TEHRAN (Reuters) - The 15 British military personnel who had been held by Iran left Tehran on a flight to London on Thursday, ending a two-week standoff that raised international tension and rattled financial markets.

AP - Fifteen British sailors and marines released by Iran after nearly two weeks in captivity flew out of a Tehran airport Thursday aboard a commercial flight bound for London, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

AP - Although it's too late to do anything about the bitter disappointment of last fall, the New York Mets certainly put a damper on the St. Louis Cardinals' season-opening celebrations.

Reuters - The 15 British military personnel who had been held by Iran left Tehran on Thursday on a flight to London, Iran Radio reported, ending a standoff that raised international tension and rattled financial markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq in February may have been killed by 'friendly fire' rather than by enemy fire as initially reported, the U.S. Army said on Wednesday.

AP - If money talks in presidential politics, Sen. Barack Obama has 25 million reasons why skeptical Democrats should start to listen.

AP - The U.N. Security Council put climate change on its agenda for the first time, warning global warming could be a catalyst for new conflict around the world.

AP - Billionaire Philip Anschutz, who hired Joe Nacchio to turn Qwest Communications into a major telecommunications company, has been chosen to kick off the defense's case in Nacchio's insider trading trial.

Reuters - Iraqi security forces have detained two men believed to be behind a truck bomb attack in the northern town of Tal Afar last week that killed 152 people, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

Reuters - New U.S. intelligence chief Mike McConnell said on Wednesday that coping with a grueling work schedule has proven to be one of the main challenges of his first two months on the job.

AFP - Fifteen British sailors released by Iran after two weeks in detention left Tehran on Thursday on a flight back home to Britain, an AFP correspondent at the airport reported.

AFP - President Viktor Yushchenko moved to quell a political rebellion against his rule on Thursday amid trenchant opposition to his order to dissolve parliament and hold early elections.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The 15 British military personnel who had been held by Iran left Tehran on a flight to London on Thursday, ending a two-week standoff that raised international tension and rattled financial markets.

LONDON (Reuters) - Advertisements for flights, or holidays that include flying, should carry a tobacco-style health warning to remind people of the global warming crisis, a leading British think-tank said on Thursday.

AP - A U.S. helicopter went down after coming under fire Thursday in a Sunni militant stronghold south of Baghdad but there was no immediate word on casualties, an Iraqi army official said. The U.S. military said it was looking into the report.

AP - It started as a bad night for Gilbert Arenas, and ended as a miserable one for the Washington Wizards.

Reuters - The 15 British military personnel who had been held by Iran left Tehran on a flight to London on Thursday, ending a two-week standoff that raised international tension and rattled financial markets.

Reuters - Two U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq in February may have been killed by "friendly fire" rather than by enemy fire as initially reported, the U.S. Army said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Advertisements for flights, or holidays that include flying, should carry a tobacco-style health warning to remind people of the global warming crisis, a leading British think-tank said on Thursday.

AFP - Fifteen British sailors freed by Iran were flying home to London on Thursday, jubilant and relieved at the dramatic end to their two-week ordeal that had triggered a tense international standoff.

LONDON (Reuters) - The flight carrying 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a tense two-week stand-off arrived back in England on Thursday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Britain held on Thursday its first talks with a leader of the Islamist Hamas group, sending a diplomat to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to discuss efforts to free a BBC journalist abducted in Gaza.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana discussed prospects for negotiations on Iran's nuclear program with Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani in a telephone call shortly before Iran freed 15 captured British navy personnel, an EU official said on Thursday.

AP - Fifteen British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks in Iran arrived home Thursday, a day after the announcement of their release defused a growing confrontation between the two countries.

AP - Four British soldiers and a Kuwaiti interpreter were killed Thursday in an ambush in southern Iraq, the British military said.

AP - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi continued her Mideast tour Thursday, a day after coming under sharp attack from the Bush administration for meeting with Syria's leader.

AP - Barry Bonds wants to wait a while before he starts thinking about Hank Aaron's record. In the meantime, everyone else can do it for him.

Reuters - The flight carrying 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a tense two-week stand-off arrived back in England on Thursday.

