OAKLAND, Calif. Investigators honed in on a refrigerator and other electrical appliances as possible causes of the fire at a warehouse in Oakland that killed 36 people, as crews were set to finish their search for bodies. The death toll in the most lethal building fire in the U. S. in more than a decade […]

MEUREUDU, Indonesia A strong earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early today, killing nearly 100 people and sparking a frantic rescue effort in the rubble of dozens of collapsed and damaged buildings. Maj. Gen. Tatang Sulaiman, chief of the army in Aceh province, said at least 97 died while four people were pulled from the rubble […]

KABUL, Afghanistan From a childhood as a refugee, Capt. Safia Ferozi is now flying a transport plane for Afghanistan’s air force as the country’s second female pilot, a sign of the efforts to bring more women into the armed forces. Along the way, the 26-year-old Ferozi also married another pilot, who flies in the same […]

SANTIAGO CUAUTLALPAN, Mexico Mexicans have been brewing pulque from the juice of cactus-like maguey plants for centuries, but the viscous, beer-like beverage fell out of favor starting in the 1970s as pulque got a bad reputation as a peasant’s drink. The number of producers, consumers and bars known as “pulquerias” dwindled. But now, the nutrient-rich […]