WASHINGTON - Rival Lebanese leaders reached a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that had pushed their country to the brink of a new civil war.  Earlier this week talks in Doha, Qatar, between representatives of Lebanon’s Hezbollah-led opposition and the pro-Western government had suffered a setback when the opposition rejected Arab-mediator […]

FLORIDA - The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, is set to build a factory in the southern U.S. state of Florida to make executive jets. The move by the world’s fourth-largest aircraft manufacturer comes as the U.S. economy is in a downturn and continues to lose manufacturing jobs. However, Embraer executives say they have confidence in […]

WASHINGTON - The presumptive Republican party nominee for the U.S. presidency, John McCain, has rejected the endorsement of a preacher criticized for his statements about Jews.
U.S. media reported Thursday that John Hagee, a prominent evangelical leader, told his congregation during a sermon in the 1990s that Adolf Hitler had fulfilled a biblical prophecy by pushing […]

MIANYANG - The earthquake in southwestern China displaced five million people, and many families were separated, leaving parents and children still looking for their loved ones. In the chaos, there has been a special outpouring of concern for the thousands of children who may have been orphaned.
Tens of thousands of refugees now live around this […]

IRBIL - The U.S. Department of Defense has expressed satisfaction with Iraqi troops’ performance in ongoing military campaigns throughout the country. Iraqi military capability will factor heavily into the U.S. military’s decisions about its own troop levels in Iraq.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has routinely praised the performance of Iraqi troops in ongoing military operations, […]

ROME - The United Nations food agency says the high prices of rice may begin to come down amid predictions of excellent harvests this year. But the agency warns overall food prices will remain high.
The Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, says rice market conditions could ease this year as new crops are harvested around the […]

CAPITOL HILL - The top U.S. commander in Iraq says another drawdown of U.S. troops is likely later this year because of improved security.  General David Petraeus’ comments to a congressional panel Thursday came as the Senate approved more money for the military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
General David Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush says Iraq’s military is making progress against Iranian-backed militia and al-Qaeda terrorists. Mr. Bush spoke to U.S. troops returning from the war.
President Bush reviewed paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who are returning to their base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina from extended, 15-month deployments in Afghanistan and […]

HOUSTON - In Mexico, President Felipe Calderon continues his fight against powerful drug cartels as the death count mounts. More than 1,300 people have died this year in Mexico in violence connected to the illicit drug trade. In recent weeks some high-ranking police officials have been targets of drug gangs, leading some analysts to wonder […]

BEIRUT - Lebanon’s feuding political leaders have signed a deal in Qatar to end their long-running political crisis, which erupted into sectarian violence earlier this month that killed at least 67 people.  They agreed on a national unity government that gives the opposition veto power.  The election of a new president is expected on Sunday.  […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush is marking a day of solidarity with the Cuban people by allowing people in the United States to send cellular telephones to family in Cuba. 
President Bush says a series of economic and political reforms announced by Cuba’s new president Raul Castro have not improved life on the island.
“Political […]

WASHINGTON - Doctors performed a biopsy on U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy and announced Tuesday that they found a malignant brain tumor. The Democrat and elder statesman of American liberal politics suffered a siezure last Saturday morning at his home in Massachusetts.
Senator Edward Kennedy’s doctors found a tumor in tissue that supports the nerve structure in the brain […]

PARIS - The European Union’s executive commission has unveiled an agricultural reform plan for the 27-member block that aims to overhaul farm funding to better meet current challenges - including global warming and the recent spike in world food prices.
The plan by the European Commission aims to fundamentally change how agricultural subsidies are handed out […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The Bush administration Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to a diplomatic resolution of the Iran nuclear issue though also saying it forecloses no options in dealing with the matter. The comments followed an Israeli newspaper story that U.S. military action against Iran could come within months.
Administration spokespersons are rejecting, with unusual vehemence, a […]

BEIRUT - Lebanon’s rival political factions have agreed on plans for a new president and unity government, breaking a volatile 18-month-long crisis.
Representatives of the Hezbollah-led opposition and the pro-Western government signed the deal Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, after five days of negotiations.
Officials say the deal will see parliament convene Sunday to elect army chief General […]

JERUSALEM - Israel and Syria have officially confirmed they are holding indirect peace talks, eight years after negotiations broke down over the disputed Golan Heights.
The two governments announced separately Wednesday that Turkey has been mediating the efforts to reach a comprehensive peace agreement.
Turkey’s foreign minister Ali Babacan said last month that his country has been […]

WASHINGTON - The White House says U.S. President George Bush will travel to Europe next month to strengthen the trans-Atlantic partnership between the U.S. and European nations.White House spokeswoman Dana Perino Tuesday said the eight-day trip, beginning June 9 will include stops in Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, and the Vatican.
Mr. Bush is scheduled to attend […]

SOUTH DAKOTA - The Lakota Indians of the northern plains have been called a “horse nation” because they have strong ties, culturally and historically, with the animals. A group of Lakota teens recently saddled up for a four-day ride across South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. This Youth Ride was aimed at reconnecting the group with […]

SEOUL - South Korean lawmakers from mainly liberal parties say they will block ratification of a major free-trade deal with the United States amid a panic about American beef imports.  The political stalemate ends hopes for a speedy implementation of the pact. 
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met Tuesday with Sohn Hak-kyu, the leader of the […]

JERUSALEM  - Israel’s defense minister has repeated a demand for the Palestinian militant group Hamas to release an Israeli soldier before reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip.Ehud Barak made the comment Monday in Egypt after meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
Israel has repeatedly called for the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, to be freed as part […]

WASHINGTON - Voters head to the polls Tuesday, in the U.S. states of Kentucky and Oregon, where Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton continue the race for their party’s presidential nomination.Obama, the frontrunner, campaigned Monday in Montana ahead of that state’s June 3 primary. 
Clinton was in the southeastern state of Kentucky, where she outlined measures […]

BEIRUT - Lebanese political leaders are locked in negotiations in Qatar aimed at reaching a power-sharing deal to solve Lebanon’s political crisis. The Qatari mediators have proposed delaying discussion of some of the thorniest problems until after the two sides have formed a government of national unity and elected a new president. 
Although it is viewed […]

ISTANBUL - New regulations against smoking in many public places went into effect in Turkey on Monday. The new rules ban smoking in educational, health, commercial, social, cultural, sports and all entertainment facilities.
In Istanbul’s huge Cezaye shopping mall, one of Europe’s largest, cigarettes are now forbidden. Security guards are under strict orders to enforce the […]

WASHINGTON - Presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama debated the wisdom of dealing directly with Iran Monday. The exchange on foreign policy came on the eve of primaries Tuesday in Kentucky and Oregon, the next contests in the long running Democratic nomination battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton.  
Senator McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, was […]

WASHINGTON - The Green Revolution is a good example of how technological advances can have a dramatic effect on economic development - in this case on food production. Other technological innovations are helping to improve agricultural production, from empowering farmers in India to an international effort to breed food staples fortified with nutritional vitamins.
When farmers […]