WORLD

President Barack Obama Monday nominated Chuck Hagel to head the U.S. Department of Defense and John Brennan to head the CIA.

Drug seizures have increased by 200 percent over just the past two years in Punjab.

Journalists at a major Chinese newspaper have gone on strike to protest against censorship by the authorities.

Gerard Depardieu, who left his homeland to avoid a new tax rate, was extended a warm welcome in Russia.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree to officially use the words “State of Palestine” on public documents.

The insurgent group Seleka is making headway toward Bangui, despite peace negotiations in Gabon planned for this week.

Nelson Mandela is reportedly recovering well at home, but quiet speculation about his frailty and mental health are ongoing.

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to nominate ex-Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary on Monday. Then comes the battle.

The Syrian president's initiative has drawn scorn from both domestic opponents and foreign powers.

Historically, about one-fifth of all gun applicants in India are women.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s staunch ally Diosdado Cabello was re-elected as head of the National Assembly Saturday, with the possibility of him becoming the caretaker president if Chavez cannot be sworn in for his new term Thursday, Jan.10.

Tensions between India and Pakistan flared Sunday when Pakistan accused Indian troops of killing a Pakistani soldier while the Indian army alleged that Pakistan had initiated unprovoked cross-border firing.

Syrian President Bashar Assad will deliver a speech Sunday on the latest developments in the country and the Middle East region, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

With the so-called fiscal cliff averted, laypeople and politicians alike are clamoring for a quick resolution of the impending debt-ceiling crisis. And the most bizarre idea so far is a proposal for the government to mint a single $1 trillion coin to help pay down the national debt without raising the ceiling.

The FDA is seeking to establish new food-safety rules for farmers, food companies, and food importers, with two made public Friday.

This week, yellow Fatah flags were abundant in Hamas-controlled Gaza City, one month after Hamas held its own celebrations in the West Bank.

For Dalit women, the so-called Untouchables, protests of the recent rape of an Indian medical student is not likely to stop the sex crimes against them.

Critics say President Obama's "Cash for Clunkers" program, designed to stimulate the economy in 2009, was an environmental disaster.

Dogged by persecution and surrounded by turmoil, Egypt's Orthodox Coptic Christians will celebrate Christmas Monday.

China has implemented rules to circumvent online anonymity, which human-rights activists have criticized as a crackdown on political dissent.

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who was shot in the head during a 2011 assassination attempt, has made a visit to Newtown, Conn., the site of the Sandy Hood Elementary School shooting last month.

From one speaker (admittedly one who resigned to avoid a revolt) to another, Newt Gingrich gives John Boehner advice for running the House.

The ruling Congress Party quickly pounced on Vijayvargiya’s statements.

Government officials angered journalists at a Guangdong paper when it replaced an article with a propaganda-laced Communist Party piece.

After last month's school stabbing in Henan province, another unstable man goes on a knife-wielding spree -- but this time it's fatal.

Of the 75,000 members of the Delhi police force, only 6,750, or about 9 percent, are women

President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic has pardoned more than 7,000 prisoners as he approaches the end of his second and last term.

Indian police said they have detained a politician accused of rape after he was set upon and beaten by crowds in a village in Assam state.

The 113th Congress convened Thursday to face old problems. Here are some of the thorniest issues on the table.