SYDNEY, Australi – Qantas Airways said Thursday it had accepted an $8.64 billion takeover offer from a private equity consortium including Australia’s Macquarie Bank and the Texas Pacific Group — one of the biggest corporate buyouts in Australian history. Qantas Chairman Margaret Jackson said the board had unanimously agreed to …

PHOENIX – The death of a woman who was gunned down while walking has been linked to a serial killer believed responsible for dozens of random shootings across metropolitan Phoenix, police said Thursday. The shooting was linked to earlier cases because of similarities and forensic evidence, said Mesa police Sgt. …

WASHINGTON – Sen. Charles Schumer said Wednesday the alleged plot in England to blow up U.S-bound airliners spotlights weaknesses in domestic safeguards, and the slow pace of adopting high-tech detection equipment in airports. Schumer’s criticism comes as Republicans and Democrats jockey for a political advantage in the wake of the …

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to block a threatened flight attendants strike against Northwest Airlines, saying a work stoppage would cause serious disruptions to the air transportation system. In a filing late Wednesday with the U.S. District Court, the government said a strike …

KINSHASA – Thirteen people, including one soldier, were killed Friday in political violence as campaigning began for Congo‘s first competitive elections in decades, a human rights worker said. Demonstrators in the eastern city of Matadi attacked and killed the soldier before troops retaliated firing on the crowd, killing 12 civilians …

KRIOPIGI, Greece – Greek researchers said Wednesday they had discovered a well-preserved skull of 5 million-year-old primate. The remains of the Mesopithecus Pentelicus — a monkey-like animal, a little more than 3 feet long — were found in the northern Halkidiki peninsula, outside the city of Thessaloniki. “It’s an important …

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Two 17-year-olds suspected of plotting a shooting spree at their school were fascinated with the mass killings at Columbine High School and had homemade bombs and weapons at their homes, investigators said Friday. The boys were arrested Thursday at East High School after a student went …

JERUSALEM – And Israeli soldier held an Israeli bus driver at gunpoint briefly south of Tel Aviv, raising alarms of a hijacked bus, police said. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the reservist, apparently drunk, pulled a gun on the driver and several passengers. Police arrested him, and no one was harmed. …

FLORENCE, S.C. – Liv Tyler says when she first saw the title of the script for her new film, “The Strangers,” she thought it was a comedy. Turns out it was a thriller about a couple trying to survive when three masked strangers invade their home. “I had stacks of …

MUMBAI, India – A high-ranking Indian state official Thursday night said military forces had killed the three remaining Islamic militants who had been holding hostages inside the Taj Mahal hotel. An official with the Maharashtra state home department, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said there were no further details. …