Reuters - Britain held on Thursday its first talks with a leader of the Islamist Hamas group, sending a diplomat to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to discuss efforts to free a BBC journalist abducted in Gaza.

AFP - Ukraine's political crisis deepened Thursday as President Viktor Yushchenko vowed to stand firm on his decision to hold early elections and parliament accused him of destabilizing the country.

LONDON (Reuters) - The 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week diplomatic stand-off arrived back in England on Thursday to cheers and to questions about the incident and its implications.

LONDON (Reuters) - Three men have been charged in connection with the July 7, 2005, suicide bomb attacks that killed 52 commuters on London's transport system, police and prosecutors said on Thursday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said an army helicopter with nine personnel on board went down south of Baghdad on Thursday, and four personnel were injured.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, starting four days of hectic activity leading up to Easter, said on Thursday priests should recognize the faults in their own lives and seek purity from God.

AP - A British navy crew returned home Thursday from Iranian captivity to the relief of a nation, after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced their surprise release and ended the two-week crisis. The 15 sailors and marines broke open champagne and changed into fresh uniforms on the flight home. After landing, they smiled and stood at attention before being whisked by helicopter to the Royal Marines base at Chivenor, southwest of London.

AP - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi continued her Mideast tour Thursday, a day after coming under sharp attack from the Bush administration for meeting with Syria's leader.

AP - Four British soldiers were killed Thursday in an ambush in southern Iraq, while five U.S. troops died in separate attacks in Baghdad, and a U.S. Army helicopter went down south of the capital but all nine aboard survived, officials said.

AP - Prosecutors filed charges Thursday against three people allegedly involved in the four suicide bomb attacks that killed 52 subway and bus passengers in London on July 7, 2005. The three, who were arrested last month, were charged with conspiring with the four bombers.

AP - Newly laid-off workers signed up for unemployment benefits at a faster pace last week as companies try to cope with sluggish growth in the national economy.

AP - Arnold Palmer stepped up to a first teebox that used to be the practice green Thursday and kicked off the Masters with a tee shot that looks nothing like what he used to hit when he ruled the course.

Reuters - The 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week diplomatic stand-off arrived back in England on Thursday to cheers and to questions about the incident and its implications.

Reuters - Three men have been charged in connection with the July 7, 2005, suicide bomb attacks that killed 52 commuters on London's transport system, police and prosecutors said on Thursday.

Reuters - The U.S. military said an army helicopter with nine personnel on board went down south of Baghdad on Thursday, and four personnel were injured.

Reuters - Pope Benedict, starting four days of hectic activity leading up to Easter, said on Thursday priests should recognize the faults in their own lives and seek purity from God.

AFP - Fifteen British naval personnel returned home Thursday, overjoyed after their surprise release by Iran's president ended a two week diplomatic battle.

LONDON (Reuters) - The 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week diplomatic stand-off arrived back in England on Thursday to cheers and to questions about the incident and its implications.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Even in a Harlem church where former U.S. President Bill Clinton is revered, his wife and presidential aspirant Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has some work to do with black women once expected to be firmly in her camp.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States would suffer losses if it attacked Iran but weight of numbers would ensure it eventually achieved air supremacy, Russian generals said on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A La Nina weather anomaly may be forming in the equatorial Pacific, but a fog of unpredictability enshrouds when it may strike and how strong it might be, according to the Climate Prediction Center of the U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union and United States have made progress in talks on sharing air passenger data and are confident of reaching an agreement before a July deadline, possibly even this month, they said on Thursday.

AP - Fifteen Royal Navy sailors and marines held captive by Iran returned home Thursday to a nation relieved at their freedom but also outraged that they were used by Tehran's propaganda machine.

AP - A spring storm brought more than a foot of snow to parts of the upper Northeast, closing schools, tangling traffic and knocking out power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses on Thursday.

AP - Most felons released from prison will have their voting and other civil rights restored under a rule approved Thursday by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and the state clemency board.

AP - More than 1,100 Jackson family items are set for auction in Las Vegas next month, but a representative for Michael Jackson says the pop star is considering legal action to stop the sale.

AP - Ben Crenshaw woke up early and turned back the clock Thursday, taking the early Masters lead on a super-sized course that was supposed to leave oldtimers like him far behind.

