Raul Krauthausen, who has used a wheelchair since childhood, has always been uncomfortable with the services Germany provides for the physically handicapped, like special taxis and grocery delivery — saying they feel patronizing and further isolate him from the able-bodied world.

So Krauthausen took matters into his own hands and launched wheelmap.org, an iPhone application and website in German and English that allows users to share ratings and tips on how accessible shops, bars and other places are.

Cell phones are usually used to communicate with people far away. This year, they'll get the ability to do the opposite: communicate with things that are close enough to touch.

It may not sound immediately useful, but phones will get some surprising capabilities with the addition of chips for so-called Near Field Communications, a wireless technology with a range intentionally limited to just a few inches.

Deep rifts opened in Moammar Gadhafi's regime, with Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigning, air force pilots defecting and a bloody crackdown on protest in the capital of Tripoli, where cars and buildings were burned. Gadhafi went on state TV early Tuesday to attempt to show he was still in charge.

World leaders have expressed outrage at the "vicious forms of repression" used against the demonstrators.

Sappers in Russia's insurgency-plagued Caucasus region defused a car bomb placed near a hotel in a popular ski resort area, police said Sunday.

The car, wired with explosives with the equivalent power of about 70 kilograms (155 pounds), was found Saturday, a day after three Russian tourists headed for the ski area were killed by masked gunmen and a ski lift was heavily damaged in an explosion.

Israel's prime minister on Sunday accused Iran of trying to exploit the recent instability in Egypt by sending two warships through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, saying he views the move "with gravity."

The Iranian ships were expected to make a rare crossing through the canal on Sunday or Monday en route to Syria — an Iranian ally and Israel's enemy to the north. Egypt confirmed the ships would be allowed through the strategic passage.

Lonely astronauts on the International Space Station may soon be getting an android friend from Japan.

And for the folks back home, it will tweet.

Almost 10,000 infants and toddlers are hurt in crib and playpen accidents each year, according to the first nationwide analysis of emergency room treatment for these injuries.

Most injuries were from falls in toddlers between ages 1 and 2 — generally old enough to attempt climbing out of a crib or playpen.

An anchored boat packed with sleeping tourists sank early Thursday in Vietnam's scenic Ha Long Bay, killing 12 people from nine countries in the deadliest tour boat accident since the country opened to foreign tourism 25 years ago.

Vacationers from the U.S., Britain, Australia, Japan, Russia, France, Sweden and Switzerland have been confirmed dead, along with a Vietnamese tour guide, the government said. Another nine foreigners and six locals were rescued by other tour boats in the bay's emerald waters.

Israel's deputy Prime Minister, Dan Meridor, has hoped that “the camp of the radicals” that includes Hizbullah would be defeated in the region.

Dan Meridor, who is also Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Prague that Egyptian protesters' demands for freedom and free election were positive.

Eat more fiber and you just may live longer.

That's the message from the largest study of its kind to find a link between high-fiber diets and lower risks of death not only from heart disease, but from infectious and respiratory illnesses as well.