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Years after vanishing in Iran, retired FBI agent appears in hostage video: 'Please help me'



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New splits in EU's unity as 23 members agree to greater union but Britain, others stay out

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The leaders of the 17 countries that use the euro, plus six others, have tentatively agreed to a new treaty that enforces stricter budget rules seen as crucial to solving Europe's debt crisis and holding the currency-bloc together.

The effort by Germany and France to persuade all 27 European Union countries to agree to treaty changes failed, in large part because of Britain's refusal to give up some powers.

Following marathon all-night talks, the 23 decided to back a new treaty with strict oversight over national budgets, as they try to convince markets that the euro has a future. An agreement on fiscal discpline is considered a critical first step before the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and others would commit more financial aid to help countries like Italy and Spain, which have large debts and unsustainable borrowing costs.

ECB President Mario Draghi praised the tentative deal as a good result for the eurozone.

The immediate market response was lukewarm, with stock markets in Europe fairly steady -- the Stoxx 50 of leading European shares was trading 0.1 percent lower while the euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.3336.

Gunman's motive still unclear after Va. Tech officer fatally ambushed in campus parking lot

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- The Virginia Tech police officer who was gunned down in a campus attack joined the force six months after the university was the scene of the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history. He was a proud policeman who recently invited a friend to ride along with him, which made his death during a traffic stop even more puzzling.

Deriek W. Crouse, an Army veteran and married father of five, was killed Thursday after pulling a driver over in a school parking lot. Police said the gunman walked up, shot the officer and then fled on foot before he apparently killed himself nearby. The deceased suspect was not involved in the traffic stop.

Police said they don't know what motivated the officer's killing or whether there was any link between the shooter, who has not been identified, and Crouse.

"At this point, we haven't been able to establish any kind of immediate connection between the officer and the shooter," State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told The Associated Press late Thursday. "That's obviously something that's being looked into."

State police said in a news release early Friday that ballistics tests confirmed Crouse and the deceased suspect had been shot by the same handgun. The tests have "officially linked the two fatal shootings," the release said.

Pakistani lawmaker: Air defense weapons may be deployed to Afghan border after NATO airstrikes