Death toll in China earthquake exceeds 12,000
MIANYANG, China (AP) -- The toll of the dead and missing soared as rescue workers dug through flattened schools and homes on Tuesday in a desperate attempt to find survivors of China's worst earthquake in three decades....

Myanmar police block aid workers, food piles up
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Police barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in hard-hit areas Tuesday, while emergency food shipments backed up at the main airport for Myanmar's biggest city....

China moves quickly to deal with quake
BEIJING (AP) -- Within 24 hours of China's deadly quake, some 20,000 troops converged on the disaster area to help dig out the dead and injured, and military planes and trucks ferried in another 30,000 reinforcements....

Bombs kill 60 and wound 150 in western India
JAIPUR, India (AP) -- Bombs ripped through crowded parts of this ancient city in western India on Tuesday, killing 60 people and wounding 150, police said. The seven explosions in Jaipur took place in markets and several other areas of the city in Rajasthan, a region dotted with palaces and temples that draws hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, said A.S. Gill, the state's police chief....

Cease-fire holds in Sadr City after deadly clashes
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A shaky cease-fire appeared to take hold Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City, after a cleric who brokered the deal for Shiite fighters said they would honor it even after clashes left at least 11 dead and 19 wounded....

Trapped students had little time to escape quake
JUYUAN, China (AP) -- The high school students were settling in to afternoon arts and humanities classes when the massive quake struck. The school collapsed so rapidly - one floor "pancaking" atop another - that there was practically no time to escape....

Israeli leader in trouble with law as Bush arrives
JERUSALEM (AP) -- As President Bush arrives in Israel to help celebrate the Jewish state's 60th birthday, he will find his host, Ehud Olmert, in deep trouble....

China's panda preserves reported safe
CHENGDU, China (AP) -- All the pandas at the world's most famous panda preserve were reported safe late Tuesday, more than a day after China's worst earthquake in three decades closed off the remote, mountainous area....

Lebanese army expands deployment to impose order
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- The Lebanese army expanded its troop deployment to tense areas around the country Tuesday, saying its soldiers would use force if needed to impose order after clashes between the U.S.-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition....