HAVANA (Reuters) – Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is getting “much better” as he recovers from cancer surgery almost two months ago in Havana, Communist Party newspaper Granma reported on Monday. Castro, 86, spoke to reporters as he voted on Sunday in Cuba’s parliamentary elections in one of his increasingly…

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan peace effort is floundering, fraught with mistrust and confusion among key players even though the hard-line Taliban militants show signs of softening and their reclusive, one-eyed leader made a surprise offer to share power in a post-war Afghanistan. The U.S. and its allies hope the peace process, which began nearly two years ago, will gain ...

I’ve always prided myself as a Clark Kent-type of reporter. Mild-mannered, strait-laced, tending to avoid risk. But that’s all out the window when you go to Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. It’s my third day here, having just covered an Ultimate Fighting Championship event. I know what happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas, but we’re among ...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Sunday that gays should be allowed in the Boy Scouts and women should be allowed in military combat roles, weighing in on two storied American institutions facing proposals to end long-held exclusions. The president’s comments in a pre-Super Bowl interview on CBS come ahead of this week’s meeting of the Boy Scouts’ national executive ...

British doctors treating a Pakistani teenager who was gravely wounded by the Taliban last year say she has has undergone two successful operations and is making good progress in her…

JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) — Israeli President Shimon Peres tasked incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening with the task of forming a new government, amid the results of the Jan. 22 national elections. The two met at the presidential residence in Jerusalem Saturday evening, after Peres received recommendations from 82 members of Knesset (parliament) who named Netanyahu the ...

Mali beat Bafana 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday night. The African nations were locked at 1-1 after extra-time. By Ignat Manjoo More On : Mali, South Africa, South Africa vs Mali Comments Gettyimages South Africa started the game with midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane replacing striker Katlego Mphela, to protect the hosts defence ...

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoydenied allegations of tax evasion and fraud after documents published in El Pais newspaper detailing a secret web of unofficial payments involving top party officers, including Rajoy, unleashed a political storm in the recession stricken-country. The Spanish PM reportedly received regular cash payments of €250,000 hidden from tax authorities since 1997 according to El Pais. “I ...

PARIS (AP) — France’s National Assembly has approved a key article of a controversial bill that would legalize gay marriage. The measure, approved by a 249-to-97 vote Saturday, would drop the legal requirement that a marriage in France must be between two people of the opposite sex. To become law, that measure must now be approved by France’s Senate. That ...

A powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan on Saturday, causing strong tremors across Hokkaido island but no damage to several nuclear facilities in the region, officials said. The quake, which was preceded by an early warning broadcast on television and radio, hit near the town of Obihiro at a depth of 103 kilometres (64 miles) at 11:17 pm (1417 ...