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Washington, September 11: Illegal immigrants in the U.S. won’t gain insurance benefits for their medical care under the health overhaul proposed by President Barack Obama.

That may not stop some uninsured and undocumented U.S. residents from getting government subsidies, Republican critics said. Current proposals lack enforcement provisions to ensure that ineligible applicants are kept from programs, causing a gap between law and practice, according to a group seeking curbs on immigration.

BRNO, September 11: Czech Republic The Czech Constitutional Court scrapped a law on Thursday which allowed for an early election next month, postponing the polls probably until November.

The court upheld a complaint that the law, which cut the normal four-year term of the lower house of parliament about eight months short, was unconstitutional, court Chairman Pavel Rychetsky said.

Tokyo, September 11: Japan’s space agency successfully launched Friday a new unmanned rocket carrying supplies for the International Space Station.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the H-2B rocket — an upgrade of the country’s H-2A — took off early Friday from the space center on Tanegashima, a remote island in southern Japan. Its payload, the HTV transportation vehicle, successfully separated from the rocket about 15 minutes after liftoff, according to the agency, known as JAXA.

Pyongyang, September 11: North Korea has dropped demands that South Korean factory owners pay a huge wage increase at a joint industrial estate, officials said Friday, the latest peace overture from the communist state.

The concession came amid anger in the South over the North’s unannounced discharge of dam water on Sunday, which caused a flash flood in a cross-border river and killed six southerners.

The North is now proposing a five-percent pay rise this year for its 40,000 workers at the Kaesong estate just north of the border, Seoul’s unification ministry said.

Washington, September 11: Joint U.S.-Canada exploration of the Arctic sea floor discovered an unusual underwater mountain and evidence that could boost the two countries’ claims that their boundaries extend farther north.

For the past two months ships from the countries have ventured north in icy areas of the Arctic where almost no surface ships have been, in an effort to find out how far the continental shelf extends.

The farther out the shelf, the more ocean floor — thought to be rich with oil and gas — that the two countries could claim.

Ankara, September 11: A light earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale shook the central Turkish province of Konya on Thursday, causing panicked residents to jump out of buildings, media reports said.

The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 9:29 pm (1829 GMT), was near the town of Selcuklu, the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory said.

There were no reports of damage, but a number of people sustained injuries when they jumped out of their windows and balconies in panic, the CNN-Turk news channel said.

United Nations, September 11: World powers meeting at the U.N. General Assembly and the G-20 gathering later this month are unlikely to push immediately for tougher sanctions on Iran, an official familiar with preparations for the meetings said on Thursday.

The United States, Russia, France, Britain, China and Germany are evaluating a package of proposals submitted by Iran on Wednesday after giving the Islamic Republic until this month to respond to their demand for talks on its nuclear program.

Washington, September 11: Bad weather prevented space shuttle Discovery from returning home Thursday and kept its astronauts circling the world for at least an extra day.

Mission Control skipped the first landing attempt because of wind and rain. The wind eased but the rain lingereda, then the shuttle will be diverted to Edwards. The cross-country ferry trip eats up $1.7 million and just over a week, however, which is why NASA prefers sending shuttles straight to their home port.

Discovery has enough supplies to remain in orbit until Sunday.

Tehran, September 11: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said a deadly military raid to rescue a Western journalist in Afghanistan was deemed “the only way” to secure his freedom.

New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, who has dual British-Irish nationality, was freed unharmed. However, his Afghan colleague, father-of-two Sultan Munadi, plus a British soldier and an Afghan woman and child were killed.

Washington, September 11: Federal officials are telling police to be vigilant on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, though they say it is routine advice.

Friday is the eighth anniversary of the hijacked jetliner crashes that killed nearly 3,000 people in the U.S.

The FBI and Homeland Security Department sent a bulletin to law enforcement agencies nationwide Thursday evening, a copy of which was reviewed by The Associated Press. The bulletin is similar to past advisories on holidays and other significant dates, and gives no indication of any specific threat.