World in brief: Blast on Moscow subway kills 25

MOSCOW – Moscow emergency officials said an explosion has hit a subway train, killing at least 25 people.

Emergency Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said the dead include 14 people who were in the train’s second car where the blast occurred. She said the dead also include 11 people who were on the platform at the Lubyanka station. The cause was not immediately clear.

Iraqi-American captive released

SAN DIEGO – Issa Salomi’s first call home was to his 27-year-old son Roger. He said memories of the birth of the oldest of his four boys and his son’s childhood sustained him after he was kidnapped in Baghdad in January.

The Pentagon said Saturday that Salomi was back under U.S. military control but gave no details on his disappearance or return.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq, known in English as the League of the Righteous, issued a statement Sunday indicating Salomi’s release came in exchange for the release by the Iraqi government of four of its members.

Chinese lawyer alive, wife says

BEIJING – The wife of a dissident Chinese lawyer missing for more than a year confirmed today that he is alive and appealed to the government to allow him to go to the U.S.

Gao Zhisheng resurfaced suddenly Sunday, saying he is now living in northern China, but it was not clear under what conditions. Since he went missing on Feb. 4, 2009, the government has given vague explanations about Gao’s whereabouts.

Gao’s wife, Geng He, and her two children fled China a month before Gao was detained and now live in the U.S.

Armed gang holds up casino

BASEL, Switzerland – An armed gang of masked men raided a casino packed with about 600 guests early Sunday and made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Swiss prosecutors.

Prosecutors described a scene like an action-film heist: About 10 men dressed in black arrived in two cars at the Grand Casino near Basel shortly after 4 a.m.

One smashed the front door with a sledgehammer, and the others ran inside with machine guns and pistols, the statement said. One group ordered the guests and employees to the floor, while their accomplices emptied registers. They couldn’t get into the strong room, however, prosecutors said.