Argentine Senate approves 'dignified death' law
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Argentina's senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a "dignified death" law giving terminally ill patients and their families more power to make end-of-life decisions. The law passed by a vote of 55 to zero, with...
Argentina makes sex-change surgery a legal right
10:57
Adults who want sex-change surgery or hormone therapy in Argentina will be able to get it as part of their public or private health care plans under a gender rights law approved Wednesday. The measure also gives people...
Chile approves hate-crime law after gay bashing
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Chile's congress passed a hate-crimes law Wednesday night, months after a group of alleged neo-Nazis were arrested in the brutal murder of a young gay man. The law enables people to file anti-discrimination lawsuits...
Police find 18 bodies near Mexican tourist lake
10:28
Police found 18 dismembered and beheaded bodies inside two vans in an area frequented by tourists near the city of Guadalajara in western Mexico, authorities said Wednesday. Jalisco state Prosecutor Tomas Coronado said...
Obama gay marriage support seen as world precedent
9:18
President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he supports gay marriage boosted the hopes of gay rights groups around the world that other leaders will follow his example. Vatican and other religious officials who...
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8:18
Argentina approves transgender rights: ID changes, sex-change operations and hormone therapy. ...
Ecuador law would forgive mortgage debt
8:03
Ecuador's legislature has passed a bill that would require banks to forgive any outstanding debt on mortgages for first-time home buyers of properties worth up to $146,000 if they default and forfeit the home. The...
6th graders made porn video at Mexican school
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Authorities in Mexico's Gulf coast state of Campeche said Wednesday they are investigating how a porn video was made by sixth-graders inside their school. State Education Department spokesman Omar Kantun said the video...
El Salvador won't extradite 1989 slaying suspects
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El Salvador's government says it will not grant Spain's request to extradite 13 former military officers indicted in the 1989 slayings of six Jesuit priests and two other people. The country's Supreme Court says nine...
Official: Sudan warplanes bomb South Sudan
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Sudan resumed its aerial bombardment of South Sudan, violating international calls for a cessation of hostilities between the two countries, a South Sudanese military official said Wednesday. Col. Kella Dual Kueth,...
Egypt: Low court orders suspension of elections
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A low-level administrative court ruled Wednesday in favor of a lawsuit calling for Egypt's presidential election to be suspended, a decision that is likely to be overturned, a judicial official and a lawyer said. Legal...
Wrecked Brazilian ship leaking oil in Antartica
4:51
A wrecked Brazilian ship is trapped in ice and spilling fuel in Antarctica, with no hopes of containing the damage until the long South Pole winter eases next October. The "Endless Sea" capsized and sank in 12 meters...
Vienna buries remains of Nazi victims
4:19
They were starved, tortured, and killed because they were considered inferior to the Aryan ideal set by Adolf Hitler. Then their organs were put in jars and displayed for research by the doctors accused of causing their...
Post-Saleh Yemen shows resolve against al-Qaida
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After years of stalling and halfhearted efforts under its now-ousted president, Yemen is finally showing resolve in the fight against al-Qaida's branch in the country, which has been behind a string of attempted attacks...
Blast near UN car shows fragility of Syria truce
3:28
A roadside bomb hit a Syrian military truck Wednesday just seconds after the head of the U.N. observer team drove by in a convoy, demonstrating the fragility of the international plan to end the country's bloodshed. In...
Sudan: troops repulse attack by Darfur rebels
3:23
A Sudan news agency says Sudanese armed forces have repulsed an attack by Darfur rebels in a town in South Darfur. Nine soldiers and an unknown number of rebels were killed. The semiofficial Sudan Media Center quoted...
Greek left-wing leader says coalition bid fails
3:18
Greece drew closer to holding repeat elections next month after Radical Left leader Alexis Tsipras said Wednesday he has failed to forge a coalition that would end the financially struggling country's political...
Women accuse Egyptian military of sexual assault
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Women protesters and rights groups on Wednesday accused Egyptian troops and prison authorities of sexual assault during the latest crackdown on demonstrations, reviving allegations they are using abuse to intimidate...
2 killed in Nigeria attack blamed on Islamist sect
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At least two people were killed in an attack on a northeast Nigeria market that the military blamed on a radical Islamist sect waging an increasingly bloody sectarian battle in the country. The attack happened...
Sudan says regained control of rebel-held Darfur town
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KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese army troops have pushed out rebels who had seized control of a town in the western Darfur region, a state-linked media website said on Wednesday, the latest violent incident in the tro
France's Hollande focuses on euro crisis
2:27
French President-elect Francois Hollande didn't wait to take office to press his agenda for digging Europe out of economic crisis: He met Wednesday with the European Union president and presented his case for joint...
European court refuses Abu Qatada appeal
2:23
Radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada on Wednesday lost his bid to make a final appeal to the European Court of Human Rights against a British deportation order, effectively clearing the way for the U.K. to resume efforts...
Norway gunman asks to confront massacre survivors
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Survivors of a youth camp shooting massacre that left 69 people dead in Norway testified Wednesday about their panicked attempts to hide during the rampage, as the court turned down confessed gunman Anders Behring...
Mexican topless candidate sparks debate
2:07
Social networking sites are buzzing with debate over a Mexican congressional candidate who released a campaign poster showing herself topless. Candidate Natalia Juarez says the poster is intended to fight prejudices. ...
Zimbabwe rescuer dies as crocodile attacks friend
2:03
A Zimbabwean man was killed while trying to rescue his friend from attacking crocodiles in northwest Zimbabwe, a fishing club said Wednesday. The National Anglers' Union said that Frank Trott, aged in his 70s, died...
Actress wife in key role for Mexican front-runner
2:00
A staccato drum beat rolled over a crowd of thousands packed into a sweltering tent as adoring fans screamed a single name to the rhythm of a popular soccer chant. "Angelica! Angelica! Ra! Ra! Ra!" they sang while...
