3 bomb blasts kill 6 in 2 main Pakistani cities

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A bomb blast targeting an army vehicle killed three soldiers and two civilians in the southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday, police said.

Hours later, two bombs went off minutes apart outside a Shiite mosque in the southern city of Karachi, killing at least one person and wounding several others.

The explosions demonstrated the underlying tensions in Pakistan between insurgents and security forces on the one hand Sunni and Shiite Muslims on the other. The relatively low level of attacks does not appear to be endangering the nation's stability.

In the first attack, an improvised explosive device was used to detonate the bomb by remote control in Quetta, police commissioner Qambar Dashti said. He said eight people were wounded in the attack, some critically.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

Quetta is the provincial capital of Baluchistan. The province has long been a scene of low-level insurgency by nationalist groups demanding more of a share in the region's natural resources.

Taliban and the al-Qaida-linked Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has also been active in Baluchistan, mainly focusing on targeting Shiite Muslims, whom it considers heretics.

Also Wednesday, two bombs exploded outside a Shiite mosque in the southern city of Karachi, killing one person and wounding seven people, senior police official Javed Odho said. He said the first appeared to be a suicide attack.

As the security forces and rescue workers were transporting victims of the first attack in Karachi to hospitals, a second bomb exploded at the same place, wounding several people, including security forces, rescue workers and journalists, senior police officer Omer Khitab said.

The twin bombings came as minority Shiites were celebrating the holy month of Muharram.

Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence by extremist Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Karachi and other parts of the country.

The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam's Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.

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Associated Press Writer Adil Jawad contributed to this report from Karachi.

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Elmo left behind on 'Sesame Street' as actor exits

NEW YORK (AP) — Even on "Sesame Street," where everything is famously A-OK, problems can arise for its residents.

And that includes the Muppets. Cookie Monster grapples with an eating disorder. Oscar the Grouch gets cranky. Mr. Snuffleupagus gets the blues.

But Elmo seemed immune to any of that. Since enjoying his breakout success more than two decades ago, the 3 1/2-year-old red monster has radiated good cheer, love and trilling giggles. No wonder everyone — adults as well as children — adores him.

The key to Elmo is "his innocence, his positiveness and his sweetness," according to Kevin Clash, the man who created him and once told The Associated Press, "I would love to be totally like Elmo."

Now Clash has been scandalously separated from Elmo and from "Sesame Street," the TV series where he reigned behind the scenes for 28 years.

Clash spoke of "personal matters" as the cause of his resignation Tuesday after an unthinkable nine-day stretch that began with an unnamed man in his 20s claiming he had sex with Clash at age 16. That allegation was quickly recanted. But then came another accusation of sexual abuse, and a lawsuit.

That second accuser, a 24-year-old college student named Cecil Singleton, said the actor had engaged in sexual behavior with him when he was 15. He is suing Clash for $5 million.

"I am deeply sorry to be leaving," said Clash in his parting statement, "and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."

But privacy may no longer be possible for Clash, the 52-year-old divorced father of a grown daughter who acknowledged last week that he is gay. Singleton's lawyer, Jeff Herman, said he has been contacted by two other potential victims of Clash and expects additional legal action.

At a news conference Tuesday, Singleton said he and Clash met on a gay chat line and then, for a two-week period, they engaged in sexual contact, though not intercourse. Sex with a person under 17 is a felony in New York if the perpetrator is 21 or older.

Singleton said he didn't know Clash's profession until years later, when he Googled the man's name.

"I was shocked when I found out what he did for a living," said Singleton.

Now that career has ended for Clash, who, in his dream job as a puppeteer for "Sesame Street," was assigned a little-used puppet now known as Elmo, then turned him into a star. In the process, Clash won 23 daytime Emmy awards and one prime-time Emmy. He published his 2006 autobiography, "My Life as a Furry Red Monster," and was the subject of the 2011 documentary "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey."

Elmo overshadowed Big Bird and other "Sesame" Muppets in popularity and screen time, while marginalizing the cast of live actors. Since 1998, he has had his own show-within-a-show on "Sesame Street" in addition to appearances elsewhere in the hour.

He is also a major moneymaker for Sesame Workshop, the New York-based company that produces the show, and for licensees. At his merchandising height in 1996, he inspired the Tickle Me Elmo doll, which became a cultural phenomenon and that Christmas season's hottest toy.

