Israel: No Palestinian peace deal possible now

Israel has concluded that a final peace deal with the Palestinians cannot be reached at this time and is weighing alternatives to try to prove that it is interested in keeping peacemaking with the Palestinians alive, officials said Thursday.

With popular protests shaking up the Mideast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under fierce international pressure to prove he is serious about gietting peacemaking moving again, especially after the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel's West Bank settlement construction last month.

Israeli officials are meeting with international mediators, including U.S. envoy Dennis Ross and representatives of the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers - the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia - due to arrive in the region next week.

Government officials say Netanyahu is expected to deliver a major policy speech on peacemaking in the coming weeks, hinting at a change in direction away from direct talks on a peace treaty.

Privately, officials say Netanyahu is considering a phased approach to peacemaking, but contrary to published reports, it is not clear if he is open to the concept of a Palestinian state within temporary borders.

Mexican judge orders controversial film pulled

A judge in Mexico City has ordered officials to temporarily pull a film about the failings of Mexico's justice system from theaters, after a prosecution witness who appears in the film filed a complaint.

The documentary "Presumed Guilty" centers on an apparently innocent man convicted of murder. The movie opened Feb. 18 to widespread praise, including from officials who recognize the system needs changes.

The federal Interior Department said Wednesday it will appeal the ruling.

A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for March 11.

One of the perceived failings of the Mexican justice system is its closed system, in which trials have long been held in private, without oral arguments. Defendants often never see the judge.

Top cable programs for Feb. 21-27

Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Feb. 21-27. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:

1. "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 5.48 million homes, 7.72 million viewers.

2. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.857 million homes, 5.89 million viewers.

3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.853 million homes, 5.82 million viewers.

4. "NCIS" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.68 million homes, 5.06 million viewers.

5. "NCIS" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.41 million homes, 4.74 million viewers.

6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.22 million homes, 4.77 million viewers.

FIFA reports $631M profit during last 4 years

FIFA says it made a $631 million profit in the four years leading up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, registering $202 million of that in last year alone.

The figures FIFA released Thursday for the four-year financial cycle showed income of $4.19 billion from broadcast and commercial deals, with 87 percent tied directly to its marquee event.

Its spending from 2007-10 was $3.56 billion.

The 2010 World Cup helped raise FIFA's reserves to $1.28 billion.

FIFA already has completed most deals for the 2014 World Cup after signing nearly all broadcasters and sponsors to two-tournament packages.

More than 100 killed in disputed Sudan region

Southern Sudanese officials on Thursday blamed the north's military for attacks that killed more than 100 people this week around a disputed town between north and south Sudan.

Women and children fled en masse from the town of Abyei, a region that has long been seen as the major sticking point between north and south. Southern Sudan voted in January to secede from the north and is on course to become the world's newest country in July.

"Now all the women and children have evacuated the town. They have moved south because they expect more fighting in the town," said Father Peter Suleiman, a Catholic priest who spoke to the Associated Press by phone from Abyei town on Thursday.

Col. Philip Aguer, the spokesman for Southern Sudan's military, said more than 70 people were killed in fighting between Sunday and Tuesday. Aguer said that armed members of the Arab cattle-herding Misseriya tribe, militia fighters and northern army forces attacked several villages north of the town of Abyei.

Aguer said the southern government blames the north's Sudanese Armed Forces and the government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for the violence.

Egypt's military says prime minister has resigned

The prime minister appointed by ousted President Hosni Mubarak has resigned, Egypt's military rulers said Thursday, meeting a key demand of the opposition protest movement.

In a failed attempt to quiet the anti-government protests, Mubarak named former air force officer Ahmed Shafiq to be prime minister shortly after the unrest began on Jan. 25. Mubarak stepped down Feb. 11 and the military took control of the country, but Shafiq remained in office at the head of a caretaker government.

A brief statement posted on the military's official website said it had chosen former Transport Minister Essam Sharaf as the new prime minister and asked him to form a new caretaker Cabinet to run the government throughout a transition back to civilian rule.

Sharaf served in the Cabinet between 2004 and 2006. He quit amid an uproar over a series of deadly train accidents blamed on government negligence. Sharaf, an engineer by profession, has visited the anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, the uprising's epicenter, something that endeared him to the youth groups behind the opposition movement.

Elijah Dukes accused of hitting pregnant woman

Former Major League Baseball player Elijah Dukes is accused of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman.

Hillsborough County Jail records show Dukes is being held without bond after his arrest Wednesday. He also was arrested on charges of driving with a license that has been suspended or revoked and a contempt of court warrant.

Dukes began his career with the Tampa Bay Rays and was traded to the Washington Nationals in 2008. He was released before the 2010.

Dukes signed last June with the independent Newark Bears of the Atlantic League.

Jail records did not indicate whether Dukes has an attorney. Attorney Grady Irvin Jr. says he no longer represents Dukes.

Campbell Soup CEO taking leave for surgery

Campbell Soup Co. says President and CEO Douglas Conant will take several weeks off work following surgery scheduled for Monday.