Reuters - The 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week diplomatic stand-off arrived back in England on Thursday to cheers and to questions about the incident and its implications.

Reuters - Even in a Harlem church where former U.S. President Bill Clinton is revered, his wife and presidential aspirant Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has some work to do with black women once expected to be firmly in her camp.

Reuters - The United States would suffer losses if it attacked Iran but weight of numbers would ensure it eventually achieved air supremacy, Russian generals said on Thursday.

Reuters - A La Nina weather anomaly may be forming in the equatorial Pacific, but a fog of unpredictability enshrouds when it may strike and how strong it might be, according to the Climate Prediction Center of the U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Reuters - The European Union and United States have made progress in talks on sharing air passenger data and are confident of reaching an agreement before a July deadline, possibly even this month, they said on Thursday.

CHIVENOR (Reuters) - The 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week diplomatic stand-off were reunited with their families in Britain on Thursday amid questions about the incident and its implications.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The United States is putting pressure on Iran by supporting anti-Iranian militants operating from the Pakistani border region, the speaker of Iran's parliament, Gholamali Haddadadel, said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is open to direct talks with Iran over its role in Iraq when she attends a meeting of Iraq's neighbors and world powers, the State Department said on Thursday.

AP - Four British soldiers were killed Thursday in an ambush in southern Iraq, and Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tehran's support for Iraqi militants could lead Britain 'to reflect on our relationship with Iran.'

AP - Most Florida felons will regain voting and other civil rights more quickly after completing their sentences with changes approved Thursday by the governor and the state clemency board.

AP - The U.N. Security Council put climate change on its agenda for the first time and will hold a high-level meeting this month to discuss potential threats to international security from global warming.

AP - Last year's Ryder Cup rookies were this year's early leaders at the Masters. Zach Johnson and Henrik Stenson were among the few players shooting under par Thursday during a slow start at Augusta.

Reuters - The 15 British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week diplomatic stand-off were reunited with their families in Britain on Thursday amid questions about the incident and its implications.

Reuters - The United States is putting pressure on Iran by supporting anti-Iranian militants operating from the Pakistani border region, the speaker of Iran's parliament, Gholamali Haddadadel, said on Thursday.

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is open to direct talks with Iran over its role in Iraq when she attends a meeting of Iraq's neighbors and world powers, the State Department said on Thursday.

AFP - Fifteen British naval personnel held by Iran for 13 days flew home to emotional scenes Thursday at the end of a standoff that Prime Minister Tony Blair said had been resolved without "any deal."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank's employee organization has questioned the promotion and pay rise of a female staffer it says is involved with bank President Paul Wolfowitz.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Police in Florida have arrested an activist for feeding the homeless in downtown Orlando.

AP - NEW YORK AP) — Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who lost out in Chrysler's 1998 merger with Daimler Benz, wants to buy the troubled automaker back from its now-unhappy German owners.

AP - An FBI agent was killed in a shootout with three bank robbery suspects Thursday in north central New Jersey, a law enforcement official said.

AP - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Saudi Arabia's unelected advisory council Thursday, the closest thing in the kingdom to a legislature, where she tried out her counterpart's chair — a privilege no Saudi woman can have because women cannot become legislators.

AP - Changing climate will mean increasing drought in the Southwest — a region where water already is in tight supply — according to a new study.

AP - As the defending champion, it's a sure thing Phil Mickelson will be around come the end of the Masters. The big question is whether he'll be playing golf that day or just handing out a green jacket. Mickelson floundered his way to a front-nine score of 4-over-par 40 in Thursday's opening round, still one shot better than Ernie Els but in early danger of missing the cut.

Reuters - The World Bank's employee organization has questioned the promotion and pay rise of a female staffer it says is involved with bank President Paul Wolfowitz.

Reuters - Police in Florida have arrested an activist for feeding the homeless in downtown Orlando.

AFP - Fifteen British sailors freed by Iran called their ordeal "very difficult" after they flew home Thursday to end a tense stand-off that Britain insisted had been resolved without any trade-off.

AFP - Ukraine looked abroad for a breakthrough in its deepening political crisis on Thursday as Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych asked Austria's chancellor to help resolve a power struggle in his country.