This year's Elmo dolls, "LOL Elmo," which giggles, and "Let's Rock! Elmo," which sings and comes with a microphone and drum set, haven't made any of this year's hot toy lists. Even so, Elmo toys probably account for one-half to two-thirds of the $75 million in annual sales the "Sesame Street" toy line generates for toy maker Hasbro, estimates BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson.

Johnson said he wasn't sure how this week's news might affect sales of Elmo toys this holiday.

"How many people are going to want to explain to their kid why they're not getting an Elmo?" he asked.

On Tuesday, Hasbro issued a statement saying "We are confident that Elmo will remain an integral part of Sesame Street and that Sesame Street toys will continue to delight children for years to come."

Despite his resignation, Clash will remain an integral part of "Sesame Street" for the foreseeable future. Taping of season No. 44 will wrap by mid-December and will begin airing next September, according to someone close to the show who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of its production. That means new episodes with Clash performing as Elmo will presumably continue well into 2014.

As for who might take over as Elmo, other "Sesame Street" puppeteers were already being trained to serve as Clash's stand-in, Sesame Workshop said. It's part of an understudy policy being adopted for all the major Muppet characters.

But no one knows how Elmo will fare going forward. Will the jokes spurred by Clash's downfall leave a lasting mark on Elmo's image? Will there be parents who see him tainted by association with the man who brought him to life?

In the wake of a personal tragedy that may still be unfolding, Elmo's innocence, positiveness and sweetness will be put to the test.

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AP Television Writer David Bauder and AP Retail Writer Mae Anderson contributed to this report.

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.

Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.

But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon: A company would have to seek government permission first, and it's not clear if any are considering it. Plus there are big questions about what such a move would mean for many women's wallets if it were no longer covered by insurance.

Still, momentum may be building.

Already, anyone 17 or older doesn't need to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill — a higher-dose version of regular birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to gather ideas about how to sell regular oral contraceptives without a prescription, too.

Now the influential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it's safe to sell the pill that way.

Wait, why would doctors who make money from women's yearly visits for a birth-control prescription advocate giving that up?

Half of the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended, a rate that hasn't changed in 20 years — and easier access to birth control pills could help, said Dr. Kavita Nanda, an OB/GYN who co-authored the opinion for the doctors group.

"It's unfortunate that in this country where we have all these contraceptive methods available, unintended pregnancy is still a major public health problem," said Nanda, a scientist with the North Carolina nonprofit FHI 360, formerly known as Family Health International.

Many women have trouble affording a doctor's visit, or getting an appointment in time when their pills are running low — which can lead to skipped doses, Nanda added.

If the pill didn't require a prescription, women could "pick it up in the middle of the night if they run out," she said. "It removes those types of barriers."

Tuesday, the FDA said it was willing to meet with any company interested in making the pill nonprescription, to discuss what if any studies would be needed.

Then there's the price question. The Obama administration's new health care law requires FDA-approved contraceptives to be available without copays for women enrolled in most workplace health plans.

If the pill were sold without a prescription, it wouldn't be covered under that provision, just as condoms aren't, said Health and Human Services spokesman Tait Sye.

ACOG's opinion, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, says any move toward making the pill nonprescription should address that cost issue. Not all women are eligible for the free birth control provision, it noted, citing a recent survey that found young women and the uninsured pay an average of $16 per month's supply.

The doctors group made clear that:

—Birth control pills are very safe. Blood clots, the main serious side effect, happen very rarely, and are a bigger threat during pregnancy and right after giving birth.

—Women can easily tell if they have risk factors, such as smoking or having a previous clot, and should avoid the pill.

—Other over-the-counter drugs are sold despite rare but serious side effects, such as stomach bleeding from aspirin and liver damage from acetaminophen.

—And there's no need for a Pap smear or pelvic exam before using birth control pills. But women should be told to continue getting check-ups as needed, or if they'd like to discuss other forms of birth control such as implantable contraceptives that do require a physician's involvement.

The group didn't address teen use of contraception. Despite protests from reproductive health specialists, current U.S. policy requires girls younger than 17 to produce a prescription for the morning-after pill, meaning pharmacists must check customers' ages. Presumably regular birth control pills would be treated the same way.

