International Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) , Bus overturns in southwest Iran, killing 21 students, state radio says.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) , Palestinians have begun voting for new mayors and local councils across the West Bank, in the first election here in six years. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement hope Saturday's vote in 93 communities will revive flagging popular support. Some 515,000 registered voters are eligible and results are expected Sunday.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) , Police say they are investigating whether a Bangladeshi man charged with trying to blow up the Federal Reserve building in New York had connections with radical groups in Bangladesh.

VATICAN CITY (AP) , Jake Finkbonner was so close to death after flesh-eating bacteria infected him through a cut on his lip that his parents had last rites performed and were discussing donating the 5-year-old's tiny organs.

MEXICO CITY (AP) , A photograph showing firefighters and civil defense personnel holding down a young, bound bear spread-eagled and pulling its ears has sparked outrage in Mexico and brought down fines Friday on those involved.

ST. LOUIS , Barry Zito pitched the San Francisco Giants back into the NL championship series, dominating into the eighth inning of a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night that narrowed their deficit to 3-2.

BANGKOK (AP) , Myanmar's military, long criticized for human rights abuses, may be invited as an observer at annual U.S-Thai joint military exercise next year, officials in Washington and Bangkok said Friday. The potential invitation to the Cobra Gold exercise would come after years of Myanmar being frozen out of U.S.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. , Mitt Romney charged Friday that Democrats have resorted to "silly word games" to try to win the election after President Obama on Friday accused him of "Romnesia" in changing his earlier stances. At a huge rally here on the beach in Florida amid Biketoberfest, a bike rally that draws tens of thousands of motorcycle owners, Mr. Romney and his running mate, Rep.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) , No one is safe from the crosshairs of La Comay. This five-foot-tall character with a foam head painted with outrageous red lips, a shrill voice and a penchant for salacious details rules Puerto Rico's gossip circuit, with legions tuning into her show every afternoon ready for the latest bombshell.

BEIRUT (AP) , A powerful car bomb tore through the heart of Beirut's Christian sector Friday, killing a top security official and seven others in a devastating attack that threatened to bring the war in Syria directly to Lebanon's doorstep. The blast sheared the balconies off apartment buildings, upended cars and sent dazed rescue workers carrying bloodied children into the streets.

LONDON (AP) , The British hospital treating a 15-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban raised hopes for her recovery Friday when doctors said she was able to stand with some help and to write.

WASHINGTON , Medicare is coming under scrutiny in the meningitis outbreak that has rekindled doubts about the safety of the nation's drug supply. The giant health insurance program for seniors long ago flagged compounded drugs produced for the mass market without oversight from the Food and Drug Administration as safety risks.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) , A weeklong pretrial hearing for the Sept. 11 terrorism case has come to a close at Guantanamo Bay without rulings on the most important of more than two dozen motions. The judge says he will rule later on security rules for handling classified evidence that defense lawyers argue would make it impossible for them to defend their clients.

PARIS (AP) , A Jack Russell terrier has survived after being poisoned and buried alive , and he can thank the man who saw the ground wiggle. Ethan came back to life on his third birthday after someone tried to kill him. He had a whole chain of saviors: the man who dug him up, the firefighters who rushed him off and a veterinarian who nursed him back to life.

SAO PAULO (AP) , Brazil's national electricity grid braced for possible power outages Friday night during the television broadcast of the final chapter of a smash soap opera that enthralled Latin America's biggest country for months.