Chile students protest president's reform proposal
11:52
President Sebastian Pinera said Wednesday a tax overhaul he is sending to congress will raise $700 million that will be enough to bring real changes to Chile's education system. He spoke as thousands of students...
Organizers: Miss Dominican Republic is a Mrs
11:20
The woman recently named Miss Dominican Republic will have to relinquish her crown because she is married, organizers of the contest said. The rules state that those vying for the crown must be single. But Magaly...
Extradition hearing set for Van der Sloot in Peru
11:04
A Peruvian judge has set a May 8 hearing to consider a U.S. request to extradite convicted killer Joran van der Sloot so he can be tried for extortion in connection with the unsolved 2005 disappearance of Alabama...
Venezuelan drug suspect says he paid judge
11:01
Prominent drug trafficking suspect Walid Makled claimed on Wednesday that he maintained close ties to a former justice from Venezuela's Supreme Court and gave the judge monthly payments of roughly $70,000 for favors....
Bo bugged phone call to China President Hu: report
10:54
BEIJING (Reuters) - A wiretapping network run by Chongqing officials was detected on a phone call made to Chinese President Hu Jintao in August, a discovery that helped topple the city's ambitious party chief Bo Xi
Mexico forest faces fire, armed men, squatters
9:30
Mexico's largest big-city forest park has been devastated by a fire that officials say was set by squatters seeking to take over land and worsened by the presence of armed gangs trying to scare off firefighters. The...
Japan ruling party's Ozawa found not guilty on funding scandal
9:13
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese court on Thursday acquitted ruling party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa of charges of violating fund-raising law, further complicating Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's task of preserving party
Brazil's Congress approves changes to enviro law
9:12
Brazil's lower house of Congress on Wednesday approved a bill that weakens the nation's benchmark environmental law protecting the Amazon and other areas, a move that some fear will lead to a spike in deforestation. ...
Bo's brother resigns from China Everbright board
8:38
By Sisi Tang and Kelvin Soh HONG KONG (Reuters) - The fallout from the ouster of former Chongqing party leader Bo Xilai spread after his brother resigned as vice chairman of China Everbright International Lt
US murder trial heard in Ecuador
8:33
A judge in Ecuador says a ruling is expected Monday in a 2011 double murder in the United States that is being tried in an unusual venue. A three-judge Ecuadorean court is trying Luis Guaman in his homeland on charges...
9 dead, 11,000 evacuated after rains in Hispaniola
8:32
Heavy rains drenching the Caribbean island of Hispaniola have caused mudslides and floods that killed up to nine people in Haiti and forced more than 11,000 people to flee their homes in the neighboring Dominican...
Briton accused in Iran missile scheme released from U.S. custody
8:29
By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas released British millionaire Christopher Tappin from custody on Wednesday, but ordered him to remain in the state while awaiting trial on charg
Haiti gov't begins back pay plan to veterans
7:21
A Haitian government effort Wednesday to register hundreds of veterans so they can receive pensions and back pay failed to demobilize a band of rogue soldiers whose presence is becoming an embarrassment to the Caribbean...
Israel's top general says Iran unlikely to make bomb
7:14
By Jeffrey Heller and Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's military chief said he does not believe Iran will decide to build an atomic bomb and called its leaders "very rational" - comments that clas
Haiti leader: Feeling better after medical scare
7:10
Haiti's President Michel Martelly said Wednesday that he's feeling better as he recovers in Miami from a blood clot in his lung. The 51-year-old leader looked cheerful as he spoke on camera in a message posted on...
Egypt lets Mubarak PM back in presidential race
7:09
CAIRO (Reuters) - The last prime minister to serve under deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been allowed to re-enter the race for the presidency, one day after electoral authorities disqualified him, the
Briton in Iran missile case released on $1M bond
6:46
A British man who was brought to Texas to face charges that he tried to sell missile parts to Iran was released from U.S. custody Wednesday on $1 million bond. Christopher Tappin left U.S. custody after a federal...
Court to give Taylor verdict in war crimes milestone
6:20
By Thomas Escritt THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A special court delivers its verdict on Thursday on whether Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor is guilty of crimes against humanity by supporting and directing rebel
Egypt lets Mubarak's PM back in presidential race
5:55
CAIRO (Reuters) - The last prime minister to serve under deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been allowed to re-enter the race for the presidency, one day after electoral authorities disqualified him, the
Egypt Islamic body backs Brotherhood candidate
5:53
A panel of fundamentalist Islamic clerics on Wednesday endorsed the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood for president of Egypt, an attempt to prevent a split of the conservative Muslim voters. In another twist, Egypt's...
Accused drug dealer says paid off fugitive Venezuela judge
5:34
By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) - An accused Venezuelan drug lord wanted by the United States said on Wednesday he made monthly payments to a former judge who recently embarrassed President Hugo Chavez
Egypt lets Mubarak's PM back in presidential race
5:19
CAIRO (Reuters) - The body overseeing Egypt's presidential election on Wednesday accepted an appeal by former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq against his disqualification as a candidate, allowing him back into the race
Mexico says it will investigate Wal-Mart scandal
5:03
Mexico's federal anti-corruption agency says it will investigate whether federal officials were involved in payments allegedly made by U.S. retailer Wal-Mart to speed up permits for building stores in Mexico. The...
Extended detention worries Cuban dissidents
4:55
Cuban dissidents are expressing increasing concern about the detention of a man who was part of an earlier release of prisoners negotiated by the Roman Catholic Church. De facto dissident spokesman Elizardo Sanchez...
