World & nation in 60 seconds The world The nation.(News)

Biden visiting troops:

BAGHDAD u U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq on Thursday to visit U.S. troops and meet with Iraqi leaders, including President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

N. Korea launches missiles:

SEOUL, South Korea u North Korea fired a barrage of short-range missiles off its east coast Thursday, a possible prelude to the launch of a long-range missile toward Hawaii over the July Fourth holiday.

Air France jet crashed intact:

LE BOURGET, France u Air France Flight 447 slammed into the Atlantic Ocean, intact and belly first, at such a high speed that the 228 people aboard probably had no time to even inflate their life jackets, French investigators said Thursday in their first report into the June 1 accident.

Gay rights advance in India:

NEW DELHI u New DelhiAEs gay community celebrated a landmark court ruling Thursday that decriminalizes homosexuality u a decision that could end widespread police harassment and be a harbinger for gradual acceptance for homosexuals across this deeply conservative country.

Air crash survivor back home:

LE BOURGET, France u Bahia Bakari, 12, a severely bruised young girl believed to be the only survivor of an Indian Ocean plane crash flew back Thursday to Paris, where she was embraced gently by her father.

Is that Michelangelo?

VATICAN CITY u The restoration of MichelangeloAEs frescoes in the VaticanAEs Pauline Chapel may have produced a special prize u a previously unknown self-portrait of the artist. Chief Vatican restorer Maurizio De Luca said Thursday that the face of a man on horseback in the artistAEs "The Crucifixion of St. Peter" could well be the artist, though he said nobody will ever know "with absolute certainty."

Soap opera actress dies:

ENCINO, Calif. u Anna Karen Morrow, an actress who had a regular role on the prime-time soap opera "Peyton Place" and also appeared on Broadway, in films and on numerous other television shows, has died. She was 94.

JacksonAEs ex-wife asks delay:

LOS ANGELES u The future of Michael JacksonAEs children was thrown into question Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring. It was the first legal move from Deborah Rowe since the entertainerAEs death. JacksonAEs will asks for his mother, Katherine, to get permanent custody of all three of his children. Rowe, who met Jackson as a receptionist in the office of his dermatologist, has characterized their relationship as strictly for the purpose of birthing Jackson children. JacksonAEs public memorial was set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to a press release from the office of the Jackson familyAEs publicist. Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Center and was JacksonAEs promoter, said tickets would be free. He was not sure how they would be distributed.

Flu deaths escalate:

ATLANTA u The number of U.S. swine flu cases has reached nearly 34,000, and deaths have risen 34 percent in the past week to 170, federal health officials reported Thursday.

Pool toys recalled:

WASHINGTON u The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday that Aqua-Leisure Industries would recall about 4 million floating baby pool toys that pose a drowning risk. The floats were sold at Target, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, Kmart, Walgreens, Ace Hardware and Bed Bath & Beyond from December 2002 to June 2009.

Gay Mennonites protest:

COLUMBUS, Ohio u Gay and lesbian Mennonites dressed in bright pink gathered with others outside the churchAEs biannual convention in Columbus to criticize its leaders for trying to push them out.

SanfordAEs wife will forgive:

COLUMBIA, S.C. u Jenny Sanford, the wife of embattled South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, called his affair with an Argentine woman "inexcusable" but said Thursday she is willing to forgive him.

Smile, youAEre on carAEs camera:

CANTON, Ohio u Timothy Escola, the police chief of OhioAEs Perry Township police department, has retired after a video shot by the cruiserAEs dashboard camera became public showing him and a female office kissing and caressing while a prisoner was in the back seat.

Palin named top sitting duck:

JUNEAU, Alaska u The National Society of Newspaper Columnists chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the winner of its annual Sitting Duck Award, a tongue-in-cheek honor that pokes fun at the most ridiculed newsmakers in the U.S.

When love hurts:

HARTFORD, Conn. u A 16-year-old girl thought she heard her mother being assaulted by her boyfriend last June 6 and rounded up some friends who beat him up, only to learn later the couple actually were having sex, the woman and police said.

Internet suicide case shaky:

LOS ANGELES u A federal judge on Thursday tentatively threw out the convictions of a Missouri mother for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old neighbor girl who committed suicide.