China shuts Maoist websites amid political scandal
11:32
Chinese authorities have ordered a leading pro-Maoist website shut down for one month because of critical essays posted on it, the site's founder said, amid the country's worst high-level political crisis in years. The...
Chavez heading back to Cuba for cancer treatment
11:23
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he's heading back to Cuba on Saturday night for his next round of radiation therapy as part of his cancer treatment. Chavez made the announcement in a phone call broadcast on...
Chavez accuses US of trying to topple Syria leader
10:32
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday accused the U.S. government and its allies of provoking violence in Syria in an effort to topple its government. Chavez said he spoke by phone earlier in the day with his ally...
U.S. backs Argentine stance on defaulted debt ruling
10:13
By Hilary Burke BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The U.S. government has backed Argentina in the latest legal battle over a 2002 default, arguing the nation should not have to pay "holdout" creditors when servicing
Ex-Colombia president hurt in fall from horse
8:57
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been hurt in a fall from a horse but his son says the injuries are not serious. Jeronimo Uribe tells The Associated Press via text message Friday that his father lurched...
U.N.'s Ban condemns Syria for new assault on civilians
8:25
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sharply criticized the Syrian government on Friday for its latest attacks on Syrian civilians and demanded that it halt all military operations as it ha
Migrants stage 'crucifixion' procession in Mexico
8:01
Dozens of Central American migrants staged a mock crucifixion of one of their colleagues Friday to illustrate the dangers and suffering they face in southern Mexico. The migrant who played the role of Christ, Roni...
Mali's neighbors back junta exit plan
7:53
By Bate Felix and Adam Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's two-week-old junta agreed on Friday to hand over rule to civilians in return for the end of sanctions by worried neighbors who had threatened to strang
Sudan, South Sudan to hold postponed summit: AU
7:48
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will meet his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir, to defuse tensions between the neighbors after an initial summit was postponed, an African Union me
Pope takes cross at end of Colosseum procession
7:37
Pope Benedict XVI encouraged those threatened by unemployment and other economic woes to draw courage and strength from the suffering of the crucified Jesus Christ as the pontiff presided over a Good Friday candlelit...
After half century, Cubans again celebrate Good Friday
7:33
By Jeff Franks HAVANA (Reuters) - Bells rang from Roman Catholic churches throughout Havana on Friday to remember the death of Jesus Christ as Cubans celebrated a holiday on Good Friday for the first time in
Yemeni leader purges army of ex-regime loyalists
7:25
Yemen's newly appointed president fired several old-regime figures and relatives of the former leader in a major shake-up of the country's military Friday, a move meant to show he was making good on promises of reforms...
Egyptian ex-regime strongman to run for president
7:03
A former strongman of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's regime announced his presidential candidacy Friday, shaking up an already heated race that is emerging as a contest between two longtime rivals _ former regime...
Hundreds rally in Benghazi against Libyan militias
6:49
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Hundreds of people, including police and soldiers, protested in Libya's second biggest city on Friday, calling on militias to lay down their weapons as the government tries to impose its
Mali coup leaders agree power handover: mediator
5:33
BAMAKO (Reuters) - The leaders of Mali's coup have agreed a plan to hand over power, the official mediator of the 15-state West African ECOWAS grouping told Reuters on Friday. Burkina Faso Foreign Minister D
Mali attracts Islamist fighters in void after coup
5:26
Al-Qaida militants and other Islamist fighters are descending on northern Mali in the chaotic aftermath of a military coup, creating a potential haven for terrorists in a part of the Sahara bristling with heavy weapons...
Cubans mark Good Friday as official holiday
5:08
Good Friday was an official holiday in Cuba for the first time in a half century, but few Roman Catholics on the island seemed to be using the day off to attend Mass. Cuba's Communist government declared the holiday to...
4:51
Yemen's new president fires old regime loyalists in major shake-up of country's military. ...
Pope urges families to persevere in economic crisis
4:44
By Catherine Hornby ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict called for perseverance in the face of an economic crisis that has led to hardship and rising unemployment across Europe as he presided over a procession ar
Yemen president sacks Saleh half-brother, son remains
4:40
SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's president removed a half brother of former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday as head of the air force, but left Saleh's son, nephew and other allies in place as heads of important milita
4:13
Mali coup leader says process now under way to make National Assembly president head of state. ...
Airline employee resigns amid celeb tip-off claims
4:06
A Virgin Atlantic employee has resigned following allegations she routinely fed information about the airline's celebrity clientele _ from Madonna to Sienna Miller _ to a paparazzi agency. The employee was a junior...
France to free suspected Islamist militants
3:49
PARIS (Reuters) - French police were expected to release without charge on Friday the last six of 10 suspected Islamic militants arrested in dawn raids two days earlier, legal sources said. Four were freed o
Iranian navy frees Chinese ship hijacked by pirates
3:34
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian naval forces freed a Chinese freighter hijacked by Somali pirates off southern Iran on Friday and arrested all the attackers, the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars reported. "T
Report: Russia deploys S-400s in Kaliningrad
3:25
A Russian newspaper has reported that the military has begun deploying S-400 mobile surface-to-air missiles in Kaliningrad, the Baltic exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania. Izvestia cited unnamed military officials...
Mubarak's ex-spy chief enters Egypt presidential race
3:14
By Dina Zayed CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said on Friday he would run for president if supporters complete his paperwork within a day, putting one of ousted leader Hosn
France: Islamists seeking to avenge Merah's death
3:10
France's interior minister says some Islamist groups in France want to avenge the death of a Muslim radical, who the government says was responsible for the killing of seven people in a shooting spree in the country's...
