WORLD

China has instructed its banks to embark on a huge roll-over of loans to local governments, the Financial Times reported, aiming to give itself more time to deal with a debt hangover from the global financial crisis.

The austerity bill calls for, among other things, 15,000 cuts in public sector jobs; and a 20 percent reduction in the minimum wage.

Greek lawmakers late Sunday accepted terms of a deeply unpopular austerity plan that Eurozone leaders demanded as the price for financially rescuing the debt-choked nation.

Just after midnight Monday, the Greek parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.

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.

Black-masked protesters throwing petrol bombs created a wall of fire on Sunday outside Greece's parliament as lawmakers inside looked set defy public rage by endorsing a new austerity deal to secure an EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy.

Historic cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens Sunday as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers looked set to defy the rage by endorsing a new EU/IMF austerity deal.

Iran has built up its naval forces in the Gulf and prepared boats that could be used in suicide attacks, but the U.S. Navy can prevent it from blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the commander of U.S. naval forces in the region said Sunday.

An Egyptian parliamentary inquiry into the deaths of 74 people in a soccer stadium disaster has found both fans and lax security to blame for the worst incident of its kind in the country's history, the legislator leading it said on Sunday.

Bahraini riot police engaged in pitched battles with petrol-bomb throwing youths on Sunday as violence escalated ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the uprising last year, while King Hamad mocked the opposition for its bad manners.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in several nations this weekend demanding political justice, economic opportunity, and a change to the status quo. Demonstrators -- who powered the Arab Spring, the worldwide Occupy protests during the summer, and the anti-austerity marches of the European autumn -- are back on the streets in a winter of discontent.

Historic cinemas, cafes and shops went up in flames in central Athens Sunday as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers looked set to defy the public rage by endorsing a new EU/IMF austerity deal.

The most important leader of Peru's leftist Shining Path insurgency was seriously wounded and captured by security forces after being shot in a remote jungle rife with drug trafficking, President Ollanta Humala said on Sunday.

President Barack Obama will make no further changes to the rule requiring health insurance plans to provide women with coverage for contraception, although U.S. Catholic bishops still object, his chief of staff said Sunday.

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.

Black-masked protesters throwing petrol bombs created a wall of fire Sunday outside Greece's parliament as lawmakers inside looked set defy public rage by endorsing a new austerity deal to secure an EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy.

The most important leader of Peru's leftist Shining Path insurgency has been found dead by security forces after being shot in a remote jungle rife with drug trafficking, President Ollanta Humala said on Sunday in his first major victory against what remains of the rebel group.

Sarah Palin wowed the Conservative Political Action Committee 2012 conference on Saturday, her mama grizzly roar repeatedly bringing the audience to a standing ovation and reaffirming her relevance to the Republican Party.

A number of top Federal Reserve officials likely saw a need for additional monetary easing at the central bank's meeting last month, although there are few signals the central bank will move soon.

Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online video recording posted on Sunday, urged Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments in their revolt to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the Maine Republican caucus vote and the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2012 straw poll Saturday. But recent polls suggest he is still on shaky ground as far as his front-runner status in the Republican presidential race is concerned.

Greek lawmakers looked set to agree to a deeply unpopular bailout deal on Sunday to avert what Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned would be economic chaos, and Germany demanded Greece dramatically change its ways to stay in the euro.

Greek lawmakers looked set to agree to a deeply unpopular bailout deal on Sunday to avert what Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned would be economic chaos, and Germany demanded Athens dramatically change its ways to stay in the euro.

Greek promises on austerity measures are no longer good enough because so many vows have been broken and the country that has been a bottomless pit has to dramatically change its ways, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in remarks published on Sunday.

Japanese Emperor Akihito will undergo heart bypass surgery on February 18.

Turkmenistan votes on Sunday in a one-sided election certain to extend the rule of President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov over a Central Asian country holding 4 percent of global natural-gas reserves, which rights groups rank among the world's most repressive.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, may not have won the presidential straw poll in the Maine 2012 Republican caucuses, but the libertarian candidate has good reason to believe that by the time Maine's delegates are up for grabs, his almost tie may become a win.

More than 100,000 people packed Lisbon's vast Palace Square on Saturday in the largest rally against austerity and economic hardships since Portugal resorted to a European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout last May -- and organizers vowed to step up protests and labor action.

Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney bounced back from midweek losses in three states to narrowly win Maine's caucuses on Saturday, hours after winning a straw poll of Republican conservative activists.