site.news_by_theme Americas
Space shuttle makes stately last journey to LA home
The US space shuttle Endeavour is making its final journey, at the less than rocket-propelled speed of two miles an hour, in a meticulously planned and stately trip through the streets of Los Angeles.
14 October 2012
Canada bars US extremist pastor Terry Jones
Notorious US pastor Terry Jones said Thursday he has been barred from entering Canada after an anti-Islam video he backs triggered violent protests across the Muslim world.
13 October 2012
Iran still 'good way away' from nuclear weapon: Biden
Iran is still "a good way away" from acquiring a nuclear weapon, US Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday, insisting the United States would stop Tehran before it was too late.
13 October 2012
US appeals court lifts ban on Samsung-Google phone
A US appeals court Thursday lifted a sales ban on Google-branded Samsung smartphones in a patent fight with Apple, saying there was no evidence sales were driven by features copied from the iPhone.
13 October 2012
Denying girls school entrenches poverty: report
Millions of girls worldwide are condemned to lives of hardship because they don't go to school, an education gap that entrenches broader extreme poverty.
13 October 2012
US soldiers say still focused on Afghan mission
As the US soldiers returned fire during an insurgent attack, an old man walked towards the platoon.
13 October 2012
Beard sparks legal debate in Fort Hood shooting case
Lawyers argued in a US military court Thursday over whether the soldier accused of the Fort Hood massacre can keep his beard despite objections from the judge overseeing his court-martial.
13 October 2012
VP pick Ryan bows to Romney line on abortion
US vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan stood by his pro-life credentials Thursday but said a White House led by Mitt Romney would not try to ban rape victims from seeking abortions.
13 October 2012
US military prepares new rules for cyber war:Panetta
The United States faces a growing threat of a "cyber-Pearl Harbor" and has drafted new rules for the military that would enable it to move aggressively against digital attacks.
12 October 2012
Mars rover makes surprising rock find
A rock analyzed by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has a surprising and more varied composition that resembles rare rocks from the bowels of our planet.
12 October 2012
Cuba frees dissident who sparked hunger strike
Cuba has released Jorge Vazquez Chaviano, a dissident whose case sparked a hunger strike by 30 protesters last month, though he remains under "many restrictions," he told AFP.
12 October 2012
UN report warns of possible rise in child marriages
The number of girls who marry before their 18th birthday could increase dramatically over the next two decades, a new UN report warned Thursday.
12 October 2012
Filmmaker didn't spark Muslim violence: lawyer
A lawyer for the man behind the "Innocence of Muslims" video denied Wednesday his client was to blame for a wave of violence across the Middle East, as he appeared in court for a second time.
12 October 2012
Costa Rica tightens ban on shark fins
Costa Rica has banned the import of shark fins, closing a legal loophole and targeting a link in a global production chain stretching to Asian markets, where shark fin soup is seen as a delicacy.
12 October 2012
Giant Chile telescope spots unique spiral structure
Astronomers using a powerful Chile-based telescope on Wednesday released a rare image of a spiral shell of cosmic dust and gas surrounding a red giant star.
12 October 2012
Chavez backs Assad again, blames US for war
President Hugo Chavez vowed Tuesday to keep supporting Bashar al-Assad, calling him Syria's legitimate president and blaming the United States for the war that has raged on for nearly 19 months.
11 October 2012
US sues Wells Fargo for mortgage fraud
The US filed suit Tuesday against US banking giant Wells Fargo, alleging mortgage fraud that cost the government hundreds of million of dollars after the holders of the home loans defaulted.
11 October 2012
Lula aides convicted of corruption in Brazil
Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday found former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's ex-chief of staff guilty of corruption in connection with a vote-buying scheme in Congress.
11 October 2012
Pop Art genius Lichtenstein gets major US retrospective
Roy Lichtenstein, the American painter whose comic book-inspired canvases gave the Pop Art movement some of its most vivid images, is getting his first major retrospective since his death 15 years ago.
11 October 2012
As mobile devices advance, PC future murky
The PC is not dead, but it's no longer king of the technology universe.
11 October 2012