Prescription-only oral contraceptives have long been the rule in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and a few other places, but many countries don't require a prescription.

Switching isn't a new idea. In Washington state a few years ago, a pilot project concluded that pharmacists successfully supplied women with a variety of hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills, without a doctor's involvement. The question was how to pay for it.

Some pharmacies in parts of London have a similar project under way, and a recent report from that country's health officials concluded the program is working well enough that it should be expanded.

And in El Paso, Texas, researchers studied 500 women who regularly crossed the border into Mexico to buy birth control pills, where some U.S. brands sell over the counter for a few dollars a pack. Over nine months, the women who bought in Mexico stuck with their contraception better than another 500 women who received the pill from public clinics in El Paso, possibly because the clinic users had to wait for appointments, said Dr. Dan Grossman of the University of California, San Francisco, and the nonprofit research group Ibis Reproductive Health.

"Being able to easily get the pill when you need it makes a difference," he said.

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Online:

OB/GYN group: http://www.acog.org

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Clinton, White House denounce bus bombing

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliver joint statements …Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced a bomb attack on a bus in Tel Aviv that wounded at least 10 people even as she worked to help cobble together a truce between Israel and the Palestinians' Islamist Hamas movement that rules Gaza.

"The United States strongly condemns this terrorist attack, and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the people of Israel," said Clinton, who has been meeting with leaders of Israel and Egypt as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas' government runs the West Bank.

"As I arrive in Cairo, I am closely monitoring reports from Tel Aviv, and we will stay in close contact with Prime Minister Netanyahu's team. The United States stands ready to provide any assistance that Israel requires," Clinton said in a written statement.

Hamas has welcomed the attack, even as the White House joined in the denunciations.

"The United States condemns today's terrorist attack on a bus in Tel Aviv," press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those injured and with the people of Israel.

"These attacks against innocent Israeli civilians are outrageous. The United States will stand with our Israeli allies and provide whatever assistance is necessary to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of this attack," Carney said. "The United States reaffirms our unshakeable commitment to Israel's security and our deep friendship and solidarity with the Israeli people."

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Obama sends Clinton to Mideast amid Gaza crisis

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — President Barack Obama dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East on Tuesday as the U.S. urgently seeks to end a conflict between Israel and Hamas that has killed more than 100 in the last week.

Clinton hastily departed for the region from Cambodia, where she had joined Obama for a summit with Asian leaders. The White House said she would make three stops, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Palestinian officials in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and Egyptian leaders in Cairo. Clinton was expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday night and return to Washington late Wednesday or very early Thursday after making all three stops.

Clinton's trip marks the Obama administration's most forceful engagement in the conflict that has killed more than 100 Palestinians and three Israelis, with hundreds more wounded. While the U.S. has backed Israel's right to defend itself against rocket fire from Gaza, Washington has warned its ally against pursuing a ground assault that would further escalate the violence and could dramatically increase casualties on both sides.

Ahead of Clinton's arrival, Obama spoke by telephone for almost a half-hour with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, commending the Islamist leader's efforts to de-escalate tensions, said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser. It was their third conversation in 24 hours.

Obama wants a diplomatic solution urgently because "there would be significant loss of life associated with further conflict," Rhodes told journalists traveling with the president from Cambodia to Japan.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton's diplomacy in the Middle East "will emphasize the United States' interest in a peaceful outcome that protects and enhances Israel's security and regional stability; that can lead to improved conditions for the civilian residents of Gaza; and that can reopen the path to fulfill the aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis for two states living in peace and security."

The secretary of state isn't heading to the Middle East with any specific proposal to broker a peace deal, U.S. officials said. She'll reassure Israel it has full American support while urging it to limit civilian casualties, and she will press members of the Western-backed Palestinian government in the West Bank to influence its brethren in Gaza to halt the rocket fire.

In Cairo, Clinton will strike a similar note by reminding the Egyptian government of its peace obligations with Israel under a treaty they share, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly about the matter.

Rhodes said the U.S. and Israel want to see the conflict ended "diplomatically and peacefully." But he said Washington understands the Jewish state's need for a "durable outcome that ends the rocket attacks on Israeli cities and restores a broader calm in the region" — a reference to Israel's concerns that its cease-fires with Hamas have become ever shorter in duration and increasingly tenuous.