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush and Democrats who control the U.S. Congress are on a collision course over Iraq war funding with neither side yet showing a willingness to back down.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's top Democratic legislator called on Thursday for voters to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in a ballot measure for the state's 2008 presidential primary election.

AP - With champagne bottles popping, a Royal Navy crew flew home Thursday after nearly two weeks in Iranian captivity to hugs from tearful relatives and relief in a Britain outraged the crew was used by Tehran for propaganda.

AP - The U.S. military reported Thursday that seven U.S. soldiers were killed in the Baghdad area over the past two days as militants fought back against a security plan in its eighth week. An Army helicopter went down south of the capital, injuring four, after an Iraqi official said it was fired on by insurgents.

AP - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Saudi Arabia's unelected advisory council Thursday, the closest thing in the kingdom to a legislature, where she tried out her counterpart's chair — a privilege no Saudi woman can have because women cannot become legislators.

AP - People make more 911 calls from cellular telephones than landlines these days, and police and firefighters increasingly worry about finding those callers in distress.

Reuters - President George W. Bush and Democrats who control the U.S. Congress are on a collision course over Iraq war funding with neither side yet showing a willingness to back down.

Reuters - California's top Democratic legislator called on Thursday for voters to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in a ballot measure for the state's 2008 presidential primary election.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former first lady Betty Ford, 88-year-old widow of the late President Gerald Ford, was recovering on Thursday from surgery at a California hospital, CNN reported.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney accused U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday of 'bad behavior' on her Middle East trip, saying she bungled a message for Syria's president that was later clarified by Israel.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian human rights groups on Thursday asked U.S. President George W. Bush to explain why he had a White House meeting with a Russian general accused of rights abuses in Chechnya.

AP - The U.S. military reported Thursday that eight U.S. soldiers were killed in the Baghdad area over the past three days as militants fought back against a security plan in its eighth week. An Army helicopter went down south of the capital, wounding four, after an Iraqi official said insurgents fired on it.

AP - Two diaries penned by Anna Nicole Smith in the early 1990s reveal a troubled young woman professing to be deeply in love with octogenarian oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, and often depressed and concerned about her weight and eating habits.

Reuters - Vice President Dick Cheney accused U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday of "bad behavior" on her Middle East trip, saying she bungled a message for Syria's president that was later clarified by Israel.

Reuters - Russian human rights groups on Thursday asked U.S. President George W. Bush to explain why he had a White House meeting with a Russian general accused of rights abuses in Chechnya.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department is preparing to send another 12,000 National Guard combat troops to Iraq, NBC Nightly News reported on Thursday, citing Pentagon sources.

AP - An FBI agent who was killed Thursday in a shootout with three bank robbery suspects might have been shot accidentally by another agent on his stakeout team, the FBI said.

AP - U.S. and Iraqi officials are working to give Iran access to the five Iranians detained by American forces in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

AP - The cheers broke the morning calm at Augusta National when Arnold Palmer took a mighty swing at his ceremonial tee shot. For the next 11 hours Thursday, the Masters went mute. Throw together a course that has grown 500 yards with brittle conditions, and there wasn't much to cheer.

Reuters - The U.S. Defense Department is preparing to send another 12,000 National Guard combat troops to Iraq, NBC Nightly News reported on Thursday, citing Pentagon sources.

Reuters - Former first lady Betty Ford, 88-year-old widow of the late President Gerald Ford, was recovering on Thursday from surgery at a California hospital, CNN reported.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treating cancer with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation may sometimes cause tumors to spread and U.S. researchers said on Thursday they may have nailed down one of the causes -- a compound called TGF-beta.

AP - The U.S. military reported Thursday that eight U.S. soldiers were killed in the Baghdad area over the past three days as militants fought back against a security plan in its eighth week. An Army helicopter went down south of the capital, wounding four, after an Iraqi official said insurgents fired on it.

AP - Two diaries penned by Anna Nicole Smith in the early 1990s reveal a troubled young woman professing to be deeply in love with octogenarian oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, and often depressed and concerned about her weight and eating habits.

AP - Augusta National is called the 'cathedral of golf,' and it sure sounded like one Thursday. Gone were those roars that resonate along Amen Corner, as much a part of the Masters as the blazing colors of spring and the red numbers under par on the leaderboard.