Doctors: Malawi president dies after heart attack
2:40
Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has died after a heart attack, doctors who treated him said Friday, as the troubled and impoverished southern African nation awaited official word of Mutharika's death and who would...
France fears a new serial killer is on the loose
2:38
A string of murders involving the same weapon have raised concerns a serial killer may be on the loose in a Paris suburb, and come as France is still reeling from a wave of terror-related shootings in its south. Four...
What Brazil wants from White House visit: dinner
2:30
By Brian Winter WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will have a long wish list when she visits the White House on Monday, but there's one goal that stands above the rest: Dinner
Bosnia's capital marks 20 years since war started
2:11
Bosnians walked silently and sobbed on Sarajevo's main street, leaving flowers and gifts on 11,541 red chairs arranged in seemingly endless rows _ the number represents the men, women and children killed in a siege that...
Tunisia chief backs conviction for Islam insult
2:00
Two men have been convicted and sentenced to prison in Tunisia for posting Facebook images of the Prophet Muhammad in a compromising position, a court decision that drew support Friday from the presidency of this once...
Christians mark Good Friday in the Holy Land
1:38
Roman Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Land commemorated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in prayers and processions on Friday through Jerusalem's Old City. In the town of Beit Jala, adjacent to Bethlehem,...
Towering Colombia volcano showing new activity
1:34
Authorities in Colombia say a towering volcano is showing renewed activity and could erupt in weeks or days. Gas and vapor has been rising periodically from the Nevado de Ruiz volcano since February and the country's...
Royal Caribbean ship rescues 23 Cuban migrants
1:28
A cruise ship departing from Jamaica has rescued 23 Cuban migrants after someone aboard spotted their small boat. A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. says officials on the Oasis of the Seas brought the...
Alarm over delay in swearing in new Malawi leader
1:24
By Mabvuto Banda LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika has died of a heart attack, medical and government sources said on Friday, and Washington expressed alarm at an apparent delay in s
Japan sets new safety standards for nuclear plants
1:13
Japan announced new guidelines Friday for how its nuclear power plants try to prevent disasters like last year's meltdowns, as the government aims to ease public concern about restarting idled reactors. Facing a...
Chinese freighter hijacked by pirates, Iran tracking
12:58
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese freighter has been hijacked by pirates off southern Iran, but it is being shadowed by the Iranian navy, the Chinese embassy in Tehran reported on Friday. The cargo ship, the Xia
Unlikely project revives Guatemala City's downtown
12:46
Guatemala's capital is a bleak and violent place, a city of dark, claustrophobic streets blighted by abandoned cars. The wealthy hide behind barbed wire and concrete walls, hiring rifle-toting guards to fend off armed...
Russia criticism of Assad hints at calculus change
12:42
After a year of iron support for its embattled Middle East ally, Russia's recent criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad suggests that Moscow could be planning for a future without the Arab strongman. There is still...
Russian Orthodox patriarch's watch causes buzz
12:33
Russia is abuzz with talk of the Orthodox Church's wealth and its close links to the Kremlin after an expensive watch was seemingly airbrushed from the wrist of the church's patriarch in a website picture. Bloggers...
Motorbike bomb kills two al Qaeda militants in Yemen
12:23
By Mohammed Mukhashaf ADEN (Reuters) - Two al Qaeda militants died in southern Yemen on Friday when a bomb they were carrying on a motorbike went off prematurely near the headquarters of the paramilitary pol
Malawi's president dies after heart attack
12:17
Malawi's Bingu wa Mutharika has been hailed as an economic hero and decried as an autocrat since taking office eight years ago, along the way clashing with his own political mentors and foreign donors. Doctors said...
Greek pensioner, widow sue state over bond losses
12:13
ATHENS (Reuters) - Two Greek bondholders, a wealthy widow and a male pensioner, sued the state on Friday over the money they have lost because of the country's multi-billion euro debt restructuring. The 76-y
Israeli chefs target every last crumb for Passover
11:57
The Jewish springtime Passover holiday is known as a festival of freedom, but its hallmark is a litany of dietary restrictions centered on not eating leavened bread for a week. The rules are so elaborate that chefs who...
Myanmar, Karen rebel group firm up cease-fire
11:44
Myanmar's government and its most enduring ethnic rebel group agreed Friday to firm up a cease-fire while negotiating a more a comprehensive peace plan. The Karen National Union announced the agreement at a news...
4 Afghan police killed; 7 people die in truck fire
11:29
Four Afghan policemen were killed on Friday as the Taliban have stepped up their attacks against government and NATO troops to undermine the U.S.-led coalition's effort to build up Afghan forces so they can take the...
France fears serial killer on loose after new murder
11:13
PARIS (Reuters) - French authorities said on Friday they feared a serial killer was on the loose after a gunman shot dead a woman in a Paris suburb, using a weapon employed in three other killings in the same area
London, Northern Ireland police in racism inquiry
11:05
Police chiefs in London and Northern Ireland said Friday they had suspended officers from duty following a raft of new investigations into alleged racism, including some cases reported by police staff to their...
Hungarian police: Man fatally hacks 4 relatives
11:04
Hungarian police say they have captured a man suspected of fatally hacking four of his relatives with a machete and injuring three others. Police say 24-year-old Csanad Jutas Horvath is suspected of killing his father,...