Obama and Clinton have consulted about the widening crisis throughout their three-day tour of Southeast Asia, their final joint trip before Clinton leaves her post as the top U.S. diplomat. They spoke again about the situation Tuesday morning, aides said, and made the decision for her to travel to the region.

Still, it was unclear what impact Clinton's presence would have on the spiraling violence or whether she was heading to the Mideast with any specific overtures from the U.S.

Rhodes said "there are a number of ideas that are in play," but offered no further details. And he insisted the ramped up U.S. involvement was "a matter of what's in everybody's best interests", not a matter of "leverage."

Obama and Clinton each have held multiple telephone calls with their counterparts in Israel and Egypt, which is at the center of negotiations to quell the violence. Because the U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organization and prohibits contact between its members and American officials, it is relying on Egypt, as well as Turkey and Qatar, to deliver its message to the Hamas leadership in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas say they are open to diplomatic mediation efforts being led by Egypt, but they remained apart in their demands. Hamas officials said a deal was close.

Hamas wants Israel to halt all attacks on Gaza and lift tight restrictions on trade and movement in and out of the territory that have been in place since Hamas seized Gaza by force in 2007. Israel demands an end to rocket fire from Gaza and a halt to weapons smuggling into Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt.

The widening conflict has threatened to overshadow Obama's three-country tour of Southeast Asia, his first overseas trip after winning re-election. The president, after a marathon day that took him from Thailand to Myanmar to Cambodia, worked the phones with Mideast leaders into the early hours of Tuesday morning, aides said.

The White House said Obama would stay in contact with the key players in the conflict while Clinton was on the ground. The president is scheduled to depart Cambodia later Tuesday, arriving back in Washington before dawn Wednesday.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

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Elmo actor Kevin Clash resigns amid sex allegation

NEW YORK (AP) — Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from "Sesame Street" in the wake of an allegation that he had sex with an under-aged youth.

In its statement Tuesday, Sesame Workshop said "the controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us want," leading Clash to conclude "that he can no longer be effective in his job."

"This is a sad day for Sesame Street," the statement said.

As the announcement was made, a lawsuit was being filed in federal court in New York charging Clash with sexual abuse of a second youth. The lawsuit alleges that Cecil Singleton, then 15 and now an adult, was persuaded by Clash to meet for sexual encounters.

Clash, who had been on "Sesame Street" for 28 years, created the high-pitched voice and child-like persona for Elmo, a furry, red Muppet that became one of the most popular characters on the show and one of the company's most lucrative properties.

Clash's exit from Sesame Workshop followed a tumultuous week that began on Nov. 12 with a statement from the company that Clash had requested a leave of absence following the charge by a man in his early 20s that he had had a relationship with Clash when he was 16.

Clash denied the charge from that man, who has not been publicly identified, calling it "false and defamatory." Days later the man recanted his charge.

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.

Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.

The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make HIV screening simply a routine part of a check-up, something a doctor can order with as little fuss as a cholesterol test or a mammogram. Since 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has pushed for widespread, routine HIV screening.

Yet not nearly enough people have heeded that call: Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, nearly 1 in 5 — almost 240,000 people — don't know it. Not only is their own health at risk without treatment, they could unwittingly be spreading the virus to others.

The updated guidelines will bring this long-simmering issue before doctors and their patients again — emphasizing that public health experts agree on how important it is to test even people who don't think they're at risk, because they could be.

"It allows you to say, 'This is a recommended test that we believe everybody should have. We're not singling you out in any way,'" said task force member Dr. Douglas Owens of Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

And if finalized, the task force guidelines could extend the number of people eligible for an HIV screening without a copay in their doctor's office, as part of free preventive care under the Obama administration's health care law. Under the task force's previous guidelines, only people at increased risk for HIV — which includes gay and bisexual men and injecting drug users — were eligible for that no-copay screening.

There are a number of ways to get tested. If you're having blood drawn for other exams, the doctor can merely add HIV to the list, no extra pokes or swabs needed. Today's rapid tests can cost less than $20 and require just rubbing a swab over the gums, with results ready in as little as 20 minutes. Last summer, the government approved a do-it-yourself at-home version that's selling for about $40.

Free testing is available through various community programs around the country, including a CDC pilot program in drugstores in 24 cities and rural sites.

