Denmark

Producer John Larson reports from Copenhagen, Denmark on how changing lifestyles, taxing energy and subsidizing alternative technologies have reduced ...

OSLO — A man has been arrested in Norway trying to smuggle two dozen snakes and geckos into the country by hiding them under his clothes.

Customs agent Helge Breilid said Monday the 22-year-old Norwegian citizen was apprehended in the southern town of Kristiansand after getting off a ferry from Hirtshals, Denmark. He said the man had 14 royal pythons and 10 albino leopard geckos under his clothes.

Breilid said the non-venomous snakes – the smallest species in the python family – were hidden in stockings duct-taped to the man's abdomen. The geckos were in boxes taped to his thighs.

Customs officials found the reptiles, which are not endangered, Sunday during a search following the discovery of a tarantula in one of the man's bags.

SEATTLE — The United States has to take a strong role if the world hopes to deal with global warming, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says.

"All the world is now looking to the leadership of the United States and President Obama," Ban said in an interview Sunday with The Seattle Times.

Ban is making a two-day visit to Seattle as part of a trip to call attention to global issues such as climate change and to promote the U.N. to the American public. He was to receive an honorary degree from the University of Washington on Monday, after meeting earlier in the day with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda.

Ban has been pressing nations to commit to firm emission limits when they meet in December in Copenhagen, Denmark, to work out a new treaty to slow global warming, replacing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on carbon dioxide emissions. The meeting has been billed as a last chance to avoid the impact of global warming.

This week, the Senate environment committee will take up its version of a global warming bill. The legislation would cut greenhouse gases by about 80 percent by 2050 and require more domestic energy to come from renewable sources.

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— Switzerland and Slovakia earned Europe's final two automatic berths for next year's World Cup on Wednesday night, while Argentina tried to beat out Uruguay and Ecuador for South America's last certain spot in the 32-nation field.

Costa Rica played at the United States, which clinched its sixth straight berth last weekend, and the Ticos hoped to stay ahead of Honduras and gain the final automatic place from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Portugal, Greece, Slovenia and Ukraine finished second in their groups and joined Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Ireland and Russia in the European playoffs. They will be drawn into four pairs on Monday, and the winners of home-and-home, total-goals matches on Nov. 14 and 18 will qualify for next year's 32-nation field.

By the end of Wednesday, 23 of the 32 nations will have been determined for next year's tournament in South Africa.

In addition to the U.S., Mexico had ensured a berth in CONCACAF, while Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Serbia and Spain had clinched automatic berths in Europe. Brazil, Chile and Paraguay had earned berths from South America, and Australia, Japan, North Korea and South Korea won Asia's spots. Ghana and Ivory Coast joined host South Africa, which qualified automatically as host.

"Hamlet" opened on Broadway on Tuesday, starring Jude Law as the tragic prince of Denmark. The critics, bless their little hearts, apparently ...

"Hamlet" opened on Broadway on Tuesday, starring Jude Law as the tragic prince of Denmark. The critics, bless their little hearts, apparently ...

For a city that has never held an Olympics, Copenhagen will become an Olympic capital of sorts next week when it hosts an international meeting to decide the site for the 2016 Summer Games.

Thousands of people – including government leaders, heads of state, royalty, sport officials, athletes, sponsors and media – are expected to attend the International Olympic Committee meetings from Oct. 1-9.

"On some days, it's going to be crowded," said Niels Nygaard, president of Denmark's national Olympic committee.

The main focus will be the vote for the 2016 host city on Oct. 2. Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo are locked in a tight contest that could be decided by just a few votes.

Each candidate is bringing a high-power delegation to impress IOC voters.

Switzerland and the United States have signed a treaty to increase the amount of tax information they share to help crack down on tax evasion, Swiss officials said Wednesday.

The agreement follows a model set out by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development designed to make it harder for taxpayers to hide money in offshore tax havens.

U.S. tax authorities will be able to request information on Americans suspected of concealing Swiss bank accounts, the Swiss Finance Ministry said.

The treaty forbids so-called 'fishing expeditions,' meaning U.S. authorities have to provide specific details on the person they are seeking further information about and can't simply ask for wholesale lists of Americans with Swiss accounts, the ministry said.

The agreement, which comes into force immediately, won't be retroactive.