International Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

Call it the fall that never happened. When Turkmenistan President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov fell face-first from his horse and hit the dirt hard during an elite race attended by thousands, media turned a blind eye , and camera, and pen. The nation's press doesn't have any account of it occurring.

Leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales said Wednesday that he's giving the boot to the U.S. Agency for International Development for supposedly undermining his government. This is not the first time the leader has purged U.S. influences from his South American country.

China continues to do roaring business with North Korea despite U.N. sanctions designed to hamper Pyongyang's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs and punish its reclusive, hereditary dictatorship. Reuters news agency, in a report from Dandong, China, on the North Korean border, says there is little evidence that the sanctions, imposed by the U.N.

The leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement on Tuesday publicly acknowledged for the first time that fighters from the group were aiding the Syrian regime in its bloody war with armed rebel groups. In a televised address Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said the fighters had gone to protect Lebanese living in villages around the Syrian town of al-Qusayr, near the border

Blocked by the courts from banning big sodas in the Big Apple, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has zeroed in on another target in a quest for healthier lifestyles: Meat. Public School 244 in the Flushing section of New York's Queens borough has gone vegan , the first public school in the nation to serve only vegetarian meals for breakfast and lunch.

The Arab League has sweetened a peace-making deal with Israel, putting the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reignite talks with coalition members who have more moderate views on Palestinian relations.

BERLIN (AP) , The Huffington Post is expanding further with a German language edition, putting new pressure on media companies in Europe's largest economy as they struggle with newspaper closures and try to introduce online pay walls.

The former mayor of London took to Press TV, an Iranian state-run network, recently to express his disdain for the Bush White House and his assurance that the Boston Marathon bombings were brought upon the United States because of its injustices abroad.

PRAGUE (AP) , A powerful blast believed to be a gas explosion ripped open an office building in the center of Prague on Monday, injuring at least 35 people and sending shockwaves through the Old Town tourist district. The blast shattered windows in the scenic area of charming streets and postcard-pretty buildings, sending glass flying.

A cargo plane crashed during takeoff at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on Monday, a U.S. military spokesman said. The Associated Press didn't know about casualties. Other media reported that the crew was killed. Taliban members tried to claim responsibility, but military coalition officials denied the group's involvement, AP said.

Britain is restoring a permanent military presence in the Gulf, driven partly by the need to supplant U.S. forces that will draw down as part of the Pentagon's pivot to Asia, a London think tank with close ties to the British armed forces said in a study published Monday.

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) , A fire broke out late Sunday in the wreckage of the garment factory that collapsed last week in Bangladesh, with smoke pouring from the piles of shattered concrete and some of the rescue efforts forced to stop.

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) , Pakistani Taliban detonated bombs at the campaign offices of two politicians in the country's northwest on Sunday, police said, killing at least nine people in an escalation of attacks on secular, left-leaning political parties.

BAGHDAD (AP) , Iraqi authorities are suspending the operating licenses of pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera along with nine other satellite channels on allegations they are promoting a sectarian agenda. The move, effective immediately on Sunday, comes as Baghdad tries to quell rising unrest in the country following clashes at a protest camp last week.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) , A Libyan military official says about 200 armed men are surrounding the Foreign Ministry building in Tripoli and demanding the ministry to reform and hire former fighters who helped overthrow former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.