Monday's proposal also recommends:

—Testing people older and younger than 15-64 if they are at increased risk of HIV infection,

—People at very high risk for HIV infection should be tested at least annually.

—It's not clear how often to retest people at somewhat increased risk, but perhaps every three to five years.

—Women should be tested during each pregnancy, something the task force has long recommended.

The draft guidelines are open for public comment through Dec. 17.

Most of the 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. every year are among gay and bisexual men, followed by heterosexual black women.

"We are not doing as well in America with HIV testing as we would like," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, CDC's HIV prevention chief, said Monday.

The CDC recommends at least one routine test for everyone ages 13 to 64, starting two years younger than the task force recommended. That small difference aside, CDC data suggests fewer than half of adults under 65 have been tested.

"It can sometimes be awkward to ask your doctor for an HIV test," Mermin said — the reason that making it routine during any health care encounter could help.

But even though nearly three-fourths of gay and bisexual men with undiagnosed HIV had visited some sort of health provider in the previous year, 48 percent weren't tested for HIV, a recent CDC survey found. Emergency rooms are considered a good spot to catch the undiagnosed, after their illnesses and injuries have been treated, but Mermin said only about 2 percent of ER patients known to be at increased risk were tested while there.

Mermin calls that "a tragedy. It's a missed opportunity."

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Israel, Gaza militants agree to ceasefire, Hamas official says

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Like the 10 winners before him, Phillip Phillips faces the uneven road from "American Idol" victor to pop-chart mainstay. After the success of his Top 10 hit, "Home," the Georgia native is facing a new challenge - to replicate the mainstream successes of past "Idol" winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson on his debut album, "The World from the Side of the Moon," released on Monday by Interscope Records. ...

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Obama meets with Cambodia's longtime 'strongman'

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — President Barack Obama arrived in Cambodia on Monday having just won four more years in office, but that is nothing compared to his host, Hun Sen. The 60-year-old Cambodian prime minister has held power since Ronald Reagan was in the White House, and says he's not stepping down until he is 90.

Hun Sen is known as one of Asia's most Machiavellian politicians, with a knack for making sure his rivals end up in jail or in exile. A laudatory biography is subtitled "Strongman of Cambodia," and some would say that's putting it mildly.

Through his country's civil wars, a U.N. peace process and several elections, the one-time communist cadre has always managed to come out on top. Over the last decade, he has also overseen modest economic growth and stability in a country plagued by desperate poverty and nearly destroyed by the Khmer Rouge's "killing fields."

Obama is making the first visit ever by a U.S. president to Cambodia because it is hosting the annual East Asia Summit. He went straight from the airport to a meeting with Hun Sen that White House officials described as tense, with Obama emphasizing his concerns about Cambodia's human rights situation.

According to U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, Hun Sen defended his record, telling the president that Cambodia has a unique set of circumstances that influence its policies and practices, and expressed a desire to deepen his country's ties with the U.S.

Hun Sen "is intelligent, combative, tactical, and self-absorbed," says historian David Chandler, a Cambodia expert at Australia's Monash University and a critic of Hun Sen's rule.

These days, Hun Sen has styled himself as an elder statesman, and he is anxious to win international respectability to go along with the economic growth. Despite concerns over his autocratic style and human rights lapses, the canny Hun Sen has managed to keep flowing the international aid that still accounts for a major part of Cambodia's national budget.

He also has apparent populist appeal. A poll of Cambodians taken in December 2011 by the International Republican Institute — a nonprofit organization that promotes democracy around the world — found that 81 percent of some 2,000 respondents said Cambodia is "generally headed in the right direction."

Lao Mong Hay, an independent political analyst in Cambodia, thinks the secret to his success is simple: "Who dares, wins. He dares and he wins."

But many critics say that too often what Hun Sen dares to do is use brute force and manipulation of the courts to maintain his hold on power.

"Hun Sen's violent and authoritarian rule over more than two decades has resulted in countless killings and other serious abuses that have gone unpunished," New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a recent report. Labor organizers, politicians, journalists and environmentalists have been among those who have died violently over the years.

