WORLD

The event, while not unprecedented, is extremely rare: the resignation of a pope has not happened in nearly 600 years.

Ratzinger has been a respected defender of Church doctrine, but his reputation was hurt by his response to sex abuse scandal involving priests.

Pope Benedict XVI has announced his resignation, citing his age and illness.

Syrian opposition leader Moaz Al-Khatib said Monday that the regime’s rejection of his negotiation proposition, which was accompanied by an offer for President Bashar Al-Assad’s peaceful exit, sent a “very negative” message to the world.

Pope Benedict will resign on Feb. 28, the first time a sitting pope has stepped down since the Middle Ages.

At least 10 people were killed and seven were reported missing in a blast at a coal mine in Russia, the Interior Ministry said Monday.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, the holy festival of Hindus began Jan.14, 2013, at Prayag, Allahabad, and witnessed unprecedented crowd visiting the pilgrim site. The mad rush has separated several thousands of people from their families. Recent reports suggest that over 275,000 people are missing at the Maha Kumbh Mela even as the administration and volunteers take full efforts to find and reunite the missing persons.

A heavy firefight marked the first retaliatory attack launched by the rebels on a territory captured by the French-led forces.

The Los Angeles Police Department will provide a new truck to two women who were accidentally shot at by police officers during the manhunt for ex-cop and suspected killer Christopher Dorner.

At least 30 pilgrims died when a footbridge railing snapped sending devotees plummeting on top of each other.

Medical records are coveted by ID thieves farming Social Security numbers and dates of birth. How secure are they?

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki's secular party Sunday quit the Islamist-led government, which is reeling from last week's assassination of secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid.

The former U.S. defense secretary supports extrajudicial killings, but agrees there should be “some checks” on them.

Education, infrastructure, manufacturing, and renewable energy will be the four major themes of the president's annual address.

Curfew continued for the second day, Sunday in India-administered Kashmir even as an uneasy calm prevails in the Valley following the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at Tihar Jail in Delhi on Saturday.

Four people sustained grievous injuries in a shootout on the crowded Bourbon Street, where revelers partied ahead of the Mardi Gras annual carnival in New Orleans, Saturday night, police said.

Actor Charlie Sheen released a short video Saturday pleading for alleged “Killer Cop” Christopher Dorner -- a former Los Angeles Police Department officer accused of killing three people -- to call him so that the two can work out a way to bring Dorner to justice safely.

An Egyptian judge banned YouTube for 30 days after a viral anti-Islamic video led to violent demonstrations around the world.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the controversial Keystone XL pipeline with his Canadian counterpart on Friday.

The grandchildren and ex-wife of the legendary South African leader Nelson Mandela will star on an American reality TV show.

Guru was found guilty of conspiring with the five suicide bombers who carried out the attack on Dec. 13, 2001.

Hillary Clinton is the most popular national politician in America, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released Friday.

Sequestration cuts totaling $1.2 trillion will take effect March 1. Pentagon programs will be hit hard. Do these cuts leave America in danger?

Hosni Mubarak and his cronies are gone, but two years after their fall, Egypt is beset by political unrest and economic problems.

The end of polio could be close at hand -- unless militants like the ones in Nigeria continue to derail efforts.

Seventy years ago, the Kachin were America's friends in the fight against the Japanese. Now, they are losing the war against their own government.

Baby smugglers have been active Indonesia since at least the mid-1990s.

Mounting privacy concerns led Seattle's mayor to order the police to return its drones to the manufacturer.

The appointment of Zimbabwe’s new hangman after a seven-year vacancy has raised concerns among human rights advocates that executions will resume inside the country.