AP - A Palestinian couple locked their disabled son and daughter away for decades out of fear they would ruin the marriage prospects of a healthy child if discovered, police said Wednesday.

AP - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to keep a peacekeeping force in Lebanon for another year, calling for stepped-up efforts to achieve a permanent cease-fire and long-term resolution of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

AP - In an about-face, Jordan is reaching out to the Hamas militant group amid fears that a collapse of Mideast peacemaking would bring an influx of refugees. But the U.S. ally must walk a delicate line to avoid angering its American and Israeli friends.