AP - A 9-year-old boy at the center of a five-year custody battle on two continents was finally turned over to his American father Thursday in a scene as tumultuous as the legal fight itself, with the youngster forced to squeeze though a jostling crowd of reporters and photographers.

AP - Backed by U.S. intelligence, Yemeni forces struck a series of suspected al-Qaida hideouts Thursday, including a meeting of senior leaders, killing at least 30 militants in the country's stepped-up campaign against the terror network, the government said.

AP - Bombs hit Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad and a central Iraqi city Thursday, killing at least 27 people and wounding scores more, in the latest attack in the lead-up to Ashoura, the sect's most solemn annual rite.