LIBYA

Anthony Shadid, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner reporting for the New York Times, died Thursday in Syria. The American reporter, of Lebanese origin, leaves behind a wife and two children.

General Electric Co believes China's economy, a key source of revenue growth for the largest U.S. conglomerate, will slow this year but not substantially below 8 percent, said the executive who runs the company's international operations.

Syrian President Bashar Assad ordered a referendum for later this month on a new constitution that would allow political parties other than his ruling Baath Party as part of promised reforms, The Associated Press said.

Syrian forces resumed their bombardment of the city of Homs on Monday after Arab countries called for U.N. peacekeepers and pledged their firm support for the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad.

Millions of Internet users in Iran have been denied access to popular social networking sites, including Facebook, and email services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail for the past one week, an Iranian news agency has reported.

Syrian forces resumed their bombardment of the city of Homs Monday after Arab countries called for U.N. peacekeepers and pledged their firm support for the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad.

The Arab League threw its support Sunday firmly behind the opposition mounting an uprising against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, and called for the U.N. Security Council to send peacekeepers to halt bloodshed.

The Arab League threw its support Sunday firmly behind the opposition mounting an uprising against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, and called for the U.N. Security Council to send peacekeepers to halt bloodshed.

Libya urged Niger on Saturday to extradite Moammar Gadhafi's son Saadi, saying his call for Libyans to prepare for a coming uprising threatened bilateral ties. In response, Niger pledged to tighten house surveillance of Saadi, but reiterated he could not be handed over to a state where he could face execution.

The World Press Photo of the Year winner has been chosen. The photo chosen was not only beautiful, but symbolic and powerful as well.

Samuel Aranda took top honors in the 2012 World Press Photo contest with a photo of a veiled woman holding her wounded relative during the 2011 protests in Yemen.

President Jacob Zuma squashed more than two years of talk on Friday about the nationalisation of South Africa's massive mining sector, saying state control or ownership of the mines in the world's biggest platinum producer could not work.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is up for re-election this year. He faces stiff competition from both the Socialist Party and the extreme right National Front. With France's economy in shambles, Sarkozy's re-election prospects look slimmer every day.

Tanks amassed outside opposition neighborhoods in Homs on Friday as Alawite-led forces bombarded the Syrian city for the fifth day and residents expected a major push to subdue the centre of revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

Oil fell from the highest level in three weeks ending a whole week of upward trend even as fears over a worsening eurozone debt crisis and its potentially disastrous impact on global commodity demand were contradicted by signs and figures of a quicker recovery from the U.S.

Tanks amassed outside opposition neighborhoods in Homs Friday as Alawite-led forces bombarded the Syrian city for the fifth day and residents expected a major push to subdue the center of revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule

Affordability will be a deciding factor in the U.S. Air Force's drive to develop a new long-range bomber, the top general in the service said on Thursday, underscoring that he was not looking for an extravagant design.

Russia faced a barrage of condemnations after it joined China over the weekend in vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step aside, but Russia has stood resolutely behind its decision. Why?

Armoured reinforcements poured into Homs as President Bashar al-Assad's forces bombarded the rebellious Syrian city for a fourth day, opposition sources said Thursday, worsening the dire humanitarian situation and prompting a new diplomatic push from Turkey.

The Damascus strongman still has at least two powerful allies apparently on his side – Russia and China

We should start considering all options, including arming the opposition, said the 2008 presidential candidate. The bloodletting has got to stop, Republican Senator John McCain said in a statement on AFP.