Soldiers put down two-day strike by Guinea police

Shooting erupted as soldiers raided the main police base in the capital Tuesday, putting down a two-day strike by officers protesting working conditions and salaries, witnesses and officials said.

At least seven people were treated for gunshot wounds at a hospital, said medical official Aminata Toure. An Associated Press reporter who toured the base saw a slain policeman, but there was no official word on the number of killed and wounded.

Police at the main base walked off the job on Monday saying they want improved working conditions, higher pay and more promotions. They seized the country's police chief and several other top officers, but released them …

Camp leg? Not this year Rookies will get real shot at booting slumping Edinger

Tyler Jones and Nick Novak will get their first chances to impressin the Bears' kicking derby today as rookie minicamp begins, butveteran Paul Edinger figures he already has a leg up on thecompetition.

With a tweak in his approach, Edinger has been in the team'soffseason workout program for three weeks, kicking almost daily infront of special-teams coach Dave Toub. No longer does Edinger lineup by taking steps backward and then to the side for his unusualcorkscrew windup. Now he retreats at an angle, a new approach hehopes will bring consistency to his game after he led the league withnine missed field goals last season.

I was approaching the ball a tad different …

Democratic activists focusing on Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. -- As Tamika Pierce, a single mother with three children, makes an impassioned plea for an increase in the Sunshine State's minimum wage, an unusual pair of visitors wait for their turn to speak.

Former Massachusetts Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II and comedian Al Franken sit perched on stools behind her to add some star power to the event promoting Question 5, a state ballot initiative to hike the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour.

Out in the audience at the Oak Ridge High School gym, over 400 people, most of them union activists and community activists, listen as Pierce reels off the benefits of a hike in the minimum wage.

"People here are …

US joins press for truce as Gaza onslaught goes on

Israel seized control of high-rise buildings and attacked houses, mosques and smuggling tunnels as it pressed its offensive against the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers on Monday, while the U.S. joined a stream of countries pushing for a cease-fire.

At least 14 Palestinian children were killed Monday, raising the known Palestinian death toll from the 10-day onslaught to 540 _ including 200 civilians, the U.N. and Palestinian officials said. Gaza's biggest hospital said it was overwhelmed.

Five Israelis have died since the operation began.

In one of the first major gunbattles of the ground campaign, Israeli troops and Hamas militants clashed at close …

Wells' praise for city athlete Neil

Olympic legend Allan Wells has tipped Aberdeen's Neil Fachie as afuture Paralympic medallist.

Wells has worked with the 23-year-old as part of the newlylaunched Scotland Sprint squad.

And Wells, who won 100m gold at the 1980 Moscow Games, reckons theAberdeen AAC star can take China by storm.

Wells, pictured right, said: "Neil Fachie has not been far offmajor …

Hotspots: Breaking News Around the World

HUNDREDS OF ACTIVISTS MARCH IN L.A. FOR DEPORTED ARELLANO

LOS ANGELES -- Immigrant rights activists marched throughdowntown Saturday in support of illegal immigrant Elvira Arellano,who was deported to her native Mexico last weekend. Some carriedlarge photos of Arellano and her 8-year-old son, Saul. Organizerssaid more than 2,000 people took part; authorities said it was 600.

BOMBS KILL AT LEAST 37 IN CITY OF HINDUS, MUSLIMS

HYDERABAD, India -- A pair of bombings …

Oil prices rise to more than US$1.50 a barrel amid expectations of tight supply

Oil prices rose above US$95 a barrel Friday amid expectations that global crude supplies will remain tight, despite a U.S. oil inventory report that showed a surprising build in domestic crude stockpiles.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose US$1.78 to US$95.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by mid-afternoon in Europe. The contract expires at the end of Friday. It fell 66 cents to settle at US$93.43 a barrel overnight.

Some analysts attributed volatility in the market to the expiration of the December contract.

"Price direction should remain dominated today by the management of the expiring …