Russia says Iran, West "interested" in nuclear offer
4:55
By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian diplomat said on Wednesday that Iran and Western nations had shown interest in a Russian proposal aimed to help defuse the standoff over Tehran's nuclear prog
U.S. accuses two Taiwanese in China military sale case
4:55
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Wednesday accused two Taiwanese nationals of trying to buy U.S. military technology on behalf of people they claimed worked in the Chinese government. Federal pros
Scars of captivity mark freed Colombian hostages
4:50
Their nationally televised releases were ecstatic celebrations, cathartic moments for a conflict-weary Colombia. Their rebel captors had held them in the jungle, often in chains, for as many as 14 years. Yet soon the...
France raises prospect of military action in Syria
4:47
France raised the prospect of military intervention in Syria on Wednesday, saying the U.N. should consider harsher measures if an international peace plan that has been shaken by violence ultimately collapses. The...
South Sudan frees prisoners; clashes abate
4:39
By Yara Bayoumy and Sabrina Mao JUBA/BEIJING (Reuters) - South Sudan freed prisoners of war on Wednesday as clashes appeared to abate between north and south, after cross-border fighting that threatened to t
UK royals offered advice on rare ship restoration
3:50
The head of a project to restore a rare 19th-century British ship badly damaged in a 2007 fire says his team won advice from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip. Philip, also known as the Duke of...
Egypt NGO law could undermine freedoms-UN rights chief
3:44
GENEVA (Reuters) - An Egyptian bill that would tighten control over non-governmental organizations could deal a serious blow to human rights and freedoms in the country, the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesda
African Union: Sudan must stop bombing South Sudan
3:43
The African Union called on Sudan to stop its aerial bombardment of South Sudan and for both countries to cease hostilities, as an uneasy calm settled over the south Wednesday. The African Union Peace and Security...
Bahrain: Jailed hunger striker in good health
3:38
A jailed activist on a hunger strike since early February is in "good health" and receiving medical care, Bahraini officials said Wednesday, responding to opposition groups claiming his condition was sharply...
Mali gets post-coup government, facing crisis in north
3:20
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's interim leaders named the country's first post-coup government on Wednesday, faced with the challenge of restoring political stability and tackling a crisis in the rebel-held north.
Dutch "burqa ban" may go after government falls
3:14
By Gilbert Kreijger AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - With the collapse of the Dutch centre-right government, the Netherlands may now drop some of its most eye-popping proposals aimed at Muslims and other immigrants and
Analysis: Myanmar sanctions lifting a boon and a test for China firms
3:08
By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - The lifting of decades of broad Western sanctions on Myanmar will prove to be both a boon and a test for China, for years the former Burma's top investor and trading part
In fiery crash, challenges of Nigeria exposed
3:00
Government corruption and deteriorating roads caused a fiery multiple car and truck crash in Nigeria that killed at least 18 people in 2010, a coroner said Wednesday, highlighting major challenges facing Africa's most...
Pakistan tests missile days after India's launch
2:42
Pakistan successfully launched an upgraded ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead Wednesday, days after its neighbor and archenemy India conducted its own missile test, the Pakistani military said. The...
Israel marks 64 years of independence
2:13
Israelis celebrated their country's 64th anniversary Wednesday with fireworks and military processions at a national ceremony in Jerusalem. The festivities came immediately after Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and...
Kazakh president decries foreign influences
2:10
The president of the oil-rich former Soviet nation of Kazakhstan has criticized the West for what he said was its attempt to impose its values on the rest of the world. Nursultan Nazarbayev told Russian...
Bo's brother resigns from China Everbright board
1:54
By Sisi Tang and Kelvin Soh HONG KONG (Reuters) - The fallout from the ouster of former Chongqing party leader Bo Xilai spread on Wednesday as his brother resigned as vice chairman of China Everbright Intern
West Africa bloc plans to send troops to Bissau: source
1:54
By Richard Valdmanis DAKAR (Reuters) - West African regional bloc ECOWAS plans to send more than 600 troops to Guinea-Bissau in coming days with orders to protect people and institutions after a military cou
AP Interview: Iraqi Kurd leader hints at secession
1:53
The president of Iraq's self-rule Kurdish region demanded Wednesday that Shiite leaders agree on sharing power with their political opponents by September or else the Kurds could consider breaking away from Baghdad. ...
UK spy missing for a week before boss raised alarm
1:50
The boss of a British spy whose naked and decomposing body was found locked in a sports bag waited for a week before raising the alarm after his colleague went missing, an inquest into the codebreaker's mysterious death...
France warns Syria that UN clock is ticking
1:42
France on Wednesday warned that if Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime doesn't fully implement an international peace plan it will seek U.N. action under a provision that includes possible military action. The...
Exclusive: Rebase to boost Nigeria's economy 40 pct: source
1:24
By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - The size of Nigeria's economy will shoot up by some 40 percent in the second quarter this year, placing Africa's second-biggest economy on the list of middle income coun
Charges filed in 1998 Polish police murder case
1:22
Polish investigators have charged two people with murder in the 1998 killing of the country's former national police chief, Marek Papala. The head of the national police investigating team, Marek Dyjasz, said testimony...
With eye on elections, Merkel pushes minimum wage
1:20
By Noah Barkin and Holger Hansen BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have agreed plans to introduce a mandatory minimum wage for sectors of the economy that do not already have
UN agency: 1 billion tourists expected this year
12:32
The U.N.'s World Trade Organization says 1 billion people will cross international borders as tourists this year for the first time. The WTO's regional director for the Americas, Carlos Vogeler, predicted Wednesday...
Rwanda seeks life sentence for opposition leader
12:24
Rwandan prosecutors say they are seeking a life sentence for a political opposition leader who faces charges of threatening state security, genocide denial and promoting ethnic division. Prosecutors sought the sentence...