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Blind Chinese activist leaves Beijing for U.S.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China allowed a blind legal activist, Chen Guangcheng, to leave a hospital in Beijing on Saturday and board a plane bound for the United States, a move that could signal the end of a diplomatic standoff between the two countries. Chen's escape from house arrest in northeastern China last month and subsequent stay in the U.S. embassy caused huge embarrassment for China and led to a diplomatic rift while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Beijing for talks to improve ties between the world's two biggest economies. The U.S. ...
7 charged with terror crimes in Real IRA crackdown
Seven Irish republicans, including three relatives of a senior reputed Real IRA member and four others allegedly operating a forest rifle range, were arraigned Saturday on terror charges following a security sweep against militants plotting to sabotage Northern Ireland's peace process.
Mourners gather in NY for funeral of Mary Kennedy
Mourners have gathered at a modest stone church north of New York City for the funeral of Mary Richardson Kennedy.
Fire risk brings recall of nearly 87,000 Jeeps
Chrysler is recalling nearly 87,000 Jeep Wranglers in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere due to a risk of fires.
Chinese activist who fled house arrest heads to US
A blind Chinese legal activist was hurriedly taken from a hospital and put on a plane for the United States on Saturday, closing a nearly monthlong diplomatic tussle that had tested U.S.-China relations.
G8 making progress on euro zone crisis, oil prices: UK
CAMP ROUND MEADOW, Maryland (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Eight major economies are making progress on addressing the two biggest threats to their economies - the euro zone crisis and very high oil prices, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday. After an early morning bilateral meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Cameron said he detected a "growing sense of urgency that action needs to be taken" on the euro zone crisis. ...
Suicide blast kills 13 in eastern Afghanistan
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint Saturday in a volatile area of eastern Afghanistan, killing 13 people, police said.
Thousands march in Frankfurt against austerity measures
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - At least 20,000 demonstrators marched through Frankfurt on Saturday in a peaceful protest against austerity measures implemented to tackle the intensifying euro zone debt crisis. Police closed off main roads in the centre of Frankfurt and set up check points on highways around the city as part of a heavy security operation to protect Germany's financial capital. ...
Is GOP trying to sabotage economy to hurt Obama?
Are Republican lawmakers deliberately stalling the economic recovery to hurt President Barack Obama's re-election chances? Some top Democrats say yes, pointing to GOP stances on the debt limit and other issues that they claim are causing unnecessary economic anxiety and retarding growth.
Political vulnerabilities in Sen. Rubio's past
For freshman Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising GOP figure seen as a possible Mitt Romney running mate, there are questions about whether potential vulnerabilities in his personal and political background might hold him back.
Toliver leads Sparks past Seattle, 72-66
It started with an innocent spurt that only seemed as if it would make an inevitable season-opening loss for Los Angeles a bit more respectable.
Obama to Congress: Put in place banking rules now
President Barack Obama says the big trading loss at JPMorgan Chase shows the need for Congress to finally put in place banking rules he signed into law two years ago. He also is calling on lawmakers to stop trying to weaken the regulations.
Bomb at Italian school kills teenager, wounds seven
BRINDISI, Italy (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in front of a girls' school in southern Italy on Saturday, killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding seven others, suspicion quickly falling on the local Mafia. The explosion, near the entrance of a school named after the wife of murdered anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, occurred as girls were arriving for the start of the school day, which in Italy includes Saturdays. ...
Afghan suicide attack kills nine
A suicide attack on a police checkpost in southeastern Afghanistan on Saturday killed at least nine people, three of them policemen, an official said.
America expands once again _ digitally, this time
The metaphor is an easy one, overused and perhaps even a bit overwrought. We are forging forward into a digital frontier, leaving convention behind, traveling without guides into an uncharted virtual land where progress and profits are forever around the next bend.
3 charged with terror conspiracy ahead of NATO
Three men arrested earlier this week when police raided a Chicago apartment were being held on terrorism conspiracy charges Saturday stemming from allegations that they tried to make Molotov cocktails ahead of the NATO summit, but the first major dress rehearsal of this weekend's large-scale protests was relatively peaceful.
Syria bomb kills 9, Damascus blames foreign plot
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb blew up at a Syrian intelligence post in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, killing up to nine people, activists and state media said. State television said the attack was the latest evidence that Syria is facing a foreign-sponsored Sunni Islamist conspiracy rather than a broad popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The official SANA news agency said the blast had killed nine and wounded about 100, including guards, at what it called military installations. It said residences had been damaged. ...
Obama pledges tough enforcement of Wall Street reforms
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday called on the U.S. Congress to back his efforts for tough new financial industry oversight, saying a $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan underscored the need for such regulation. "We've got to finish the job of implementing this reform and putting these rules in place," Obama said in a weekly radio address that accused some on Wall Street of causing the 2007-2009 economic crisis because they "treated our financial system like a casino. ...
