venezuelans vote early in referendum on chavez rule reutersreuters - venezuelans turned out earlyand in large numbers on sunday to vote in a historic referendumthat will either remove left-wing president hugo chavez fromoffice or give him a new mandate to govern for the next twoyears
skoreans clash with police on iraq troop dispatch reutersreuters - south korean police used water cannon incentral seoul sunday to disperse at least 7000 protestersurging the government to reverse a controversial decision tosend more troops to iraq
palestinians in israeli jails start hunger strike reutersreuters - thousands of palestinianprisoners in israeli jails began a hunger strike for betterconditions sunday but israels security minister said hedidnt care if they starved to death
seven georgian soldiers wounded as south ossetia ceasefire violated afpafp - sporadic gunfire and shelling took place overnight in the disputed georgian region of south ossetia in violation of a fragile ceasefire wounding seven georgian servicemen
rwandan troops arrive in darfur apap - dozens of rwandan soldiers flew into sudans troubled darfur region sunday the first foreign armed force deployed in the area since arab militiamen began a rampage against black african farmers killing thousands
rwanda troops airlifted to start au mission in darfur reutersreuters - rwandan troops were airlifted on sundayto sudans darfur as the first foreign force there mandated toprotect observers monitoring a cease-fire between the sudanesegovernment and rebels in the troubled western region
bomb at india independence parade kills 15 apap - a bomb exploded during an independence day parade in indias remote northeast sunday killing at least 15 people including schoolchildren while a rocket attack during a celebration at a school in the separatist region of kashmir injured 17 officials said
australian fm to visit north korea for talks on nuclear crisis afpafp - australias foreign minister will pay a rare visit to north korea this week for talks on its nuclear programme after creating a stir here by warning a north korean missile would be able to hit sydney
kerry campaign helping with fla recovery apap - democratic presidential candidate john kerry does not plan to visit florida in the aftermath of hurricane charley because hes concerned his campaign entourage could distract from recovery efforts he said saturday
edwards calls for changes to drug plans apap - democratic vice presidential candidate john edwards called for changes to prescription drug programs and praised running mate john kerrys military and government service at an outdoor campaign rally here saturday
kerry leading bush in key swing states afpafp - although polls show the us presidential race a virtual dead heat democrat john kerry appears to be gaining an edge over george w bush among the key states that could decide the outcome
democratic senator urges energy reform apap - congress must pass legislation to protect the nations electricity grid if it wants to avoid repeats of the devastating outages that rolled across eight states last year sen maria cantwell d-wash said saturday
missouri attorney general sues epa apap - missouris attorney general sued the federal environmental agency on friday saying it is behind on testing the states air for lead as required by law
mortars mark opening of iraqi political conference baghdad reuters - insurgents fired mortars at a meeting where iraqi leaders met to pick an interim national assembly sunday killing at least two people in a grim reminder of the countrys tortured path toward democracy
japan ministers pay homage at shrine for war dead tokyo reuters - three japanese ministers paid homage at a controversial shrine for war dead sunday the 59th anniversary of japans world war ii surrender a move that drew anger from asian neighbors
najaf battle a crucial test for allawiclashes between us troops and sadr militiamen escalated thursday as the us surrounded najaf for possible siege
who are ch 225;vezs opponentson sunday venezuelans will decide whether to cut short the presidents term which is due to end in 2006
eye on athens china stresses a frugal 2008 olympicsamid a reevaluation officials this week pushed the completion date for venues back to 2007
tense iraq debates new assemblytalks on setting up an iraqi assembly continue despite fresh violence in baghdad and the shia stronghold of najaf
venezuelans vote on chavez rulea referendum is under way in venezuela to decide if president hugo chavez should remain in office
pope celebrates mass in lourdesan ailing pope john paul ii says mass at lourdes the french shrine revered by roman catholics
rwandan soldiers arrive in sudanrwandan troops arrive in sudan to help protect ceasefire monitors in the war-ravaged darfur region
thorpe leads big gunsian thorpe sets the fastest time in the 200m freestyle as swimmings top names cruise into the semi-finals
mystery over judo protestirans arash miresmaili withdraws from the olympics amid confusion over his reasons
jackson probe should be publicsanta barbaras sheriff asks a judge if he can release the results of an inquiry into michael jacksons treatment by police
rumsfeld warning for iraqs sadrthe iraq crisis and differences over nato loom over the us defence secretarys meeting with his russian counterpart
south ossetia ceasefire discussedgeorgia and south ossetia negotiate the details of a truce they forged despite reports of a village attack
mock executions for uk hostagethe british journalist who was kidnapped in iraq says he faced mock executions and tried to escape his captors
india carries out rare executiona man convicted of raping and killing a schoolgirl is hanged in indias first execution in nine years
rowling reads to gathered fansharry potter author jk rowling delights a small group of fans by giving her first public reading in scotland for four years
presidents fate is on the line in venezuelacaracas -- partisans on both sides are calling it the most polarized and important election in venezuelas history a presidential recall referendum today that will determine the course of democracy here and could buffet world oil prices both campaigns are also utterly convinced they will win
lamenting londons double-deckers up-to-date buses supplant symbollondon -- on a sweltering august afternoon george watson wedged himself his briefcase his sports jacket and his raincoat into a narrow seat aboard the profoundly un-air-conditioned no 38 bus as it resumed its rumble down high holborn in londons bustling city center
clash among warlords casts doubt on afghanistans securitykabul afghanistan -- rival militias clashed in western afghanistan yesterday reportedly killing 21 people and ramping up concern about security as the country prepares for landmark elections
options running out as najaf talks collapsebaghdad -- after more than a week of fighting between the mahdi army and the combined us and iraqi forces in najaf baghdads sadr city and a half-dozen other cities analysts say neither interim prime minister iyad allawi nor radical cleric moqtada al-sadr had any good options left other than to talk
japanese youths rage fuels wave of violent crimesasebo japan -- on a cloudless afternoon in this sleepy port city an 11-year-old girl drenched in blood and clutching a box cutter walked into the lunchroom at her elementary school teachers and students froze assuming the sixth-grader known for her lighthearted nature had gravely hurt herself -- but she quickly dispelled that impression witnesses said by uttering a few
nato proclaims victory in bosniasarajevo bosnia-herzegovina -- when nato forces first came to bosnia nearly a decade ago they lived in heavily guarded compounds patrolled the streets in tanks and often wore full body armor
koreans of mixed race tackle a prejudiceseoul -- for years lee yu jin kept her secret whenever anybody asked -- and they did all the time as her celebrity as an actress and model spread -- sh