May 24, 2013 @ 12:55 pm

IMF chief named key witness in French payoff case

IMF chief Christine Lagarde says a Paris court has named her as a key witness in an investigation into a controversial payoff to an outspoken businessman arranged while she was France's finance minister.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 12:42 pm

Barrick fined $16m for Pascua-Lama violations

Chile's environmental regulator blocked Barrick Gold Corp.'s $8.5 billion Pascua-Lama project on Friday and imposed its maximum fine on the world's largest gold miner, citing "very serious" violations of its environmental permit as well as a failure by the company to accurately describe what it had done wrong.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 12:37 pm

Syrian regime OKs peace talks amid skepticism

Syria's government has agreed to attend a U.S.-Russian-brokered peace conference, according to Moscow. While this development might seem at first glance to be a step toward ending the civil war, strong skepticism persists on both sides.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 12:27 pm

UK-bound Pakistan plane diverted, 2 men arrested

Britain scrambled fighter jets Friday to intercept a commercial airliner carrying more than 300 people from Pakistan, diverting it to an isolated runway at an airport on the outskirts of London and arresting two British passengers who allegedly threatened to destroy the plane.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 12:26 pm

Afghan Taliban attack aid group, 2 guards killed

In the latest militant strike on the Afghan capital, Taliban gunmen backed by a suicide car bomber attacked an international aid group's compound on Friday, killing two guards and setting off an hours-long street battle with police in the heart of Kabul .  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 12:26 pm

Venezuela to create new workers militia

Venezuela's president has ordered the creation of a new workers' militia to defend the country's "Bolivarian revolution" at a time when the government faces economic problems and political turmoil.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 12:22 pm

Soldier's slaying prompts UK security review

Both of the suspects accused of butchering a British soldier during broad daylight on a London street had long been on the radar of Britain's domestic spy agency, though investigators say it would have been nearly impossible to predict that the men were on the verge of a brutal killing.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 11:58 am

Ex-Guatemala president extradited to US

Ex-Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited on Friday to the United States to face charges of laundering $70 million in Guatemalan funds through U.S. bank accounts.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 11:24 am

Tunisian feminist faces 6 months in prison

Amina Tyler, the 19-year-old Tunisian woman who scandalized many in the country by posting topless photos of herself online as a protest, could face six months in prison for her latest arrest, her lawyer said Friday.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 11:08 am

Berlusconi looms large in Rome mayor election

Silvio Berlusconi's figure looms large over Rome's mayoral elections this weekend, even though the former premier isn't among the 19 candidates running.  Continue reading >

May 24, 2013 @ 10:50 am

Woman in Berlusconi case denies her own statements

The woman who prosecutors allege had sex with Silvio Berlusconi while he was Italy's premier in exchange for money spent her second day on the witness stand Friday, denying her own sworn descriptions of racy escapades at his "bunga bunga" parties and long lists of expensive jewelry and watches received from the media mogul. Karima el Mahroug, a Moroccan known as Ruby, dismissed a series of sworn statements she made to investigators in the summer of 2010 as "all stupid things" that she now regrets saying. "I apologize to the prosecutors. They were all nonsense," she said.  Continue reading >