World News

Italian ex-militant ends hunger strike in Brazil

Demonstrators hold a hunger strike last week in front of the Supreme Trbunal in Brasilia to protest the extradition of Italian ex-militant Cesare Battisti, wanted for murders dating from the 1970s. Battisti ended his own 11-day hunger strike late Tuesday as he anticipated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's verdict on his extradition to Italy.
AFP - Thursday, November 26

BRASILIA (AFP) - - Italian ex-militant Cesare Battisti ended an 11-day hunger strike as he anticipated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's verdict on his extradition to Italy. More »

  • An Iraqi soldier stands guard along a highway near Karbala. Two bombs within minutes of each other exploded at a restaurant early Wednesday in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala, wounding at least 26 people, police and medical officials said.

    26 wounded in twin bombs in Iraq shrine city

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    KARBALA, Iraq (AFP) - - Two bombs within minutes of each other exploded at a restaurant early Wednesday in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala, wounding at least 26 people, police and medical officials said.

  • Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (L) shakes hands with Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa during a joint press conference in Cairo November 24. Saudi King Abdullah and Zapatero held talks on boosting bilateral ties and the situation in the Middle East, the official SPA news agency said on Wednesday.

    Saudi king and Spanish PM discuss Mideast

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    RIYADH (AFP) - - Saudi King Abdullah and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero held talks on boosting bilateral ties and the situation in the Middle East, the official SPA news agency said on Wednesday.

  • Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) walks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro upon arrival at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas. Ahmadinejad is on the third and final stop of his whirlwind tour of friendly Latin American nations who support Iran's controversial nuclear program

    Iran's Ahmadinejad in Venezuela on official visit

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    CARACAS (AFP) - - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Caracas for a meeting with President Hugo Chavez, just hours after the Iranian leader stopped in La Paz for a meeting with the Bolivian leader.

  • Arroyo urged to take action over massacre

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    COTABATO, Philippines (AFP) - - Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is facing rising pressure to bring to justice a political ally who stands accused of masterminding a massacre that left 46 people dead.

  • Belgium's ex-prime minister Yves Leterme, pictured in 2008, who quit amid a bank bailout scandal last year, will bounce back as government chief within 24 hours, incumbent Herman Van Rompuy said Tuesday.

    Leterme to return as Belgian PM Wednesday

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    BRUSSELS (AFP) - - Belgium's ex-prime minister Yves Leterme -- who quit amid a bank bailout scandal last year -- will bounce back as government chief within 24 hours, incumbent Herman Van Rompuy said Tuesday.

  • The first full-scale inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq war opened Tuesday with testimony suggesting Washington was gearing up for possible conflict two years before Tony Blair led London to war.

    British probe reveals lead-up to Iraq war

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    LONDON (AFP) - - The first full-scale inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq war opened Tuesday with testimony suggesting Washington was gearing up for possible conflict two years before Tony Blair led London to war.

  • Bolivian President Evo Morales (R) and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) meet at Palacio Quemado presidential palace in La Paz. Ahmadinejad arrived in Bolivia for a short visit on Tuesday, the second leg of a Latin America tour of three leftist nations sympathetic to his administration.

    Iranian leader greeted with military honors in Bolivia

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    LA PAZ (AFP) - - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Bolivia for a short visit on Tuesday, the second leg of a Latin America tour of three leftist nations sympathetic to his administration.

  • DR.Congo war crimes trial starts at The Hague

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    THE HAGUE (AFP) - - Two Congolese militiamen pleaded not guilty on Tuesday as they were accused in The Hague of plotting to wipe out a village where their forces killed civilians, raped women and enslaved child soldiers.

  • Shalit prisoner swap 'very close:' Israeli minister

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    JERUSALEM (AFP) - - An Israeli minister said on Tuesday that an agreement with Hamas to swap a Gaza-held soldier for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners was "very close," despite earlier efforts to rein in speculation.

  • A Polish court has begun hearing a libel case against President Lech Kaczynski over his claim that his predecessor and Solidarity icon Lech Walesa, seen here in 2008, was a communist-era spy.