Famed Spain judge appeals being barred from bench
2:00
A Spanish judge who won global fame for aggressively taking on international human rights cases is appealing his conviction for overstepping his jurisdiction in a domestic corruption probe. Baltasar Garzon's 200-page...
Qaeda leader urges Muslims to avenge Koran burning
1:59
DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has urged Muslims to avenge the burning of copies of the Koran on a U.S. base in Afghanistan earlier this year, dismissing apologies for the incident as a "ridicul
Poland asks Kiev to change laws to help Tymoshenko
1:51
Poland's president appealed Wednesday to Ukraine's leaders to change what he called anachronistic laws that have allowed the imprisonment of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and others on political grounds. Bronislaw...
Tymoshenko ends hunger strike in Ukraine
1:48
Yulia Tymoshenko ended a nearly three-week long hunger strike Wednesday as the imprisoned former Ukrainian prime minister was moved from jail to a hospital for treatment of a severe back condition under the supervision...
Hollande meets Van Rompuy to discuss euro, growth
1:44
By Daniel Flynn and Paul Taylor PARIS (Reuters) - French president-elect Francois Hollande began his drive to persuade European partners to shift their economic policy priority from austerity to growth when
Al-Qaida leader: Avenge Afghan Quran burning
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Al-Qaida's leader has urged Muslims to take revenge for the February burning of Quran Muslim holy books at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan. Ayman al-Zawahri posted an audio on a militant website on Wednesday. He called...
Russian opposition leaders sentenced to jail
1:41
Two of Russia's most prominent opposition leaders were sentenced Wednesday to 15 days in jail, while several dozen opposition activists who tried to stage a "people's stroll" through the city reportedly were detained. ...
New Israeli coalition confronts first challenge
1:32
A controversial practice that has allowed tens of thousands of young ultra-Orthodox men to avoid compulsory military service has emerged as a looming test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new coalition government...
Germany weighs ban on Salafists after clashes
1:30
By Elisa Oddone BERLIN, May 9 - Germany is considering a legal ban on ultra-conservative Salafist Muslim groups, its interior minister said on Wednesday after violent clashes with the police, one of which wa
Afghan girls' schools shut down, Taliban blamed
1:30
By Mustafa Andalib and Mirwais Harooni GHAZNI/KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Headmaster Abdul Rahman was heading to work when a man he believes was a member of the Taliban accosted him and warned him to shut
Italy presses Germany for more crisis flexibility
1:21
By James Mackenzie and Paul Carrel FLORENCE, Italy/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Italy pressed for a relaxation of German policy orthodoxy on Wednesday as Prime Minister Mario Monti and a senior central banker urged
UK PM braced for testimony by Rebekah Brooks
1:08
By Kate Holton and Mohammed Abbas LONDON (Reuters) - When the former editor of the newspaper at the heart of Britain's phone hacking scandal appears this week at a media inquiry, Prime Minister David Cameron
Presidential vote splits Egypt's strict Islamists
1:08
By Tamim Elyan ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - At al-Taqwa mosque in Egypt's second biggest city, a preacher defends his ultra-orthodox Salafi group's decision to endorse Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, an Islamist
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Doctor says jailed Ukraine ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko ends hunger strike. ...
UN official: Plight of Afghan poor may worsen
12:45
Afghanistan's security situation has overshadowed the glaring humanitarian needs of the nation's poorest, and their plight may worsen as international assistance wanes, a top U.N. official said Wednesday. Economic...
9 jailed in racially sensitive UK sex ring case
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Nine men in northwest England were sentenced to jail Wednesday for luring girls as young as 13 into sex using alcohol and drugs _ a case that has stirred racial tensions and sparked claims that U.K. authorities are...
Uganda denies supporting Sudanese rebels
12:10
Ugandan officials said Wednesday that a fresh allegation by Sudan that Uganda supports anti-Sudan rebels is a tactic to divert attention from Uganda's claim that Sudan is sheltering warlord Joseph Kony. James Mugume,...
Turkey: No plans to extradite Iraqi VP
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Turkey said Wednesday that it has no plans to send Iraq's vice president, who is currently in Turkey, back to Iraq for prosecution even after Interpol placed him on its most-wanted list. Iraq has charged Tariq...
Algeria elections failing to inspire people
11:57
Algeria is gearing up for parliamentary elections on Thursday that promise to be the freest ever, but years of rigged polls and a weak legislature have left people cynical about politics in this oil rich North African...
EU tells Ukraine to stay away from joint meeting
11:47
The EU's president has told the premier of Ukraine to stay away from a joint meeting next week because of the imprisonment of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Herman Van Rompuy told a Euronews program Wednesday that...
Liver cancer cited in death of Thai text prisoner
11:35
A preliminary autopsy shows liver cancer killed a Thai prisoner who was serving a 20-year term for sending insulting text messages about Thailand's royal family. An observer at Wednesday's autopsy said Amphon...
Jordan enacts political parties reform law
11:04
Jordan's parliament on Wednesday passed a law to encourage an effective multiparty political system, a key reform measure. It would allow parties to compete in elections based on political platforms. The previous...
UK govt to focus on economy, reform House of Lords
10:57
Wearing a crown studded with glittering jewels, Queen Elizabeth II set out Britain's new legislative agenda in opulent style Wednesday _ but announced a frugal program aimed at boosting economic growth and overhauling...
Syrians' plight touches Turkey's "Little Afghanistan"
10:45
By Jonathon Burch OVAKENT, Turkey (Reuters) - When Abdul Maraf Yildiz looks at the thousands of Syrian refugees flooding across the border into southern Turkey, he sees himself, 30 years ago. Yildiz w