For all that, many Cambodians still credit Hun Sen with dragging their country out of the abyss into which it had fallen under the Khmer Rouge. The communist regime came to power in the 1970s and engaged in a systematic genocide that left 1.7 million dead in its attempt to create a pure agrarian society. By the time Vietnam invaded in 1979 to oust the regime, Cambodia was a broken shell of a country: every social, political and cultural institution was in ruins.

Born to a peasant family in east-central Cambodia, Hun Sen initially fought with the Khmer Rouge against a pro-American government. He lost an eye in combat. But he defected to Vietnam in 1977 and accompanied the Vietnamese invasion. By 1985, he had been named prime minister.

Yet, for years after the Khmer Rouge regime fell, the United States continued to officially recognize its leaders, who had fled and resumed guerrilla warfare, as Cambodia's legitimate representatives in the U.N. That fact still rankles Hun Sen, who often raises it when feeling aggrieved by U.S. policy.

He has made China his key ally, with Beijing happy to pour in aid and investment for a reliable political partner in Southeast Asia. A sign on the exterior wall of Hen Sen's Peace Palace government offices, where the summit is being held, welcomed the arrival of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, but no similar sign heralded Obama's arrival.

Hun Sen's reputation for violence owes much to the fact that he staged a 1997 coup against his own coalition government. Forces loyal to him defeated those of his co-prime minister — whose party had actually won elections four years previously — putting Hun Sen once again in full control.

By hook or crook, he has remained in power ever since, winning several elections.

In recent years, Hun Sen's opponents have been more likely to stand before a judge than stare down the barrel of a gun, human rights groups say.

Last month, a court sentenced 71-year-old Mam Sonando, owner of a radio station that is one of the country's few free media voices, to 20 years in prison on insurrection charges that critics say were trumped up to silence him.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy — the sole Cambodian politician with the charisma and resources to present any real challenge to Hun Sen — is in self-imposed exile to avoid 12 years in prison from convictions critics say represented similar political persecution.

Unless Hun Sen sees an advantage to having him pardoned, Sam Rainsy will likely be shut out of next year's general election and his party will lose its best campaigner.

Economic development is a particular point of pride for Hun Sen's government, bearing in mind the low point growth started from — the Khmer Rouge had even abolished the use of money.

Cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan points out that Cambodia has experienced steady growth for the past 10 years, and expects to attain a per-capita income topping $1,000 in 2013.

He calls Hun Sen "the right man at the right time" for a transition to "free markets and multiparty liberal democracy." The government has passed Cambodia's first anti-corruption law, Phay Siphan said, and now requires the disclosures of officials' assets.

That law, though, has not stopped rampant family business dealings, cronyism and corruption. Opposition politicians and watchdog groups such as Global Witness accuse Hun Sen of overseeing the selloffs of the country's forests to rapacious logging companies — displacing masses of small farmers.

"Cambodia today is a country for sale," says Mu Sochua, a lawmaker from Sam Rainsy's opposition Cambodian National Rescue party.

But opponents and activists have little power to change the government, and even Hun Sen may be as beholden to his nation's economic interests as he is in control of them. "I'm not so sure he is their master or their puppet," says analyst Lao Mong Hay.

Even so, few doubt the outcome when Hun Sen faces a general election next year.

As Hun Sen put it ahead of the last election in 2008: "I wish to state it very clearly this way: No one can defeat Hun Sen. Only Hun Sen alone can defeat Hun Sen."

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Justin Bieber gets love at American Music Awards

Justin Bieber may be Canadian, but he was the all-American boy at Sunday night's American Music Awards.

The pop singer dominated the awards show, winning three trophies, including artist of the year. His mom joined him onstage as he collected the award, beating out Rihanna, Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Drake.

"I wanted to thank you for always believing in me," Bieber said, looking to his mom.

The 18-year-old also won the honor in 2010. He said it's "hard growing up with everyone watching me" and asked that people continue to believe in him.

But the teenager who brought his mom as a date also got in some grinding with Nicki Minaj — who shared the stage with him and took home two awards — and a kiss on the neck from presenter Jenny McCarthy.

"Wow. I feel violated right now," he said, laughing.

"I did grab his butt," McCarthy said backstage. "I couldn't help it. He was just so delicious. So little. I wanted to tear his head off and eat it."

Another collaboration was the night's most colorful performance: Korean rapper PSY and MC Hammer. Hammer joined the buzzed-about pop star for his viral hit "Gangnam Style." PSY rocked traditional "Hammer" pants as they danced to his jam and to Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit."