The company says the procedure has long been planned and will be a follow-up to treatment he received after he was injured in a car crash in July 2009.

The company said he broke some ribs in the accident, but did not disclose other details of the injury. He was not driving.

While he's out, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Denise Morrison is to run the Camden-based company's day-to-day operations. She's also expected to take over when Conant, 59, steps down in July after a decade leading the world's largest soup maker.

Ruby's presence shakes up staid Vienna Opera Ball

When Vienna's glitzy Opera Ball blossoms into a swirl of elegant waltzing couples Thursday evening, one famous guest will be watching from the sidelines.

"I can't waltz," says Ruby - a.k.a. Karima el-Mahroug. Pausing for effect, the Moroccan teen at the center of the scandal plaguing Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi smiles at reporters and adds: "I can only belly dance."

For centuries, Vienna's high society has waltzed blissfully through wars, recessions and firebomb-throwing anarchists opposed to the moneyed decadence they think such events represent. But it has never had to deal with an 18-year-old dancer said to have been paid by Berlusconi for sex while she was still underage - and the ripples caused by her presence are relegating Libya's revolution and other top news events to the back pages of Austria's newspapers.

Vienna's top priest has been drawn into the fray, citing scripture in favor of her attendance. The ball's organizer has threatened to ban Richard Lugner, the quirky 78-year old millionaire who invited her. State television's program head has ordered reporters covering the ball to avoid mentioning her at all costs. That, in turn has resulted in protests from TV employees who see her as the biggest news of the event.

In typical reporting, this week's front cover of News, one of Austria's most widely read magazines is dominated by a montage of Lugner in tails and top hat, his arm around a scantily clad Ruby and the headline "Scandal Surrounds the Opera Ball." Moammar Gadhafi and the uprising in Libya is relegated to a narrow strip running down the left side of the cover.

To underestimate the uproar is to ignore the place that the Vienna Opera Ball holds in the hearts of Austrians.

Canada to host 2015 Women's World Cup

Canada will host the women's World Cup in 2015.

FIFA had an easy choice Thursday with Canada as the only candidate. Zimbabwe withdrew from the contest Wednesday because of a lack of infrastructure.

Canada will host the women's under-20 World Cup in 2014 as a test event.

FIFA also awarded hosting rights for the men's U20 World Cup to Turkey in 2013 and New Zealand in 2015.

The men's U17 World Cup will be staged in the United Arab Emirates in 2013 and Chile in 2015.

Uzbekistan was chosen by FIFA's executive committee to host the women's U20 World Cup in 2012.

Costa Rica will host the women's U17 World Cup in 2014.

Yemeni opposition suggests way out of crisis

A spokesman for a coalition of Yemeni opposition groups say the alliance has suggested a plan to end the country's political crisis that would involve President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepping down by the end of the year.

The spokesman, Mohammed al-Sabri, says the five-point plan was sent to Saleh on Wednesday through religious scholars. He says the opposition is waiting for a response.

In recent weeks, Yemen has been rocked by daily protests inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

Saleh, a key ally in the U.S. campaign against the al-Qaida terror network, has promised to step down after national elections in 2013, an offer rejected by the opposition.

Al-Sabri said Thursday the suggestions also call for an investigation into the deaths of protesters in recent weeks.

ICC Prosecutor: Gadhafi, sons to be investigated

The International Criminal Court will investigate Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his inner circle, including some of his sons, for possible crimes against humanity in the violent crackdown on anti-government protesters, the prosecutor said Thursday.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Gadhafi's security forces are alleged to have attacked "peaceful demonstrators" in several towns and cities across Libya since Feb. 15, and he identified Gadhafi and several commanders and regime officials as having formal or de facto command over the forces that may have committed crimes.

Moreno-Ocampo vowed there would be "no impunity in Libya."

Armed with unusual authority from the U.N. Security Council, Moreno-Ocampo acted with unprecedented haste to launch an investigation, partly to warn Libyan officials against any continued slaughter of civilians.

He said the court was using the opportunity "to put them on notice: If forces under their command commit crimes, they could be criminally responsible."

He also warned that leaders of the Libyan opposition, who have seized weapons from the Libyan military, could be investigated if allegations were raised against them.

"No one has the authority to attack and massacre civilians," he said.

Moreno-Ocampo mentioned only Gadhafi by name, but identified seven people by their positions to be investigated. They were the commander of the 32 battalion, the head of Gadhafi's personal security, the national security adviser, the director-general of the external security organization, the spokesman of the regime, the head of the security forces and the minister of foreign affairs. Gadhafi's son Khamis commands the elite 32nd battalion.

Gadhafi has denied using violence against demonstrators, whom he described as agents of al-Qaida. International media have been unable to witness the worst of the reported incidents.

Philippines sends warplanes near disputed islands

The Philippine military deployed two warplanes near a disputed area in the South China Sea after a ship searching for oil complained it was harassed by two Chinese patrol boats, officials said Thursday.

The Chinese vessels later left without confrontation, said Philippine military commander Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban.

