World datelines

Australia: Allowed to die

PERTH — An Australian quadriplegic who recently won a landmark court case allowing him to refuse food and water from his nursing home died Monday, his brother said.

Christian Rossiter, 49, succumbed to a chest infection, his brother, Tim, said in a statement.

Rossiter, who broke his spine in 2004 in a road accident and was left a spastic quadriplegic after a fall last year, had described his life as "a living hell." In mid-August, the Australian state Supreme Court ruled that Rossiter's nursing home in the west coast city of Perth must respect his decision to starve to death.

Iraq: Crash kills 1

BAGHDAD — A Black Hawk helicopter crashed at a major American air base in Iraq, killing one U.S. service member and injuring 12 others, the military said Sunday.

The UH-60 Black Hawk went down Saturday night at the Balad Air Base, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.

The military said the cause of the crash was under investigation and gave no other details.

Russia: Secret meeting

MOSCOW — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Israeli officials have assured him that they are not planning a military strike on Iran.

In an interview with CNN television broadcast Sunday, Medvedev also confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to Moscow this month that included a meeting with the Russian president.

In a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin, Medvedev hedges on the question of whether Russia would support Iran if it were attacked by Israel.

Sudan: Rebels purged

KHARTOUM — The Sudanese army said Sunday it has cleared several more areas of rebel control in North Darfur province ahead of peace talks set for October. Rebels denied the government claims.

The state news agency quoted the military saying it had targeted in particular the Sudan Liberation Army of exiled rebel leader Abdelwahid Elnur, the largest rebel movement .

There was no word about casualties, only that the army had "purged the areas of the remnants" of the rebels.

Japan: Bear attack

TOKYO — A bear injured nine people at highway rest stop in central Japan before being shot dead in a souvenir shop, a firefighter said Sunday.

The black bear seriously injured four men Saturday afternoon in Nyukawa, a small mountain town about 140 miles west of Tokyo, said firefighter Tomohiko Akano.

The 4-foot bear first attacked people at a bus parking lot and then entered a lodge where it was trapped in a souvenir shop and shot dead by a hunter, according to media reports.

No one suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack, which lasted about an hour, reports said.