site.news_by_theme Americas
GM taps 1st female CEO as it emerges from US control
General Motors Tuesday named its first-ever female chief executive as the largest US automaker exits the government-bailout era with sales at their best level in six years.
12 December 2013
Republicans thump Obama for Castro handshake
Republicans were left steaming Tuesday after President Barack Obama shook the hand of Cuban leader Raul Castro, with one senior lawmaker likening the act to appeasement of the Nazis.
12 December 2013
US actress pleads guilty to Obama, Bloomberg ricin plot
A 36-year-old actress from Texas on Tuesday pleaded guilty to mailing ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a gun control activist, federal prosecutors said.
11 December 2013
Canada vows to defend Santa Claus
Canada vowed Tuesday to defend the North Pole and Santa Claus, insisting the mythical figure is a citizen, after Russia ordered its military to step up its Arctic presence.
11 December 2013
Music lovers seek to pump up digital audio quality
When he sees people listening to music on portable digital devices, David Chesky cringes.
11 December 2013
Uruguay becomes world's first country to legalize marijuana trade
Uruguay's Senate has approved ground-breaking legislation legalizing marijuana, becoming the first nation in the world to oversee the production and sale of the drug.
11 December 2013
Taking pictures to remember may help you forget
Taking a picture to help you remember something might end up having the opposite effect, according to research published in the United States.
11 December 2013
US, Britain 'spying on virtual world': report
Freshly leaked documents by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on Monday revealed spies disguised as fantasy characters prowled online games hunting terrorists.
11 December 2013
Thousands take to Cambodia's streets on Human Rights Day
Thousands of Cambodian opposition supporters and activists, including Buddhist monks, took to the streets Tuesday to mark Human Rights Day and call for improvements in the kingdom's rights record.
10 December 2013
China seen as 'confident', 'belligerent': state media
People around the world see China as "confident", "belligerent" and "arrogant", state-run media reported Tuesday in an unusually direct survey of attitudes towards the country.
10 December 2013
US envoy Kennedy visits Nagasaki atomic bomb site
Washington's new ambassador to Tokyo, Caroline Kennedy, visited Nagasaki on Tuesday and paid tribute at a memorial to those killed when the United States dropped its second atomic bomb on Japan.
10 December 2013
Boxing: Golovkin accepts Geale's challenge
Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin has accepted the challenge of the ex IBF world middleweight champion Daniel Geale.
10 December 2013
Star wine dealer goes on trial for fraud in NYC
Star Indonesian-born wine dealer Rudy Kurniawan went on trial in New York Monday, accused of blending ordinary wines into fake vintages in his California kitchen to sell to wealthy collectors.
10 December 2013
Facebook joins NYU in artificial intelligence lab
Facebook unveiled plans Monday on a partnership with New York University for a new center for artificial intelligence, aimed at harnessing the huge social network's massive trove of data.
10 December 2013
Congress deal to ease Guantanamo transfers: lawmakers
Senior US lawmakers said Monday they have reached a compromise deal that eases restrictions on sending Guantanamo detainees home or to third countries but bars their transfer to the United States.
10 December 2013
New American Airlines emerges as world's top carrier
American Airlines emerged as the world's largest airline Monday, combining with US Airways after a hard-fought battle to overcome US competition concerns.
10 December 2013
World must act fast to help C.Africa: aid group
The global community needs to move fast to stop the violence in Central African Republic spiralling out of control and must send in international peacekeeping troops to restore security, a leading US aid organization said Monday.
10 December 2013
USA sees no hurdles for Kazakhstan to enter WTO
Kazakhstan’s accession into the WTO is a priority both for the USA and the organization: U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.
10 December 2013
Brazil's TV dream machine fueled by 7,000 people
In a Rio suburb, wealthy and beautiful heiresses, orphans and assassins lunch together in a mini-city where Globo television creates the soap operas that captivate more than 50 million Brazilians.
10 December 2013
Hollywood immortalizes US disaster in Afghanistan
Hollywood has immortalized for post-Christmas release one of the deadliest incidents of the Afghan war: a Navy SEAL operation targeting a Islamist fighter that left 19 American soldiers dead.
10 December 2013