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Army troops in Pakistan said they wounded and captured one of the Taliban's most senior figures Monday as he and five other militants crossed the border from Afghanistan. Mansoor Dadullah was reported to be in critical condition after a gunfight in Baluchistan Province. A Taliban spokesman would not comment on the Pakistani claim, nor would US officials.

Iran not only won't back down from its nuclear standoff with the West, but it also intends to fire more rockets into space and launch its own research satellite into orbit this summer, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday. In an address on the 29th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, he chided the US and other Western powers who worry about Iran's ambitions, saying "they can't do anything but play with papers." Above, Tehran residents mass for anniversary celebrations.

A new snag appeared in Northern Ireland's power-sharing government as its Protestant senior minister said condition are not yet ready for its legislature to assume responsibility for the police and the courts. The Rev. Ian Paisley said he wouldn't be bullied by the prime ministers of Britain and the Irish Republic, both of whom want the transfer completed by the target date in May. The powers still are held by Parliament in London, but their transfer is seen by Northern Ireland's Catholics as a top priority.

In a new threat against the US, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Sunday night that he'd cut off sales of crude oil if ExxonMobil pursues its legal battle against his government. The company has obtained court orders that would freeze more than $12 billion in Venezuelan assets in return for having its operations there seized on Chávez's order. Venezuela sells 1.3 million barrels of crude a day to the US, and a cutoff would drive up energy prices, analysts said.

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