Czechs to vote in first direct presidential election
Czechs vote Friday and Saturday in their country's first direct presidential election, with recession, austerity and graft weighing heavily on the nation as it turns the page on a decade under ardent eurosceptic Vaclav Klaus.
Passions rise in France ahead of anti gay marriage protest
Passions and tensions are rising in France ahead of an expected giant weekend rally against the government's plan to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption that has angered influential Catholic and Muslim groups.
09 January 2013
Japan plans extra $2.1 bn on military spend: official
Japan plans to spend an extra $2.1 billion on missiles, fighter jets and helicopters, an official said Wednesday, as Tokyo looks to boost defence capabilities with concerns growing over a rising China.
09 January 2013
Egypt's Morsi to urge Obama to free blind sheikh
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has said he will urge US President Barack Obama to free the blind sheikh jailed for the 1993 World Trade Center attack.
09 January 2013
Honduras leader regrets embassy orgy
Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said Monday that a pre-Christmas party at the country's embassy in Colombia that included prostitutes was a "sad incident."
08 January 2013
TENGRI LIFE
TENGRI TRAVEL
Obama to host Afghan president Friday at White House US President Barack Obama will host Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House on Friday for talks centered on the long-term security compact between the two countries.
08 January 2013
Clinton returns to applause and a football helmet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received a standing ovation from her staff and an American football helmet to protect her from Washington's hard knocks as she returned to work after a health scare.
08 January 2013
China celebrities back censorship protest China's blogosphere and celebrities -- many with millions of followers -- Tuesday backed journalists at a newspaper embroiled in a censorship row after hundreds of people held a rare protest demanding greater press freedom.
08 January 2013
Venezuelan regime calls for massive Chavez rally Venezuela's leftist leadership has called for a massive show of support for ailing President Hugo Chavez in Caracas on Thursday -- the day he is supposed to be sworn in to a new six year term in office.
08 January 2013
Japan summons China envoy for first time under PM Abe Tokyo summoned the Chinese ambassador Tuesday for the first time under the new nationalist government to "strongly protest" against the presence of official ships in waters around disputed islands.
08 January 2013
Obama picks new CIA, Pentagon chiefs US President Barack Obama on Monday nominated controversial former Republican senator Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon and proposed that hard-nosed counterterrorism czar John Brennan to head the CIA.
US politician hopes for 'positive' Pyongyang trip Former US governor Bill Richardson said Friday he hopes to assess what is happening in North Korea under its new leader Kim Jong-Un during what he hopes will be a "positive" visit.
06 January 2013
Venezuela assembly meets amid Chavez health crisis Venezuela's National Assembly meets Saturday to elect its leadership in a session that also is expected to thrash out the country's political future as President Hugo Chavez battles cancer in Cuba.