Puerto Rico bail referendum sparks rights debate

Puerto Ricans are debating an upcoming referendum that would give judges the right to deny bail in certain murder cases.

Ivory Coast ex-combatants flee Ghana refugee camp

An official says that more than 170 Ivory Coast ex-combatants being held in a refugee camp in Ghana's west have escaped.

Medvedev to dominant party: don't fear opposition

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and current premier, has been elected head of the country's dominant political party, which he urged not to be afraid of opposition.

This image made from amateur video released by Shaam News Network and accessed Friday, May 25, 2012 purports to show a wounded child being evacuated in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

Syria denies Annan's deputy permission to visit

A senior Arab League official says Syria has denied permission for a deputy of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to travel to Damascus. Video Available Photo Gallery Available

Yemen: 27 al-Qaida militants killed in south

Yemeni military officials say fighting in two southern flashpoint towns has left 27 al-Qaida fighters and seven soldiers dead, and a top commander says the army is pushing the militants out of the area.

In this photo taken Wednesday, May, 23, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by his private secretary Georg Gaenswein, top left, and his butler Paolo Gabiele arrives at St.Peter's square at the Vatican for a general audience. The Vatican has confirmed Saturday, May 26, 2012, Gabriele was arrested in an embarrassing leaks scandal. Spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Paolo Gabriele was arrested in his home inside Vatican City with secret documents in his possession. Gabriele, a layman, was being held. Vatican documents leaked to the press in recent months have pointed to power struggles and accusations of corruption touching senior Vatican cardinals.

Vatican in chaos after butler arrested for leaks

The Vatican's inquisition into the source of leaked documents has yielded its first target with the arrest of the pope's butler, but the investigation is continuing into a scandal that has embarrassed the Holy See by revealing evidence of internal power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of the Catholic Church governance. Photo Gallery Available

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2007 file photo, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani talks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq's president on Saturday, May 26, 2012 urged the nation's bickering factions to resolve the bitter political dispute that has gripped the government for nearly six months, warning that the crisis threatens to split the country.

Iraqi president calls for dialogue to solve crisis

Iraq's president on Saturday urged the nation's bickering factions to resolve the bitter political dispute that has gripped the government for nearly six months, warning that the crisis threatens to split the country.

In this photo taken Thursday, May 24, 2012, advocate Gcina Malindi leaves the Johannesburg High Court where he appeared for South African President Jacob Zuma in a case to have a portrait of Zuma removed from a gallery and websites. Malinda broke down and cried during proceeding saying that he had been overcome by memories of the apartheid era.

History behind sobs in South African courtroom

A lifetime ago, a young black South African student was on trial with 21 other suspects accused by the white racist government of treason, terrorism and working for the African National Congress.

State radio: 13 die in Zimbabwe bus crash

State radio says 13 people died and six were seriously injured in Zimbabwe when a crowded minibus burst a tire and slammed into a tree.

Indian PM visits Myanmar amid energy quest

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departed Sunday on a three-day visit to Myanmar that underscores India's quest for energy supplies and concerns about China's strong influence in the Southeast Asian country.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi, casts his vote inside a polling station, in Zakazik 80 Kilometers (50 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. On Wednesday morning, Egypt commenced two days of presidential voting after 16 months of interim rule by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. This election is the first free and fair race since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's top candidates try to broaden support

The two surviving candidates in Egypt's presidential election appealed Saturday for support from voters who rejected them as polarizing extremists in the first round even as they faced a new challenge from the third runner-up who contested the preliminary results. Photo Gallery Available

Bankia's president, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, speaks during a press conference at the bank's headquarters in Madrid, Saturday, May 26, 2012. Spain's troubled bank, Bankia, has asked the Spanish government for 19 billion euro ($23.8 billion) in financial support just as a leading credit rating agency downgraded it to junk status. The request came as Standard & Poor's downgraded Bankia and four other Spanish banks to junk status because of uncertainty over restructuring and recapitalization plans.

Spain's lender Bankia says it won't need more aid

The president of Bankia tried Saturday to calm fears about the future of the bank, saying Spain's second largest mortgage lender will emerge as a solid financial entity after it receives (EURO)23.5 billion ($29.5 billion) in state aid in the country's biggest-ever bank bailout. Photo Gallery Available

2 British men drown while rafting in south India

A police official says two British men have drowned after their raft overturned and capsized in a river in southern India.

'Yes' side to EU treaty holds lead in Irish poll

A majority of voters plan to say "yes" next week to the European Union fiscal treaty, a new poll suggested Saturday, but the prime minister warned pro-treaty voters not to be complacent because he expects the gap to narrow in the final days of campaigning.

UN observers heading to site of Syria attack

A spokesman for the United Nations' envoy to Syria says international monitors are heading to a region where activists say at least 50 people were killed by government troops.

A Pakistani man prays on top of an oil tanker, which was used to transport NATO fuel supplies to Afghanistan, while parked in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, May 25, 2012. Pakistan's parliament has unanimously approved new guidelines for the country in its troubled relationship with the United States, a decision that could pave the way for the reopening of supply lines to NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan: US missile attack kills 4 in northwest

An American drone fired two missiles at a bakery in northwest Pakistan Saturday, killing four suspected militants, officials said, as the U.S. pushed ahead with its drone campaign despite Pakistani demands to stop. This was the third such strike in the country in less than a week. Photo Gallery Available

Militants post appeal of kidnapped Saudi diplomat

Militants have posted online a video in which a man identifying himself as a Saudi diplomat kidnapped by al-Qaida in Yemen appeals to Saudi Arabia's rulers to respond to his captors' demands and save his life.

Members of the media and Tokyo Electric Power Co. employees visit the No. 4 reactor building, rear, at the utility company's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Saturday, May 26, 2012.

Japan minister visits nuke plant amid safety worry

Japan's environment and nuclear minister visited the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant on Saturday to inspect a spent fuel pool at the center of safety concerns and said it appeared to have been properly reinforced. Photo Gallery Available

Chinese driver on trial over toddler left to die

State media in China say a trial has begun for a man accused of driving a minivan that ran over a toddler on a busy street. The case sparked outrage after the little girl was ignored as she lay dying on the road.

A woman touches pasta in a hotel conference room in Rome, Friday, May 18, 2012. Pasta sales worldwide have grown steadily over the past three years. Pasta is serious business in Italy, and the recent blind taste test organized by the world's biggest pasta maker, Barilla, drove home that an awful lot of thought goes into making the simple combination of durum wheat semolina and water from which Italy's national dish is made.

For something so simple, pasta is serious business

They twirled, they sniffed, they slurped, they chewed. Photo Gallery Available

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