Obama Ready for Pep Talk on Afghanistan During NATO Summit
U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury(NEW YORK) — President Obama will take center stage at the NATO summit in Chicago Sunday by urging the alliance to resist deescalating its commitment in Afghanistan.With the American public having grown…
IOC Won’t Hold Minute of Silence for 1972 Israeli Olympic Team
MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images(LONDON) — At the opening ceremonies of this year’s Summer Olympics in London, the Israeli government wants everyone to observe a minute of silence for its 11 athletes and coaches slain during the 1972 Olympic by Palestin…
Leader of Syrian Opposition Ready to Step Down
Alessio Romenzi/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — With the united front against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad showing cracks, the chief of the leading opposition group said he would quit Thursday in an effort to revive the mission to change the g…
Obama Nominates New Ambassador to Burma
Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Declaring a “new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Burma,” President Obama announced Thursday he is rewarding democratic progress by nominating the first U.S. ambassador t…
Vladimir Putin’s Decreasing Popularity May Be Irreversible: Poll
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — An independent Russian polling group says President Vladimir Putin’s decreasing popularity may be irreversible.Putin remains Russia’s most popular politician, but the independent Levada Center released a report o…
US Ready for Attack on Iran If Needed, Says Ambassador to Israel
iStockPhoto/Thinkstock(JERUSALEM) — The United States is militarily ready to carry out a strike on Iran to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon if international pressure fails, American ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said to an Israeli audienc…
Kalashnikov Clothing? Rifle Maker Considers Expanding to Fashion
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — Looking to expand your summer wardrobe? Well, the makers of the AK-47 assault rifle think they may have something in your size. The owners of the Kalashnikov say their brand may be worth $10 billion, and they’re …
Iraq Vets Returning Medals at NATO Summit in Chicago
Khalid Mohammed-Pool/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — A protest of Iraq war veterans at the NATO summit being held in Chicago this weekend is intended to send a strong message to Washington and the European alliance.Some members of the Iraq Veterans Against t…
Rogue Penguin Resurfaces in Tokyo Bay
File photo. (iStockphoto/Thinkstock)(TOKYO) — A Humboldt penguin that made a daring escape from a Tokyo aquarium has resurfaced two months later.The year-old feathered creature was spotted in a Japanese Coast Guard video, swimming in Tokyo Bay and loo…
Syria President Says He’s Losing Information War with West
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — With information being everything these days, Syria’s embattled leader says his government is losing the propaganda war to the West.With no sign of the violence ending after 14 months despite a United Na…
Former Miss World Slammed Over Baby Fat
STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The world’s ‘Most Beautiful Woman’ is at the center of a growing controversy over fame, motherhood and baby fat.Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, a former Miss World and one of India’s most beloved Bol…
Afghanistan Preparing to Drill for Oil
Comstock/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — An output of 5,000 barrels of oil a day doesn’t sound like much but it could be the beginning of a bonanza for Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations in the world.Afghan Mining Ministry spokesman Jawad Omar a…
Secretary Clinton Says ‘Oui’ to New French President
AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that she welcomes the new French president, Francoise Hollande, and is looking forward to working with him. In an interview with USA Today, Clinton said even thou…
Which Nation Is Most Likely to Sunbathe Nude?
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — It’s not the one you might expect. Expedia’s summer travel survey posed the question on nude sunbathing to 8,600 people around the world and found that only two percent of Americans were likely to shed thei…
France’s First Lady Facing "Protocol" Issues Over Relationship
GUILLAUME BAPTISTE/AFP/GettyImages(PARIS) — Valerie Trierweiler, France’s new first lady, has covered French politics as a journalist for more than 20 years. So she likely anticipated how being the first unmarried French first lady to occupy the Elyse…
Obama Signs Executive Order to Protect Transition in Yemen
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — President Obama has signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against anyone who threatens to undermine the political transition in Yemen. “This Executive Order will allow the United States …
Police Break Up Anti-Putin Protest in Early Morning Raid
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — A week-long opposition protest against President Vladimir Putin has been broken up by police after authorities raided the demonstration early Wednesday morning in central Moscow. Police carried out the raid…
Greek President Quits Attempts to Form Coalition Government
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ATHENS, Greece) — Ten days after the general election held on May 6, Greek President Karolos Papoulias has decided to quit trying to cobble together a coalition government as no combination of parties with the required minimum o…
Will Chen Guangcheng Be in the US by Next Week?
STR/AFP/GettyImages(BEIJING) — Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng could be in the U.S. by next week, as the Chinese dissident who escaped house arrest in April and his family are expected to receive their passports on Monday, May 21.According to C…
Top US Commander in Afghanistan Reportedly Leaving for Europe
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Gen. John Allen is reportedly leaving his post as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.Rumors were swirling around Washington Tuesday that the White House will assign Allen to take over as head o…
Laura Mikesell: 
