Strong quake kills at least 4 in northern Italy
SANT'AGOSTINO DI FERRARA, Italy (AP) — A strong earthquake shook northeast Italy early Sunday, killing four people, tearing off chunks of church facades and sending panicked residents into the streets. Aftershocks wreaked more havoc in the region, including knocking down a clock tower and injuring a firefighter.
- 19:23, 20.05.2012

World leaders set to tackle Afghanistan's future
CHICAGO (AP) — World leaders weary of war will tackle Afghanistan's post-conflict future — from funding for security forces to upcoming elections — when the NATO summit opens Sunday.
- 15:26, 20.05.2012

Opposition groups report clashes in Syrian capital
BEIRUT (AP) — A restive district of the Syrian capital that has been a hotbed of dissent against President Bashar Assad was rocked by fighting overnight between government forces and army defectors, opposition groups said Sunday.
- 15:23, 20.05.2012

Birth of new Greek drachma would be pained, rushed
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - If or when policymakers finally decideGreeceshould leave the euro, the exit could happen so quickly that "new drachma" currency notes might not be printed in time.
- 13:34, 20.05.2012

Global leaders seek to corral Europe crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — The leaders of eight of the world's biggest economies meet this weekend outside Washington, seeking to keep Europe's debt crisis from spiraling out of control and jeopardizing fledgling recoveries in the U.S. and elsewhere.
- 13:24, 20.05.2012

After Italy bombing, no claim of responsibility
ROME (AP) — A bomb blast outside a high school in southern Italy that killed a 16-year-old student has stirred memories of the dark days decades ago when terrorists, anarchists and organized crime carried out dozens of bloody attacks.
- 12:29, 20.05.2012

Chinese activist renews call to fight injustice
NEW YORK (AP) — A blind Chinese legal activist who escaped house arrest, endured a nearly month-long diplomatic tussle and a hurried daylong flight paused ever so briefly upon his arrival in New York City before taking up a familiar fight.
- 11:40, 20.05.2012

Sri Lanka set to release jailed ex-army chief
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's president has ordered authorities to free the country's jailed former army chief, a man credited with ending the country's long civil war but who later was imprisoned after challenging the president in elections.
- 09:35, 20.05.2012

US tells G8 Syria's Assad must go
CAMP DAVID, Md., May 19 (Reuters) - PresidentBarack ObamatoldG8leaders meeting at Camp David that Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assadmust leave power, and pointed toYemenas a model of how political transition could work there, the White House said on Saturday.
- 01:09, 20.05.2012

Prosecutors: Trio planned to attack Obama's headquarters
CHICAGO (AP) — Three men accused of making Molotov cocktails had been planning to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home and other targets during this weekend's NATO summit, prosecutors said Saturday.
- 23:51, 19.05.2012

Obama says G8 in agreement on Iran nuclear program
CAMP DAVID, Md., May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday leaders of theGroup of Eightmajor economies are committed to continuing the current approach of sanctions, pressure and diplomatic discussions with Iran over its nuclear program.
- 18:07, 19.05.2012

Japanese woman, 73, scales Everest for the second time
KATHMANDU, May 19 (Reuters) - For the second time, a 73-year-old Japanese woman has become the world's oldest woman to climb Mount Everest, repeating her own recordset 10years ago, the company that organised the climb said on Saturday.
- 16:48, 19.05.2012

G8 making progress on euro zone crisis, oil prices
CAMP ROUND MEADOW,Maryland, May 19 (Reuters) - Leaders of theGroup of Eightmajor economies are making progress on addressing the two biggest threats to their economies - the euro zone crisis and very high oil prices, British Prime MinisterDavid Cameronsaid on Saturday.
- 16:37, 19.05.2012

Blind Chinese activist appears to have left for U.S.
BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) -Chinaallowed a blind legal activist,Chen Guangcheng, to leave a hospital in Beijing on Saturday and board a plane bound for theUnited States, a move that could signal the end of a diplomatic standoff between the two countries.
- 14:38, 19.05.2012

One killed, 6 injured by Italy school blast - Official
ROME, May 19 (Reuters) - One person was killed and six people were injured when a bomb exploded near a school in Brindisi insouthern Italyon Saturday, an official at the Civil Protection Authority said.
- 10:55, 19.05.2012

