SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni troops battling al-Qaida fighters in the country's south have forced them to retreat but military officials said Thursday the push in a major southern city is going slowly because of concerns the militants could stage a surprise counterattack.

BEIRUT (AP) — A key activist group threatened Thursday to withdraw from Syria's main opposition umbrella grouping, saying the council has drifted away from the spirit of the Syrian revolution.

BEIRUT (AP) — A key activist group on Thursday accused Syria's opposition council of drifting away from the spirit of the country's revolution, dealing a further blow to a body already facing major political and organizational challenges in its quest to oust President Bashar Assad.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's president announced Thursday that he will attend the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago, accepting an invitation that was given after the country indicated it plans to end its six-month blockade of supplies meant for coalition troops in Afghanistan.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Thursday his country is seeking "cooperation" from world powers in next week's nuclear talks in Baghdad and warned against pressure by the West.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Two Pakistani air force planes crashed in a residential area in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing all four pilots on board and injuring five people on the ground, police said.

BEIJING (AP) — The activist who was at the center of a diplomatic tussle between Beijing and Washington said Thursday that Chinese officials have told him the passports that he and his family just applied for should be ready within two weeks. A rights group, meanwhile, described more retaliation by authorities against his family.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian court on Thursday sentenced to death three Mexican brothers and two other people for drug trafficking, rejecting the defense argument that evidence was tampered with.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Prosecutors on Thursday were outlining their evidence of the alleged involvement of former Bosnian Serb military chief Gen. Ratko Mladic in Europe's worst mass murder since World War II, the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A judge suspended Ratko Mladic's genocide and war crimes trial indefinitely Thursday after prosecutors failed to disclose thousands of documents to the former Bosnian Serb military chief's defense team — a ruling that could delay the trial for months.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A top negotiator in Greece's huge debt writedown deal has been appointed the country's caretaker finance minister.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A senior judge has been sworn in to head Greece's caretaker government for a month as the debt-crippled country lurches through a political crisis that threatens its membership in the 17-nation eurozone.