BUFFALO, N.Y. – A 3-month-old puppy has been rescued from a sewage drainage pipe buried under the front yard of a home in Buffalo. A couple who are dog sitting for their vacationing daughter say they took the teacup Yorkshire terrier named Baily out for a walk Wednesday afternoon and …

MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government has still not arranged for an independent team of investigators to interview soldiers with knowledge of events in which 43 college students disappeared in southern Mexico last year. The team from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said Monday in a news conference that …

LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigeria’s army says troops have arrested a businessman accused of “participating actively” in Boko Haram’s mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok that drew international outrage. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade says Babuji Ya’ari headed a “terrorists’ intelligence cell” for …

MANILA, Philippines – The latest on the ferry sinking in the Philippines (all times local): ___ 4 p.m. A ferry with 173 passengers has capsized 100 meters (yards) from a pier in the central Philippines, and 36 people are confirmed dead. Rescuers are in the waters off Ormoc city on …

MOSCOW – The Russian Defense Ministry says a Russian air force fighter jet has crashed in the south but its pilot ejected safely. The MiG-29 fighter jet went down Friday near the village of Kushchevskaya in the Krasnodar region, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Moscow. The ministry said there …

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Canadian police have charged a man with sending explosive devices to law firms and other businesses in the city of Winnipeg days after a woman was seriously injured in an explosion. Guido Amsel, 49, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated …

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – A U.N. aid agency that helps Palestinians in Gaza says that after numerous delays, it’s ready to begin helping a small number of people rebuild their homes, destroyed in last summer’s war in the coastal strip. About 18,000 homes were destroyed during the 50-day war …

A man and his 12-year-old grandson were found dead several miles apart along an Arizona desert after they went hiking, and authorities say the boy likely died while going for help. The bodies of Thomas Gillepsie, 63, and his grandson were discovered late Wednesday in the mountains near Gila Bend, …

MADRID – Spanish officials say eight elderly residents have died and eleven others were injured as a fire swept through a nursing home just outside the northeastern city of Zaragoza. Regional Interior Ministry spokesman Gustavo Alcalde said the cause of the fire, which broke out in early Sunday, is still …

SAO PAULO – Brazil’s federal police department says it has carried out more than 50 search and seizure operations against people suspected of involvement in the kickback scandal engulfing state-owned oil company Petrobras. Police aren’t confirming the names of the suspects. Police say in a statement that Tuesday’s operations were …