Three years ago, burning gray mud erupted from the earth, in the Sidoarjo region of the Indonesian island of Java. Since then, the mud volcano has forced 12,000 families to flee their homes. A drilling company is accused of triggering the eruption,...
Across Asia women are bearing the brunt of the global economic downturn as export manufacturers shed workers. The United Nation's International Labor Organization and labor rights groups say Asian governments need to boost social protection programs...
Liberal and conservative political groups are bracing for what could be a divisive battle over the confirmation for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The Senate will take up Judge Sotomayor's nomination sometime...
In a crowded ballroom Kavya Shivashankar beat out 10 other finalists to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee on national television. Kavya correctly spelled the word laodicean, meaning lukewarm or indifferent in politics or religion. Kavya who had...
Palestinians are reacting positively to their leader's summit meeting with the president of the United States in Washington. But Israelis are skeptical. Presidents Barack Obama (r) and Mahmoud Abbas at the White House, 28 May 2009 Palestinian offici...
Australian authorities have asked a cruise liner to cancel a planned port call after three crew members tested positive for the H1N1 flu virus, which is commonly known as swine flu. Two thousand passengers are on board the Pacific Dawn, which is on...
Thailand's government hopes new legislation will curb official corruption. But some business-risk experts say the chief concern in fighting corruption in Thailand lies in political will and government stability. Thailand is enacting tough legislatio...
Foreclosures continue to rise in Florida and other U.S. states hit hard by the real estate crisis. Several Florida counties are trying to fight back against the problem by bringing banks and homeowners together to find a way to save troubled mortgag...
On the second anniversary of the abduction of five Britons in Baghdad, their families remain hopeful they will be released. The British government has renewed its call for the men to be set free. Dealing with two years of uncertainty has been incred...
President Obama is set to visit Saudi Arabia on June 3 to meet with King Abdullah, just a day before visiting Cairo, and many Saudis are speculating about what the two men will discuss. As the guardian of Islam's holy sites and the author of a 2002...
Turkey's military says its warplanes have attacked Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, following a landmine explosion that killed six Turkish soldiers and wounded eight others. Meanwhile several pro-Kurdish party members of parliament are under...
South Korea and the United States have raised their defense alert levels on the Korean peninsula, a day after the North said it was willing to discard the 56-year-old armistice that paused the Korean War. Analysts expect more tension in the days ahe...
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the Obama administration will soon present very specific proposals to Israel and the Palestinians on how to advance toward a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. Sec. of State Hillary Rodh...
Israel has rejected a call by the United States for a total freeze on settlement expansion in the occupied territories. Israel said construction in Jewish settlements will continue despite U.S. pressure. President Barack Obama began pressing the set...
An American grandmother thought she was moving to Africa in order to homeschool her daughter's five children. As it turns out, Viola Vaughan is helping thousands of Senegalese girls with their school work, in a place where girls can often be left be...
