WORLD NEWS TODAY

• Report: injuries in train accident in Netherlands

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 5:14 am ET

  AMSTERDAM - Dozens of passengers have been injured in a southern Dutch city after their train slammed into a freight truck that was stuck on a railway crossing, according to local media reports. Full Story »

• AP – Tue Dec 8, 5:09 am ET

  COPENHAGEN - World Meteorological Organization says this decade "very likely" warmest on record. Full Story »

• UN urges restraint after clashes in Nepal

  AFP – Tue Dec 8, 2:09 am ET
  AFP/File

  KATHMANDU (AFP) - The United Nations urged Nepal's government and opposition Maoists to exercise restraint after deadly clashes between police and landless settlers in the west of the country. Full Story »

• Brown pushes EU on deeper emission cuts

  AFP – Mon Dec 7, 7:28 pm ET
  AFP/File

  LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday he is urging European countries to commit to deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, amid EU division over the issue, as crunch climate talks continue. Full Story »

• Dan Brown eyes La Scala balconies for inspiration

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 7:11 pm ET

  MILAN - He's already done the Vatican. So don't be surprised if Milan's famed La Scala opera house doesn't turn up in Dan Brown's next thriller. Full Story »

• UN chief asks al-Bashir's help to free hostages

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 6:31 pm ET

  UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Sudan's president to seek help in freeing two members of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur who have been held hostage for more than 100 days, the U.N. said Monday. Full Story »

• Italy: No issues with US over Knox verdict

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 4:03 pm ET
  AP

  ROME - The murder conviction of U.S. student Amanda Knox has not damaged U.S.-Italian relations, despite suggestions the verdict was tainted by anti-American sentiment, a top Italian diplomat said Monday. Full Story »

• Key US lawmaker chides EU over Jerusalem

  AFP – Mon Dec 7, 3:55 pm ET
  AFP/File

  WASHINGTON (AFP) - European Union members should join "responsible nations" in opposing any plan to recognize Arab east Jerusalem as capital of a future Palestinian state, a key US lawmaker said Monday. Full Story »

• John Crofton, TB researcher, dies at 97

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 3:33 pm ET

  LONDON - John Crofton, a researcher renowned for his groundbreaking work on the treatment of the tuberculosis, has died at his home in Scotland. He was 97. Full Story »

• UN urges Iraq to set election date 'as soon as possible'

  AFP – Mon Dec 7, 2:18 pm ET
  AFP/File

  BAGHDAD (AFP) - The United Nations on Monday urged Iraq to announce "as soon as possible" the date for the war-torn country's general election after MPs struck a last-minute deal to get the poll back on track. Full Story »

• North Korea grilled at UN rights council

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 1:50 pm ET
  AFP/KCNA via KNS/File

  GENEVA - North Korea made a rare appearance before a U.N. human rights organization on Monday, facing accusations of widespread abuses such as forced labor, public executions and torture. Full Story »

• NATO allies pledge up to 7,000 troops

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 12:45 pm ET
  AP

  BRUSSELS - NATO allies confirmed pledges on Monday for nearly 7,000 additional troops to serve alongside the 30,000 committed to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama, amid "clear indications" that even more European reinforcements could follow in coming months. Full Story »

• Pope to lead 'midnight' Christmas Mass at 10 p.m.

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 12:43 pm ET

  VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI will break with tradition this year and celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at 10 p.m. instead of midnight, the Vatican said Monday. Full Story »

• Historian finds Red Baron's death certificate

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 12:41 pm ET
  AP

  WARSAW, Poland - A Polish historian says he made a surprising find when poring through World War I archives — the death certificate of Manfred von Richthofen, the German fighter ace known as the "Red Baron." Full Story »

• EU agrees closer ties with Serbia

  AFP – Mon Dec 7, 12:28 pm ET
  AFP

  BRUSSELS (AFP) - EU foreign ministers decided Monday to boost ties with Serbia, bringing an end to an 18-month standoff over Belgrade's lack of cooperation with a UN war crimes court, diplomats said. Full Story »

• Romanian opposition claims fraud in president vote

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 12:10 pm ET
  AP

  BUCHAREST, Romania - Romania's main opposition party claimed Monday that President Traian Basescu narrowly won re-election through a fraudulent vote. Full Story »

• UK rights group accuses Britain on rendition cases

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 12:07 pm ET

  LONDON - A legal rights group said Monday the British government misled parliament about two terrorism suspects who were subjected to rendition. Full Story »

• Georgia to send 900 troops to Afghanistan

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 11:59 am ET

  TBILISI, Georgia - President Mikhail Saakashvili says Georgia will contribute more than 900 troops next year to the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.