Class of '77 has withstood the test of time in China
Many of the elite first class of students who went to college after the Cultural Revolution have since become prominent in politics, the arts and academia.

Turks bomb northern Iraq for 2nd day
A spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish security forces said the airstrikes Sunday, suspected to have been aimed at guerrillas from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, caused no casualties.

Altadis revels, in private, on the mystique of smoking
The European tobacco company has set up an internal Web site, Le Lab, designed to be part social networking site, part data resource, part virtual pep rally for its brand managers.
- Will the smoking ban in France mean the end of café society?

J. Edgar Hoover sought mass arrests in 1950, document shows
A document from 1950 shows that J. Edgar Hoover, then the head of the FBI, wanted to suspend habeas corpus guarantees to imprison some 12,000 Americans suspected of disloyalty.

Pro-Thaksin party wins vote in Thailand
The result was a strong repudiation of the generals who removed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a coup 15 months ago and who had worked hard to discredit him.

Israel rejects Hamas request for cease-fire talks
The government of Ehud Olmert angered Palestinian representatives from the West Bank by seeking budget approval to build more housing for Jewish residents in areas that the Palestinians claim for their future state.

Seeds of conflict in a force for Iraqi calm
Sunni "Awakening" groups, paid by the U.S. to fight extremists, have become a success story in Iraq, but there are growing concerns about what will happen to them after a U.S. handoff.
- Australia's prime minister confirms troop withdrawal from Iraq

Qaeda prisoner in Belgium denies jailbreak plot; 14 suspects released
In a letter published by a newspaper, Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian, denied allegations that his supporters had been involved in preparations for a jailbreak or a terror attack.

Train strikes in Germany suggest larger fight ahead
The threat of more strikes comes at a sensitive time for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative-led coalition government. The issue of implementing a minimum wage for the country, analysts say, will play a big role in coming elections.

Karimov seeks to extend his rule in Uzbekistan
The election Sunday was expected to overwhelmingly return Islam Karimov to a third term as president of Uzbekistan.

CIA intentionally impeded Sept. 11 inquiry, officials say
The chairman and vice chairman of the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, say a new review of classified information has convinced them that the Central Intelligence Agency made a conscious decision to impede them.
- Text of the Sept. 11 Commission memo

Early odds in U.S. presidential race
If the Democrats choose their nominee first, they have better chances for getting the White House.

Alice Rawsthorn: iPhone's magic touch becomes design's gold standard for 2007
It would have been more surprising if the iPhone had flopped. What's less predictable — and much more interesting — is why it has been so very successful.