China: Restored ties
BEIJING — China and France announced an agreement Wednesday to restore high-level contacts and promote cooperation following a lengthy spat over Tibet sparked by the French president's meeting with the Dalai Lama.
France pledged not to support Tibetan independence in "any form" as part of the agreement, according to a news release posted on the Chinese foreign ministry's Web site and a similar statement from the French government.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao planned to meet in London late Wednesday, Sarkozy's office said. The two last met in August, on the margins of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.
Honduras: Killing
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Two unidentified gunmen killed a journalist who reported on the wave of violent crime in Honduras, police said Wednesday.
Assailants stopped Rafael Munguia, 36, as he was driving Tuesday night in the city of San Pedro Sula, dragged him from his vehicle and shot him at least eight times, according to a news release from the San Pedro Sula police department.
It was not immediately clear if the shooting was tied to Munguia's work.
Scotland: Crash
EDINBURGH, Scotland — A helicopter returning from a North Sea oil platform went down off the northeast coast of Scotland on Wednesday with 16 people on board, and police said at least eight were killed.
Scotland's Grampian Police said eight bodies have been recovered from the sea. Authorities searched for the eight remaining people but Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland's nationalist government, said the outlook was grim.
It looks like we might be might be facing (Britain's) second-worst helicopter support incident in history, in terms of the number of fatalities," he said.
Sudan: Leader cheered
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Thousands of chanting, singing people greeted the Sudanese president, who's wanted for war crimes, as he returned Wednesday from his trip to the Arab League Summit in defiance of an international arrest warrant.
"We were confident with our relationship with our Arab brothers," President Omar al-Bashir told reporters at a news conference in the airport in Khartoum. Al-Bashir later drove through the city surrounded by crowds of people dancing and singing, and waving posters in support.
The Sudanese leader's trip to the summit in Doha, Qatar this week was a high-profile snub to the International Criminal Court's March decision to issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir over the ongoing conflict in Darfur.
Sweden: Gay marriage
STOCKHOLM — Sweden has become the fifth European country to allow gay marriage.
Parliament on Wednesday adopted a new law that gives same-sex couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals.
The Parliament's Web site says the new law will take effect on May 1.
The Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Spain also allow gay marriages.
Sweden has recognized civil unions between homosexual couples since 1994.
It will still be up to individual churches to decide if they want to wed gay couples.