Nobel Prize is 'political' award: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad

Nobel Prize is 'political' award: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday that the Nobel Peace Prize no longer honors peace but is a politically motivated award with the capability of destabilizing countries. "It is a political prize," Mahathir told reporters. "They give ... Nobel prizes so as to ensure that these people can do what they like and be protected by the general public." --AP

Pakistan group extends deadline on U.S. reporter: A group claiming to hold a kidnapped American journalist said on Thursday it was extending by one day a deadline for the United States to release Pakistani prisoners from the Afghan war, or they would kill the reporter. --Reuters

East Timorese parliament: East Timor's constituent assembly voted Thursday to transform itself into the nation's first parliament after the country becomes independent on May 20. --AP

Pakistan regrets India's rejection: Pakistan said on Thursday it regretted India's rejection of a proposal for talks over a troop withdrawal from their tense border, but held out hope for a meeting at a security conference in Germany later this week. --Reuters

U.S. satellite reenters atmosphere: A 7,000-pound (3,175-kg) U.S. satellite reentered earth's atmosphere above central Egypt on Wednesday, but it was unknown whether any spacecraft debris hit the ground, the U.S. Space Command said on Thursday. --Reuters