GAZA (Reuters) — Hamas on Saturday rejected a deadline set by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to accept a plan that indirectly calls for recognition of Israel, which he has threatened to put to a referendum. Abbas had stunned the Islamist group by giving it 10 days to accept the plan, …

King, in US, sends condolences letter to Yudhoyono  YOGYAKARTA (AP) — A powerful earthquake flattened homes and buildings in central Indonesia early Saturday as people slept, killing more than 3,505 and injuring thousands more in the nation’s worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

CAIRO — Egypt’s rulers are ignoring US criticism of their crackdown on political opposition because they calculate that the Bush administration desperately needs friends in the Middle East, critics and observers say. The US State Department has publicly criticised Egypt three times this month over its human rights record, its …