Russian apartment blast death toll rises to 52

ARKHANGELSK, Russia -- Rescuers searched for survivors in the ruins of a collapsed apartment Wednesday, but there was little hope of finding anyone 24 hours after a gas explosion ripped the building apart and killed at least 52 residents. Police were searching for two homeless men suspected of triggering the deadly blast by stealing metal fittings from gas pipes to sell for scrap. The explosion ripped through a prefabricated building Tuesday, destroying an entire nine-story section and trapping dozens of people in the rubble.

Serb, ethnic Albanian clashes injure over 300

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Serbia-Montenegro -- Ethnic Albanians traded gunfire with Serbs on Wednesday after blaming them for the drownings of two boys. The clashes left six dead and more than 300 injured. Riots also broke out in at least five other towns, touching off one of the worst days of Serb-Albanian bloodshed since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999. NATO said 13 peacekeepers -- 12 French and one Danish -- were injured.

Venezuelan government seeks magistrates' ouster

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's government opened an investigation Wednesday that could lead to the removal of three Supreme Court magistrates who ruled that signatures on petition for a vote to recall President Hugo Chavez were valid. Venezuela's attorney general, the public defender and the controller general were investigating the three magistrates who Monday ruled that more than 870,000 signatures must be considered valid unless citizens disclaim them. The ruling overturned a National Elections Council's decision.

Israel steps up offensive in Gaza against militants

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli helicopters fired two missiles into a crowd of suspected gunmen in a Palestinian refugee camp Wednesday, killing four people in a stepped-up campaign to root out militants in the Gaza Strip. Amid the fighting, Islamic militants traded fire with Palestinian security forces in downtown Gaza City during morning rush hour after a car carrying armed men refused to stop for a police inspection, witnesses said. One civilian was killed and 17 people were hurt, Palestinian officials said.

-- From wire reports