Thousands mark 'Red Shirt' crackdown in Bangkok
Buddhist monks led prayers as tens of thousands gathered Saturday in Bangkok to mark the second anniversary of deadly clashes between soldiers and "Red Shirt" protesters.
Echoes of Eurozone crisis at NATO meeting
The NATO meeting in Chicago is a chance for alliance leaders to proclaim solidarity and promise success. But the two-day gathering that begins Sunday probably won't resolve the underlying anxiety about sharing the burdens of defense, a concern heightened by Europe's economic crisis and America's growing weariness at carrying the heaviest load.
Gunter Sachs art collection to be auctioned in UK
A British auction house is selling artworks collected by Germany born photographer Gunter Sachs.
G-8 leaders put focus on European financial crisis
Leaders of the world's economic powers say Germany should balance its push for European fiscal austerity with doses of stimulus spending to avoid a financial calamity with global repercussions.
Electric car network gets first test in Israel
Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi has begun rolling out the world's first nationwide electric car network. Now, will the drivers come?
Italy's PM Monti vows to fight crime after school bombing
ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, in the United States for a Group of Eight summit, said the government was determined to fight crime and prevent a return to the country's "subversive tendencies" after a school bombing killed a 16-year-old girl and wounded at least seven others. Monti, in a written statement, said the government would fight "all types of crime" and that it would seek to prevent a return to Italy's violent and "subversive" past, marked by Mafia car bombings and politically motivated murders. ...
Possible engine problem delays U.S. rocket launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The launch of a privately owned Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was delayed on Saturday when a computer detected a possible problem with one of the rocket's engines, a Space Exploration Technologies official said. Preparations for the company's trial cargo run to the International Space Station proceeded smoothly until 4:55 a.m. EDT (0855 GMT) when an onboard computer aborted the launch. "Liftoff ... we've had a cutoff. ...
Egypt army beat, tortured protesters: rights group
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian soldiers beat and tortured protesters they had arrested at a demonstration near the Defence Ministry this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday, citing victims and lawyers. The New York-based group said soldiers arrested at least 350 protesters, including 10 children and 16 women, on May 4 amid violence over a sit-in begun a week earlier in protest at the exclusion from Egypt's presidential race of Hazem Abu Ismail. ...
Obama: More teeth needed for Wall Street reforms
President Barack Obama says the big trading loss at JPMorgan Chase shows the need for Congress to put more teeth into Wall Street reforms intended to prevent the practices that led to the 2008 financial meltdown.
Afghan police: Suicide bombing kills 8 in east
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint Saturday in a volatile area of eastern Afghanistan, killing eight people, police said.
Syria: Suicide vehicle bomb hits military compound
A suicide vehicle bomb tore through the parking lot of a military compound in an eastern Syrian city on Saturday, killing nine people in the latest in a series of blasts in recent months targeting security installations, the country's state media reported.
Afghans: Suicide bombing kills 8 police in east
Afghan security officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint in the country's east, killing eight people.
Chinese entities world's biggest economic spies: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday it believes China spent up to $180 billion on its military buildup last year, a far higher figure than acknowledged by Beijing, and it accused "Chinese actors" of being the world's biggest perpetrators of economic espionage. China rejected the report as irresponsible, saying the United States was spreading a "China military threat" theory. ...
Chinese dissident Chen has left for U.S.: State Dept
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has left China on board a flight to the United States, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday. "We can confirm that Chen Guangcheng, his wife and two children have departed China and are en route to the United States so he can pursue studies at an American university," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement. "We are looking forward to his arrival in the United States later today. We also express our appreciation for the manner in which we were able to resolve this matter and to support Mr. ...
SpaceX rocket launch aborted in last half-second
A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second abort of the historic flight.
SpaceX scrubs launch to ISS over rocket engine
The California-based company SpaceX on Saturday scrubbed the launch of its Dragon capsule toward the International Space Station at the last second due to a rocket engine problem.
Student killed, 7 hurt in blast near Italy school
A bomb exploded outside a high school in southern Italy named after a slain anti-Mafia prosecutor as students arrived for class Saturday, killing a teenage girl and wounding several other classmates, officials said.
Blind Chinese activist leaves for US
A blind Chinese activist was hurriedly taken from a hospital Saturday and boarded a plane that took off for the United States, closing a nearly monthlong diplomatic tussle that had tested U.S.-China relations.
At Preakness, no one knows how horses will rebound
Judging by his appetite and appearance, Bodemeister has rebounded nicely from his vigorous trip in the Kentucky Derby and is ready to shine at the Preakness.
SpaceX rocket launch aborted in last second
A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second abort of the historic flight.
Spirited singing fails to enliven Mozart opera
All the lovely singing fails to save the Vienna State Opera's new production of Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito."
Will Smith slaps journalist who tried to kiss him
Hollywood star Will Smith has slapped a male television reporter who tried to kiss him before the Moscow premiere of "Men in Black III."