Cuba marks 50 years since Bay of Pigs attack

2011-04-16 22:08:28

Cuba staged a massive military parade here on Saturday to honor the 50th anniversary of the victory over the invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 by CIA-backed exiles.

UK mulling royal succession rule change

2011-04-16 21:14:44

Britain's government says it is considering changing the rules of royal succession so that if Prince William and Kate Middleton's first child is a girl she would eventually become queen.

Putin dons hockey skates in fitness stunt

2011-04-16 20:28:34

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin donned skates for an ice hockey training session on Friday in the latest in a series of stunts which help to keep his approval ratings high.

Putin asks party not to talk about 2012 vote

2011-04-16 20:05:16

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told leaders of his ruling United Russia party on Friday to focus on the December parliamentary election and not get "excited" about the 2012 presidential vote.

Russia closes Elbrus resorts

2011-04-16 17:51:30

Russian will close all Elbrus mountain area resorts in the Caucasus starting Saturday, due to an anti-terrorists operation, the Interfax news agency reported.

Somali pirates keep Indian hostages after ransom

2011-04-16 16:02:12

In a move that could change the pirate-hostage equation, Somali pirates took in a multimillion dollar ransom, then released the ship and some of the crew but kept all the Indian crew members as hostages.

5 NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan

2011-04-16 15:54:17

Five NATO soldiers were killed in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

Italian activist hanged in Gaza: Hamas

2011-04-16 09:32:24

A radical Islamist group hanged an Italian activist on Friday hours after kidnapping him in Gaza, Hamas said, as Rome denounced the "barbaric murder".

Clerics and tribal leaders call for Saleh to step down

2011-04-16 09:28:19

Yemeni clerics and tribal leaders joined the opposition on Friday in calling for the immediate resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, leaving the fate of a Gulf Arab mediation effort unclear.

Pakistan to keep fighting Taliban

2011-04-16 09:15:59

A top Pakistani military think tank scholar said that the country would keep fighting the Taliban in Pakistan "to keep them contained", despite mounting criticism from Western countries.

Western countries press on in Libya

2011-04-16 08:23:44

Leaders of Britain, France and the United States vowed on Friday to keep up their military campaign in Libya until Muammar Gadhafi leaves power, as the Libyan leader toured the streets of Tripoli.

Suicide bomber kills Kandahar police chief

2011-04-15 21:36:28

A suicide bomber killed the police chief of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Friday after penetrating tight defences at the police headquarters, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.