CONGRESS

Higher walls and more manpower would not have stopped the assault that killed the U.S. Ambassador to Libya. According to diplomatic security officers, we should expect more of the same trouble.

Robert Vadra, the businessman son-in-law of India’s Congress-led ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairman Sonia Gandhi, deserves some credit for the clever wordplay that he has offered to define a nation and its people.

More than 70 members of Congress have, in recent years, backed legislation that would directly benefit either them or family members, according to The Washington Post.

Lonmin miners who went on strike last month have agreed to a 22 percent pay raise and will return to work this week. But the strike has taken a toll on South Africa's economy, and other mines still face unrest.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of the state of West Bengal, declared that her party, the All India Trinamool Congress ? currently the second largest segment of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition ? could no longer cooperate with the UPA.

The taxpayer-owned Fannie Mae paid more than legally required to Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) and 12 other lenders when it spent $1.5 billion in termination fees for servicing rights on 1.1 million loans between 2008 and 2011. The mortgage giant argues that while it paid a premium over the minimum required price, it paid for the transfers at an ?appropriate rate.?

A federal judge has halted a recent court ruling that sharply questioned the federal government's power to indefinitely detain terror suspects -- but the issue won't be solved until later this month at the earliest.

Tax cuts for the rich don't seem to be associated with U.S. economic growth and instead are linked to a different outcome: greater income inequality in the U.S. These findings will likely fuel the already bitter political fight over extending the Bush tax cuts for upper-income groups.

The tech world is still buzzing over Samsung?s Galaxy S3, but a new rumor suggests that its successor, the Galaxy S4, will have a February 2013 release date. The next-generation flagship smartphone is said to be unveiled at a European technology expo this winter, company officials and local parts suppliers said to the Korea Times.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left interest rates unchanged but cut the cash reserve ratio for banks on Monday, disappointing market hopes that it would follow up the government's unexpected spate of bold reform measures by reducing borrowing costs.

The U.S. says there is no evidence at this point to indicate the attack on the American consulate was premeditated, but Libya suggests it was plotted by foreign extremists.

Chief Justice John Roberts had a change of heart after reflecting on how rejecting the health care law would impact his legacy on the court, according to a new book by Jeffrey Toobin.

It will be the first time the public has been granted access to the document, which was signed by George Washington and detailed the ratification process of America's most sacred document. hile A letter written by George Washington to Arthur St. Clair, the president of the existing Congress has never been recovered.

Chinese riot police forcibly broke up an anti-Japan protest in southern China Sunday as demonstrators again took to the streets in scores of cities in a long-running conflict over a group of tiny disputed islands.

Many Argentines are protesting against the policies of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over her tight controls on the economy amid rising inflation. Fernandez has said that her policies are aimed at supporting the most vulnerable in society and will benefit the majority of people as a whole, though she has been criticized for pursuing a populist agenda at the expese of the upper and middle classes.

Government-owned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were set up to help blue-collar and middle-class workers buy their own homes at lower interest rates, are also helping the nation's one percent to purchase luxurious homes.

Epainette Mbeki, mother of former South African President Thabo Mbeki and revered anti-Apartheid activist, recently criticized the country's ruling African National Congress which had pressured her son to resign in 2007. The ANC continues to have wide support in South Africa, but Mbeki stressed that its leaders needed to communicate better with the people or public unrest would increase amid the country's persistent economic disparities.

The rebel group M23 is committing serious war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo with help from Rwanda, according to a Tuesday report from Human Rights Watch.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has released its annual list of corrupt congress members. Find out if your rep made the list.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who made fiscal responsibility a top focus in his presidential campaign, has been named one of the most corrupt members of Congress, because of several alleged double billing incidents.

Sites like the Pirate Bay and uTorrent haven't enticed hundreds of millions of people to download endless amounts of free media content without making a few enemies. Those BitTorrent giants - and others like them - have built their businesses by outwitting the seemingly hapless MPAA and RIAA. The increased acceptance of illegally downloading media has affected the bottom line of the movie and music industry over the past decade, and that isn't good news for torrent fans.