    Polish president on trial in Walesa libel case

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    WARSAW (AFP) - - A Polish court on Tuesday began hearing a libel case against President Lech Kaczynski over his claim that his predecessor and Solidarity icon Lech Walesa was a communist-era spy.

  • Map of west Africa, locating Benin where pirates have attacked an oil tanker, killing a Ukrainian seaman, the commander of Benin's naval forces has told AFP.

    Pirates attack tanker off W.Africa, kill sailor

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    COTONOU (AFP) - - Pirates attacked an oil tanker off the coast of west Africa, killing a Ukrainian seaman, the commander of Benin's naval forces said on Tuesday.

  • VIDEO: The annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is underway. It's a must for Muslims around the world and more than two million people are expected at the holy site in Saudi Arabia. But for those who don't have the time or money to make it this year, how about a virtual trip to hajj? An Egypt-based website is becoming increasingly popular. Duration: 01:41

    Muslim pilgrims converge in Saudi city for hajj

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - - An estimated 2.5 million Muslims have converged on Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage, as workers toil round the clock to complete construction projects designed to avoid deadly stampedes.

  • A Hindu devotee brings a goat tied on his bicycle for sacrifice at the Nepalese village on November 23. Up to a million Hindu devotees gathered at a village in Nepal to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism.

    'World's biggest animal sacrifice' held in Nepal

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    BARIYAPUR, Nepal (AFP) - - Up to a million Hindu devotees gathered on Tuesday at a village in Nepal to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism.

  • A nurse draws blood from a patient for an HIV test in Johannesburg. New HIV infections have fallen by 17 percent over the past eight years, UNAIDS said Tuesday, noting that prevention programmes were having an impact.

    New HIV infections down 17 percent: UNAIDS

    AFP - Wednesday, November 25

    GENEVA (AFP) - - New HIV infections have fallen by 17 percent over the past eight years, UNAIDS said Tuesday, noting that prevention programmes were having an impact.

  • A police cordon warns people not to pass following the explosion of two bombs on the Spanish island of Majorca in August. Spanish police have detained more than 30 suspects in a major operation against a radical youth movement believed to have ties to armed Basque separatist group ETA, public radio has reported.

    Spain police detain 30 in Basque raids: report

    AFP - Tuesday, November 24

    MADRID (AFP) - - Spanish police on Tuesday detained more than 30 suspects in a major operation against a radical youth movement believed to have ties to armed Basque separatist group ETA, public radio reported.

  • The flags of Commonwealth nations seen at a summit of the international body in Abuja, Nigeria. Commonwealth leaders meeting in Trindad this week face a

    Commonwealth faces 'crisis summit': body's chief

    AFP - Tuesday, November 24

    PORT OF SPAIN (AFP) - - Commonwealth leaders meeting in Trindad this week face a "crisis summit" as they battle the global recession and face calls to action on climate change, the body's chief has said.

  • Peru's Supreme Court has opened a three-day review into the 25-year prison sentence handed down to former president Alberto Fujimori, pictured, for human rights violations.

    Peru court reviews Fujimori's 25-year sentence

    AFP - Tuesday, November 24

    LIMA (AFP) - - Peru's Supreme Court has opened a three-day review of former president Alberto Fujimori's 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations.

  • Somali boys chant as they watch hard-line Islamist fighters from Al-Shabab parade during a rally in the streets of Mogadishu. Eight people face terrorism charges in the case of 20 young men missing from Minnesota after allegedly being recruited to fight for an Islamist militia in the country, officials have said.

    Somali-US youth told jihad would be 'fun'

    AFP - Tuesday, November 24

    CHICAGO (AFP) - - A group of Somali-American youth recruited to fight for an Islamist militia in Somalia were told it would be "fun," court documents have shown.

  • The United States plans to join other developed nations in presenting an emissions target at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, a senior administration official has said.

    US to present emissions target before Copenhagen

    AFP - Tuesday, November 24

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - - The United States will announce a target for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions before the UN climate conference in Copenhagen, removing a major obstacle to a deal, officials have said.

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