The incident happened Wednesday at the Reed Bank, which is near the disputed Spratly Islands that are claimed by the Philippines, China and other nations, said Sabban, who heads the military's Western Command. Philippine officials said the Reed Bank is clearly within Philippine territory.

"The boats approached in a way that the Philippine vessel thought it was better to back off," Carandang told The Associated Press.

From pit to palace: Kate's coal mining ancestry

She's not exactly a coal miner's daughter, but Kate Middleton has deep family roots in the grim coal pits of northern England.

Middleton has already captivated the world's imagination with her Cinderella story of going from middle-class girl-next-door to queen-in-waiting, but until recently few knew of her family's connection to coal mining, once a prime source of Britain's prosperity that has now fallen on hard times.

Her great-grandfather left coal country nearly a century ago in pursuit of a safer way of life in the London area, but his siblings stayed behind and spent their working lives in the coal pits. She still has relatives in the area who expect her to bring a practical, no-nonsense approach to royal life once she and Prince William tie the knot at Westminster Abbey on April 29.

John Harrison, a cousin who still lives in Hetton-Le-Hole - once a bustling mining center now down on its luck - doesn't expect Middleton to act all high and mighty when she officially becomes a princess.

Bahrain's Shiite opposition set to talk to rulers

The Shiite opposition groups in Bahrain seeking to loosen the Sunni monarchy's grip on power said Thursday they are ready to negotiate with the Gulf nation's rulers about political change after weeks of protests.

The two-week standoff, in which seven protesters were killed, has rattled one of the wealthiest corners of the Middle East, where it was long assumed that oil riches would stave off the kind of unrest that roiled Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.

Bahrain's sectarian division, however, left it vulnerable. The kingdom has a Shiite majority but has been ruled for 200 years by a Sunni dynasty that it accuses of discriminatory policies and political persecution.

Senior opposition leader Abdul Jalil Khalil said the monarchy's opponents will accept the crown prince's invitation for dialogue.

"We will talk to the crown prince, but we are not going to sit together for a casual chat, but for a meaningful dialogue only," said Khalil, a leader of Bahrain's main Shiite group Al Wefaq.

Khalil said no date has been set for the beginning of the talks.

Italy scandal teen shakes up staid Vienna Ball

When Vienna's glitzy Opera Ball blossoms into a swirl of elegant waltzing couples Thursday evening, one famous guest will be watching from the sidelines.

"I can't waltz," says Ruby - a.k.a. Karima el-Mahrough. Pausing for effect, the Moroccan teen at the center of the scandal plaguing Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi smiles at reporters and adds: "I can only belly dance."

For centuries, Vienna's high society has waltzed blissfully through wars, recessions and firebomb-throwing anarchists opposed to the moneyed decadence they think such events represent. But it has never had to deal with an 18-year-old dancer said to have been paid by Berlusconi for sex while she was still underage - and the ripples caused by her presence are relegating Libya's revolution and other top news events to the back pages of Austria's newspapers.

Vienna's top priest has been drawn into the fray, citing scripture in favor of her attendance. The ball's organizer has threatened to ban Richard Lugner, the quirky 78-year old millionaire who invited her. State television's program head has ordered reporters covering the ball to avoid mentioning her at all costs. That, in turn has resulted in protests from TV employees who see her as the biggest news of the event.

In typical reporting, this week's front cover of News, one of Austria's most widely read magazines is dominated by a montage of Lugner in tails and top hat, his arm around a scantily clad Ruby and the headline "Scandal Surrounds the Opera Ball." Moammar Gahdafi and the uprising in Libya is relegated to a narrow strip running down the left side of the cover.

India.Arie readies 5th effort with Israeli singer

On India.Arie's last album, she blended a world music sound with her signature style of soul. She's planning to take things to the next level on an upcoming CD with Israeli singer Idan Raichel.

"I always go different (and) I went even farther," India.Arie said in a recent interview.

The album, "Open Door," will be released this summer. It will feature songs in Hebrew and English, though India.Arie doesn't know Hebrew, explaining that Raichel "teaches me the translation."

While vacationing in Israel, the 34-year-old singer asked locals who the most influential political singer-songwriter was in town.

UN: 200,000 people flee Ivory Coast fighting

More than 200,000 people have fled a suburb in Ivory Coast's commercial capital amid days of heavy street fighting that has left dozens dead and spread fears the country will slide back to civil war, the U.N. said Thursday.

Days of intense clashes have taken place in Abobo between police loyal to sitting president Laurent Gbagbo and rebel soldiers allied with his opponent, Alassane Ouattara.

Local U.N. human rights representative Guillaume Ngefa said Thursday that at least 26 people have been killed in Abobo in the last 24 hours alone.

The U.N.'s refugee agency also has expressed alarm about the dire conditions facing people trying to get out of the area, citing "reports of many dead bodies, buses burned and shops looted, and of young militiamen attacking people inside their homes."

The standoff between the two men claiming to be president reached a new level last week when the army began using war-like weapons, including mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.