Officers acquitted on most charges in beating

MILWAUKEE -- A jury cleared three white former police officers of most charges in the 2004 brutal beating of a biracial man that enflamed racial tensions, but city officials vowed to ask federal prosecutors to consider pursuing the case. An all-white jury deliberated for more than 26 hours and returned not guilty verdicts late Friday on the charges against Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler, both 26. John Bartlett, 34, was cleared on one charge but the jury deadlocked on a charge of substantial battery.

Palestinian police protest going without pay

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip -- Palestinian police protested the Hamas-led government's failure to pay them by storming a government building in Gaza and firing their weapons in the air. The officers sealed off a main road, surrounded the offices of town councilors, and took positions on the roof and balconies. They eventually left peacefully. Already impoverished Palestinians have been feeling economic repercussions of the rise of Hamas, which took office two weeks ago. Because of Hamas' history of violence and its refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist, Western nations have cut off aid to the cash-starved Palestinian Authority. Israel also stopped the monthly handover of about $55 million in taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.

Afghan government: Gunbattle kills 41 rebels

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Forty-one rebels died in an intense gun battle touched off when Afghan security forces attacked a suspected Taliban hideout in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Saturday. Asadullah Khalid, the provincial governor, said six Afghan police officers also died in Friday's fighting in Sangisar, a town 25 miles southwest of Kandahar. Taliban remnants have threatened more attacks against coalition and Afghan soldiers during the spring and summer months.

Journalists beaten in Nepal anti-king marches

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Baton-wielding police beat protesting Nepali journalists Saturday as thousands of people marched peacefully in the capital to demand the restoration of democracy. Shops and businesses shut across much of the country as the opposition pressed a general strike. Tensions had eased in the previous two days due to the Nepali New Year's holiday. Thousands of people marched for miles Saturday afternoon along the ring road encircling Katmandu, shouting "Down with the monarchy! Salute the republic!"

N. Ireland to observe 1916 Easter Rising

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Imagine a United States that felt uncomfortable celebrating the Fourth of July. Or a France that greeted Bastille Day with mute embarrassment. That has been the strange story of modern Ireland -- but it's about to change in historic fashion. Today, for the first time in 40 years, the government will preside over a major celebration of the Easter Rising, the 1916 insurrection in Dublin that inspired Ireland's war of independence from Britain.

-- From wire reports