Richard Holbrooke, a brilliant and feisty U.S. diplomat who wrote part of the Pentagon Papers, was the architect of the 1995 Bosnia peace plan and served as President Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, died Monday, the State Department said. He was 69.

Calling Holbrooke "a true giant of American foreign policy," Obama paid homage to the veteran diplomat as "a truly unique figure who will be remembered for his tireless diplomacy, love of country, and pursuit of peace." Holbrooke deserves credit for much of the progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the president said.

UEFA president Michel Platini says he's OK with the idea of shifting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to winter from summer to avoid extreme desert temperatures.

After a UEFA executive committee meeting in Prague on Friday, Platini said it would be easier to organize the World Cup in January, instead of June.

The German and French leaders vowed Friday to do whatever is needed to defend the euro, but stood by their rejection of the idea of pan-European bonds or an extension of the euro750 billion ($1 trillion) rescue fund.

The two countries, the eurozone's largest economies and its bankrollers, are at odds with many other nations on how best to fight the debt crisis from spreading and forcing more expensive bailouts.

Wikileaks soon won't be the only secret-spilling game in town.

A former co-worker of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to launch a rival website Monday called Openleaks that will help anonymous sources deliver sensitive material to public attention.

A new Michael Jackson music video is hitting the Internet preceding the launch of a posthumous Jackson album.

The video, previewed by The Associated Press, debuts at midnight Thursday Eastern time on worldwide websites, including MichaelJackson.com, said Jackson estate co-administrator John Branca.

A Japanese probe to Venus failed to reach orbit Wednesday and was captured by the sun's gravitational pull in a setback to Japan's shoestring space program, which will have to wait another six years to try again.

The failure in the crucial orbital insertion stage of the probe was a big letdown for Japan, which has never succeeded in an interplanetary mission but has marked some major successes in space on a relatively tight budget that is focused primarily on small-scale science projects.

The top U.S. military officer on Wednesday warned North Korea that the U.S. commitment to helping South Korea defend itself is "unquestioned," even as he pressed China to use its influence to push its ally Pyongyang to change.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called recent North Korean aggression, including an artillery attack last month that killed four South Koreans, "belligerent, reckless behavior." He said China appeared unwilling to use its enormous leverage to rein in the North.