Category Archives: Top News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A number of top Federal Reserve officials likely saw a need for additional monetary easing at the central bank’s meeting last month, although there are few signals the central bank will move soon. Minutes from the Fed’s … Continue reading →

CAIRO (Reuters) – The Arab League threw its support on Sunday firmly behind the opposition mounting an uprising against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, and called for the U.N. Security Council to send peacekeepers to halt bloodshed. A resolution approved by … Continue reading →

ATHENS (Reuters) – Historic cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens on Sunday as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers looked set to defy the rage by endorsing a new EU/IMF austerity … Continue reading →

DALLAS – Diane Aulger was about two weeks from her delivery date when she and her husband decided there was no time to wait: Mark Aulger had only days to live, and he wanted to see his child. Diane Aulger … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON – Piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags, American aid contractor Alan Gross made sure laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment were secreted into Cuba. The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was the last … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney takes a hard line against congressional earmarks, but the GOP presidential front-runner had a more favorable view of federal pork-barrel spending when he was governor of Massachusetts. Under his leadership, Massachusetts sought tens of millions of … Continue reading →

BEIRUT – Al-Qaida’s leader has called for the ouster of Syria’s “pernicious, cancerous regime,” raising fears that Islamic extremists will try to exploit an uprising against President Bashar Assad that began with peaceful calls for democratic change but is morphing … Continue reading →

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s parliament has approved an austerity and debt-relief bill, crucial for the country to avoid bankruptcy and remain in the eurozone. Lawmakers voted early Monday in favor of the bill that imposes harsh new austerity measures in … Continue reading →

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Global airlines called on Sunday for a U.N.-brokered deal to prevent a row over aviation emissions between China and the European Union spilling into a damaging trade war. The call by the head of the International Air … Continue reading →

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Sporadic rocket and gunfire broke a respite in Syrian government attacks on opposition-held districts of Homs city on Sunday as Arab League officials in Cairo discussed ways to halt the crackdown and shift President Bashar al-Assad from … Continue reading →

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek lawmakers looked set to endorse a new austerity deal on Sunday to secure an EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, defying public rage and protesters who fought pitched battles with riot police outside parliament. Lawmakers came … Continue reading →

LONDON – Britain’s press must face tougher penalties for breaches of standards in the wake of the tabloid phone-hacking scandal, the government minister responsible for the media said Sunday. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said newspapers must change their system of … Continue reading →

RESTELICA, Kosovo – Rescuers have pulled a 5-year-old girl alive from the rubble of a house flattened by a massive avalanche that killed both of her parents and at least seven of her relatives in a remote mountain village in … Continue reading →

CAIRO – The Arab League will call on the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution creating a joint peacekeeping force for Syria. According to a draft resolution to be adopted by Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on … Continue reading →

ATHENS, Greece – Greek lawmakers on Sunday began debating legislation introducing severe austerity measures necessary for the country to secure a euro130 billion ($171.46 billion) bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund and stave off bankruptcy. The … Continue reading →

PORTLAND, Maine – Rick Santorum is pursuing an aggressive strategy to challenge Mitt Romney in the state where the GOP presidential front-runner grew up. Santorum said Sunday he could do “exceptionally well” in Michigan, the next state to host a … Continue reading →

KABUL (Reuters) – In the crush of people in Kabul’s Shahzada money market, conspiracy theories are a currency as hard as the bundles of cash in the hands of bearded traders trying to divine their future. And the theory going … Continue reading →

BERLIN (Reuters) – Greek promises on austerity measures are no longer good enough because so many vows have been broken and the country that has been a “bottomless pit” has to dramatically change its ways, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble … Continue reading →

DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in a video recording posted on the Internet on Sunday, urged Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments in their uprising to topple President Bashar al-Assad. In the eight-minute … Continue reading →

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian security forces eased their week-long bombardment of the central city of Homs on Sunday and let a few families leave opposition districts while thousands of protesters crowded the streets overnight, activists said. Heavy shelling in Homs … Continue reading →

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek lawmakers looked set to agree to a deeply unpopular bailout deal on Sunday to avert what Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned would be “economic chaos,” and Germany demanded Athens dramatically change its ways to stay in … Continue reading →

CARACAS, Venezuela – With Venezuela’s first-ever opposition primary set to begin, allies and adversaries of President Hugo Chavez are focused on one burning question: Will the winner have what it takes to defeat a shrewd and charismatic leader who thrives … Continue reading →

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A dream honeymoon to scuba dive on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef turned into a terrible nightmare, and the horror is about to play out years later in a courtroom in Alabama. An Alabama man who already served … Continue reading →

SAN FRANCISCO – Authorities searching with the help of a convicted serial killer found more human remains Saturday — the first bones discovered at an abandoned well on a cattle ranch where a death row inmate claimed 10 or more … Continue reading →

CAIRO – The Arab League was to consider a proposal Sunday to revive its suspended observer mission in Syria by expanding it to include monitors from non-Arab, Muslim nations and the United Nations, officials from the 22-member group said. The … Continue reading →