Growth concerns hit stock markets hard

LONDON (AP) — Global growth concerns hit stocks hard Friday, while the euro was hurt by a sharp disagreement in Europe over how to deal with Greece's debt crisis.

A smaller than anticipated Chinese trade surplus in May and a slump in British industrial production in April added to the view that global growth is slowing — and not just in the U.S.

Stocks around the world, but particularly in the U.S., have been under pressure over the past few weeks as a run of weak economic data stoked fears that the global recovery is running out of steam despite historically low interest rates and money injections.

"The global economy is embarking on a 'soft patch' and this is …

Nordic nations criticize Canada for Arctic snub

Two Nordic nations criticized Canada on Tuesday for not inviting them to a meeting of Arctic countries, saying the gathering could undermine the work of the broader Arctic Council.

Sweden and Finland regretted that they and Iceland were left out of the Arctic Coastal meeting in Quebec. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed similar concerns at the meeting Monday. Only the U.S., Canada, Russia, Denmark and Norway were invited.

"We regret that Canada has decided to invite only five of the eight Arctic nations to this meeting," Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Teo Zetterman said.

Arctic nations have competing claims in the …

Wall St. all over the place

Wall Street ended a mildly erratic day slightly lower Thursdayafter anxiety about widening credit problems offset investoroptimism about a $2 billion capital infusion into troubled mortgagelender …

Cancun World Cup Triathlon Results

Results Sunday in a triathlon World Cup:

Men

1. Simon Whitfield, Canada, 1 hour, 52 minutes, 5 seconds

2. Paul Tichelaar, Canada, 1:52:06

3. Volodymyr Polikarpenko, Ukraine, 1:52:08

4. Brent McMahon, Canada, 1:52:09

5. Yulian Malyshev, Russia, 1:52:12

6. Samuel Pierreclaud, France, 1:52:42

7. Reinaldo Colucci, Brazil, 1:53:11

8. Stuart Hayes, Britain, 1:53:26

9. Alexander Brukhankov, Russia, 1:53:41

…

Police: Recruiting center gunman targeted military

Police describe it as a killing motivated by politics and religion: A Muslim convert upset with the U.S. military drove to a recruiting center and opened fire on two soldiers, fatally wounding one.

Monday's attack was not believed to be part of a broader scheme. Instead, authorities say Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad acted on his own when he drove to a shopping center in western Little Rock and began shooting.

"We believe that it's associated with his disagreement over the military operations," Police Chief Stuart Thomas said.

The two soldiers who were shot hadn't even seen combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. They completed basic training within …

Anger at reservoir proposals

Anger is mounting among residents along a village street at thealleged "audacity" of Bristol Water.

Residents living along the B3151 on the Wedmore Road areextremely concerned that Cheddar is sleepwalking into a nightmare ofdust, noise, pollution and plummeting house prices.

And they claim the parish council, Sedgemoor District Council andthe various civic authorities are doing nothing about the plans forthe village by the water company.

They have contacted the Gazette to ask why no one is defendingthe community about the massive new reservoir the company plan tobuild off Wedmore Road.

Their biggest fear is the amount of plant and lorry …

9 Killed in Pakistani Mosque Battle

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Tensions brewing around a radical mosque in Pakistan's capital burst into street battles Tuesday between security forces and masked militants who have challenged the government by mounting a vigilante anti-vice campaign.

At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded in the clash, which underlined the concern at the spread of Islamic extremism in a country struggling to combat Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

Early Wednesday, Pakistan's government warned the armed militants holed up at Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, to surrender or face punitive action from security forces. It did not set a deadline.

The violence dramatically deepened a …