KENTUCKY

4.3 quake rattles widespread region A 4.3-magnitude earthquake centered in southeastern Kentucky on Saturday shook residents from northern Ohio to North Carolina and Alabama. The earthquake, centered more than half a mile underground about 8 miles west of Whitesburg, Ky., did not appear to cause any structural damage in the Ohio Valley. More than 200 people from Ohio, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana and North Carolina -- some more than 300 miles away -- reported feeling the temblor to the U.S. Geological Survey's website.

CALIFORNIA

Parole violators may get break from state Corrections officials are poised to drop the arrest warrants of thousands of parole violators, releasing them from state supervision at a time when their detention would complicate efforts to ease prison crowding. The state intends to begin a massive review next week of more than 9,200 outstanding warrants, starting with individuals who were convicted of nonviolent crimes.

TURKEY

17 soldiers killed in helicopter crash A Turkish military helicopter carrying soldiers on a mission against Kurdish rebels crashed because of bad weather, killing all 17 troops onboard. President Abdullah Gul said the soldiers were on their way "to help their friends" in an operation against the rebels who have recently escalated attacks.

SYRIA

New car bombings leave at least 20 dead Car bombs rocked the southern city of Dara on Saturday, killing anywhere from 20 to 50 people, depending on the source. It came on a day in which activists meeting abroad failed to agree on the shape of a government-in-exile in support of the rebellion. Meanwhile, the United Nations warned that what is now a humanitarian crisis could morph into a catastrophe with cold, wet weather hampering rescue efforts for 2 million people displaced in the fighting.

IRAQ

$4 billion Russian arms deal in question Iraq is reconsidering plans to buy more than $4 billion in arms from Russia, officials said, throwing the proposed purchase into question just weeks after it was announced. The turnaround follows the ouster of Russia's defense minister last week, and allegations by Iraqi lawmakers and local media that the pending deal is tainted by graft.

BRITAIN

BBC executive resigns in growing scandal The BBC's top executive resigned after the broadcaster's marquee news magazine wrongly implicated a British politician in a child sex-abuse scandal, plunging the network into further uncertainty amid a controversy that exploded after it decided not to air similar allegations against one of its own stars who police now say was one of nation's worst pedophiles. George Entwistle said it was the "honorable thing" to step down after just eight weeks in the job.

VATICAN

Computer technician convicted in scandal A court convicted computer technician Claudio Sciarpelletti of helping the former papal butler in the embarrassing leak of confidential papal documents and gave him a two-month suspended sentence.

AZERBAIJAN

E.U. says it was hacked at security conference A European official says her staff members' computers were hacked at a conference on Internet security in Azerbaijan. European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said her advisers' computers were compromised as they attended a meeting of the Internet Governance Forum in Baku, the Azeri capital.

NEWS SERVICES