NEW YORK

Bosnian gets life in plot to blow up subways A Bosnian immigrant convicted of plotting to blow up New York subways and other targets was sentenced to life in prison, the first member of a three-man team of would-be jihadists to be punished in a plan that collapsed shortly before the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Adis Medunjanin, 28, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was convicted in federal court last May on terrorism charges that included conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and providing material support to Al-Qaida.

JAPAN

Parliament dissolved; vote set for Dec. 16 Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the lower house of Parliament, paving the way for elections in which his ruling party will likely give way to a weak coalition government. Elections are set for Dec. 16. If Noda's center-left party loses, Japan will get its seventh prime minister in 6 1/2 years.

AFGHANISTAN

Bomb kills 17 civilians on way to wedding A bomb killed 17 civilians as they traveled to a wedding in western Afghanistan. Most of the dead were women and children. The minivan the group was traveling in hit an improvised explosive device buried in a dirt road in Farah Province, said a spokesman for the provincial governor. Nine in the group were wounded, including five women and two children.

PAKISTAN

Son of Afghan militant leader is released The son of a legendary Afghan mujahedeen leader was among a group of Taliban prisoners released by Pakistan to help jump-start peace negotiations with the militant group. Pakistan released Anwarul Haq Mujahid on Thursday, and he joined his family in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Mujahid is the son of Maulvi Mohammad Yunus Khalis who fought against the Soviets in the 1980s. He died in 2006.

CROATIA

Joy as U.N. overturns two convictions Tens of thousands of supporters gave two Croatian generals a hero's welcome in Zagreb after a U.N. war crimes tribunal overturned their convictions for murdering and expelling Serb civilians during a 1995 military blitz. Croatians viewed the decision to release Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac as vindication that they were the victims in the Balkan wars in the 1990s, but Serbia denounced the ruling as a scandalous injustice toward tens of thousands of its compatriots who were expelled from Croatia after an offensive led by the two.

SWEDEN

Ikea sold products made with forced labor The Swedish furniture chain knowingly benefited from forced labor in the former East Germany to make some of its products in the 1980s, an investigation revealed. A report by Ernst & Young concluded that political and criminal prisoners were involved in making components of Ikea furniture and that some Ikea employees knew about it. Ikea had commissioned the report following allegations that the company knowingly used forced labor. Ikea apologized and pledged to donate funds to research projects on forced labor in the former German Democratic Republic.

NEWS SERVICES

ADD A PENNY TO PRICE OF A STAMP

The cost of mailing a first-class letter will go up by a penny in January. The Postal Regulatory Commission on Friday approved the increase of a first-class domestic stamp to 46 cents. The price of a postcard will go from 32 cents to 33 cents, while a new global "forever" stamp will allow customers to mail letters anywhere in the world for one set price of $1.10. Currently, the prices for international letters vary. The prices go into effect Jan. 27. The U.S. Postal Service just posted a record annual loss of $15.9 billion.