Minaj, who wore three different wigs and four outfits throughout the night, repeated her AMAs wins from last year, picking up trophies for favorite rap/hip-hop artist and album for "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded." She was in an all-white get-up, including fur coat and pink hair when she performed her new song "Freedom." The scene was ghostly and snowy, as a choir — also in white — joined her onstage. One background singer stole the performance, belting semi-high notes as Minaj looked on.

Usher kicked off the three-hour ABC-televised show with green laser lights beaming onstage as he performed a medley of songs, including "Numb," ''Climax" and "Can't Stop, Won't Stop," which featured a smoky floor and a number of backup dancers, as Usher jammed in all black, with the exception of his red shoes. He won favorite soul/R&B male artist.

His protege Bieber won favorite pop/rock male artist in the first award handed out and gave a shout-out to those who didn't think he would last on the music scene.

"I want to say this is for all the haters who thought I was just here for one or two years. I feel like I'm going to be here for a very long time," he said.

He also won favorite pop/rock album for his platinum-selling third album, "Believe." He gave a stripped down, acoustic performance of "As Long As You Love Me," then transitioned to the dance-heavy "Beauty and a Beat," where Minaj joined him onstage, grinding with the teen for a few seconds.

Swift won her fifth consecutive award for favorite country female artist.

"This is unreal. I want to thank the fans. You guys are the ones who voted on this," she said.

Swift gave a masquerade-themed performance of the pop song "I Knew You Were Trouble." She sang onstage in a light dress while dancers wore mostly black. But then she changed into a red corset and black skirt, matching their dark mood. She even danced and sang on the floor as lights flickered throughout the performance.

Dick Clark, who created the AMAs, was remembered by Ryan Seacrest and an upbeat performance by Stevie Wonder.

"What a producer he was," said Seacrest, as Wonder sang his hits, including "My Cherie Amour."

Carly Rae Jepsen, who performed early in the night, won favorite new artist.

"I am floored. Wow," she said, thanking Bieber and his manager, Scooter Braun.

Party girl Ke$ha was glammed up on the red carpet, rocking long, flowy blonde hair and a light pink dress. She switched to her normal attire when she performed her hit single "Die Young." It was tribal, with shirtless dancers in skin-tight pants, silver hair and skeleton-painted faces, who also played the drums. Ke$ha was pants-less, rocking knee-high boots and rolling on the floor as she finished up the song.

Minaj and Christina Aguilera were blonde bombshells, too: Minaj's hair was busy and full of volume and she sported a neon strapless gown to accept her first award. Aguilera wore a blonde bob in a purple dress that matched her eyeshadow.

Aguilera performed a medley of material from her new album and joined Pitbull onstage.

Kelly Clarkson also hit the stage, making a nod to her "American Idol" roots with a number on her dress and three judges looking on as she sang "Miss Independent." Then she went into "Since U Been Gone," ''Stronger" and "Catch My Breath."

Fellow "Idol" winner Carrie Underwood won best favorite country album and performed, hitting the right notes while singing "Two Black Cadillacs." She talked about singing competition shows backstage.

"These people that go on these shows are so talented, you know? And I would love to see if so many of the other artists that are out there today would go back and try out for these shows, because they might get their behinds kicked by some of the contestants," she said.

Luke Bryan won favorite country male artist and Lady Antebellum favorite country group.

American Music Awards nominees were selected based on sales and airplay, and fans chose the winners by voting online. At this award show, even the stars were fans: Pink said on the red carpet that she'd like to collaborate with Lauryn Hill. Cyndi Lauper said her musical playlist includes Pink and Minaj. Boy band The Wanted said they were excited to see PSY and Colbie Caillat wanted to watch No Doubt.

"What makes the American Music Awards special is the fans choose the winning artists," said Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, who won favorite alternative rock artist and performed "Burn It Down," as Brandy sang along and Gwen Stefani, Usher and Phillip Phillips bobbed their heads.

David Guetta won the show's first-ever electronic dance music award. Non-televised awards went to Katy Perry for pop/rock female artist, Beyonce for soul/R&B female artist, Adele for adult contemporary artist and Shakira for Latin artist.

Along with Rihanna, Minaj was the top nominee with four nominations.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin

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