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BELGRADE, Serbia – The Serbian government recognized newly independent Montenegro on Thursday, and said it would establish diplomatic ties with its former partner in the now defunct Serbia-Montenegro union. The tiny Balkan republic declared independence from Serbia on June 3, after its citizens supported the split by a slim margin …

JAKARTA, Indonesia – The World Health Organization has detailed the first evidence that the deadly bird flu virus mutated and spread from person to person within a family, but experts said Friday the genetic change does not increase the threat of a pandemic. The investigation said the H5N1 mutation occurred …

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro – Kosovo lawmakers elected a moderate new president Friday, paving the way for the start of talks on the province’s future status. President Fatmir Sejdiu told The Associated Press Friday that he would not abandon the ethnic Albanian majority’s push for independence from Serbia. But he pledged in …

NEW YORK – The U.S. initial public offering market is off to a strong start in 2006, running almost 20 percent ahead of last year’s pace and likely setting the stage for a flood of additional offerings, analysts said. Burger King Holdings Inc. may well be the first of many …

NEW YORK – Peter Benchley, whose novel “Jaws” made millions think twice about stepping into the water even as the author himself became an advocate for the conservation of sharks, has died at age 65, his widow said Sunday. Wendy Benchley, married to the author for 41 years, said he …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Some Iraqis expressed anger with President Bush’s pledge in his State of the Union address to stay the course in Iraq, while others on Wednesday said they believed the Americans had little choice but to stick it out to prevent civil war. Bush declared in his address …

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. – Campbell Soup Co. (CPB), the world’s biggest soup maker, on Friday reported second-quarter earnings were up 8 percent over the same period a year earlier because of stronger soup sales and lower taxes. For the second year in a row, Campbell announced price increases kicking in …

BRUSSELS, Belgium – A group of Microsoft Corp.‘s (MSFT) rivals filed a complaint with the European Commission on Wednesday, alleging its business practices threatened to deny real choice among competing software products. The European Committee for Interoperable Systems — which includes International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), RealNetworks …

WASHINGTON – The split between social conservatives and moderate Republicans over embryonic stem cells could undermine the re-election chances of a Missouri Republican senator who favors long prison terms for those who conduct some types of research. A coalition of business leaders and medical research institutions is gathering support for …

WASHINGTON – The National Guard and Reserves will play a much smaller role next year in Iraq and Afghanistan, dropping to less than one-fifth of overall U.S. forces there, the nation’s top military officer told senators Tuesday. In response to repeated questions about the strain on reserve forces on the …