G8 leaders broadly united on Iran and Syria-U.S. Official
CAMP DAVID, Md., May 18 (Reuters) -Group of Eightleaders agreed in their initial discussions atCamp Davidon Friday that Iran needs to disclose more about its nuclear ambitions and that it was time to focus on a political transition inSyria, a U.S. official said.
- 10:07, 19.05.2012

Blind Chinese activist Chen says is at Beijing airport
BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) - Blind Chinese legal activistChen Guangchengsaid on Saturday he has left a hospital inBeijing, where he has been for the past three weeks since he sought refuge in theU.S. embassy, and was waiting at the airport.
- 09:55, 19.05.2012

EBRD elects Briton as new president
LONDON — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has elected a British civil servant as its new president.
- 21:00, 18.05.2012

Salvage firm: Concordia wreckage gone by early 2013
ROME — The head of a U.S.-owned marine salvage company chosen to remove the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship from the waters off Tuscany is predicting the vessel will be ready for towing by early next year.
- 19:27, 18.05.2012

How could Chavez's cancer shape Venezuela presidential vote?
CARACAS - President Hugo Chavez's public assurances that he will beat cancer have failed to quell Venezuelans' frenetic speculation about whether the illness will ruin his chances of winning another six-year term in October.
- 17:33, 18.05.2012

Poll: Half of Irish voters plan 'yes' to EU treaty
DUBLIN — A new opinion poll suggests half of Ireland's voters are ready to support the European Union fiscal treaty in a May 31 referendum, enough to ensure its ratification.
- 16:31, 18.05.2012

Serbian capital setting up gay safe house
BELGRADE — Belgrade's mayor says authorities in Serbia's capital are setting up temporary housing for gays and lesbians rejected by their families.
- 16:16, 18.05.2012

Facebook set to begin trading after $16 billion offering
NEW YORK — Facebook is about to find out just how much status updates, puppy photos and billions of "likes" are worth on Wall Street, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg ringing the Nasdaq Stock Market opening bell Friday morning from company headquarters a continent away.
- 15:20, 18.05.2012

Turkey warns oil majors against Cyprus gas bid
ISTANBUL-Turkeysaid on Friday, May 18 that companies bidding to developCyprus' offshore gas fields would be shut out of Turkish energy projects, amid a spat between the rivals about who has rights to potentially vast reserves in theeast Mediterranean.
- 15:08, 18.05.2012

Police detain 400 at Occupy protest in Frankfurt
BERLIN — Police in Germany have temporarily detained some 400 demonstrators during largely peaceful protests by Occupy activists.
- 14:53, 18.05.2012

Serbia holds key presidential runoff Sunday
BELGRADE — Serbia, a landlocked nation of 7.1 million in southeastern Europe, is holding a presidential runoff vote on Sunday. The outcome holds the key to Serbia's bid to join the European Union as well as its relations with Kosovo, a former province whose declaration of independence Serbia has refused to accept. The nationalist opposition has accused pro-EU reformists of rigging the May 6 general vote, including the first-round presidential ballot, which has raised tensions ahead of the runoff on May 20.
- 14:30, 18.05.2012

Poland's Jaruzelski says he is close to death
WARSAW, Poland — Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland's last communist leader who became infamous for imposing a harsh military crackdown in 1981, says he is extremely ill and close to death.
- 13:47, 18.05.2012

Earthquake hits eastern Japan, no tsunami warning issued
TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 hit eastern Japan on May 18, shaking buildings in the capital Tokyo.
- 11:43, 18.05.2012

Chabad.org: Ukrainian jews 'sail against the tide' on Desna river
Jews in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigov took to the water last week, celebrating the springtime holiday known as Lag B’Omer by taking a cruise down the Desna River. Described by the cruise’s organizer, Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Yisroel Silberstein, as “sailing against the tide,” the event offered 100 men, women and children a chance to celebrate Jewish pride and unity in a city whose Jewish community dates back to the 13th century but was practically wiped out during the Holocaust. Read more here.
- 09:02, 18.05.2012

Pepsi drops sponsorship of horse show after video of animal abuse
NASHVILLE, USA - Soft drink maker Pepsi said on May 17 that it was dropping sponsorship of a prestigious national horse show, one day after ABC News broadcast footage of a horse in training for a show being beaten by a trainer.
- 08:44, 18.05.2012