend in the off-duty beating of a 15-year-old student - the third time this year that similar allegations have emerged.

Robert Gallegos, who is charged with aggravated battery, appeared on closed-circuit television Sunday afternoon in a Cook County courtroom, where a judge set bond at $100,000.

The ten-year police veteran was arrested Saturday - four days after the Ju�rez High School student suffered a broken jaw and other injuries in the alleged beating, the Chicago Police Department announced in Sunday statement.

Gallegos attacked Eduardo Cardenas in an alley Wednesday as the teen walked with two young women, …

NKorea Still Hopes for Nuclear Deal

North Korea said Friday the country still hopes for a smooth implementation of an aid-for-disarmament deal with the United States and other countries, after failing to meet a year-end deadline to declare its nuclear programs.

The statement, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, was the first official North Korean reaction to the missed deadline.

The North's Foreign Ministry claimed that the country drew up a list of its nuclear programs in November, and informed the United States of its contents.

It also claimed that Pyongyang offered explanation to the United …