BBC
Facebook shares are to start trading in one of the highest-profile flotations of recent years, making co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's stake worth about $20bn.
18 May 2012 at 9:50am
European markets suffer a nervous session with investors unsettled by a downgrade for Spanish banks and the political crisis in Greece.
18 May 2012 at 10:31am
Syrian activists report thousands at protests in the city of Aleppo, which has so far largely stayed loyal to the president since the uprising began.
18 May 2012 at 9:03am
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog will travel to Iran on Sunday to "discuss issues of mutual interest".
18 May 2012 at 9:22am
The respected German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, famed for his performances of Schubert's song cycle Winter Journey, dies at the age of 86.
18 May 2012 at 6:13am
France's new leader Francois Hollande meets President Barack Obama for the first time, their talks focusing on the global economy.
18 May 2012 at 10:27am
President Joyce Banda says she wants Malawi to overturn its ban on homosexual acts - the first African country to do so since 1994.
18 May 2012 at 9:19am
Thousands of Bahrainis protest outside the capital against a plan to create a union of Gulf Arab countries, with similar demonstrations in Tehran and Dubai.
18 May 2012 at 9:54am
US President Barack Obama announces a $3bn (£1.9bn) plan to boost food security in Africa ahead of a G-8 summit near Washington.
18 May 2012 at 8:45am
Japan urges businesses and households to cut electricity use by up to 15% to avoid possible blackouts.
18 May 2012 at 2:26am
LA Times: World News
Commerce Department announces the duties after a finding that Chinese solar panel makers 'dumped' their goods. If approved, the tariffs are expected to have a significant effect on the industry.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration ordered tariffs of 31% and higher on solar panels imported from China, escalating a simmering trade dispute with China over a case that has sharply divided American interests in the growing clean-energy industry.
by By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times
18 May 2012 at 5:00am
Egyptians have more earthly matters to contend with: jobs and the sagging economy. Polls find the Muslim Brotherhood candidate trailing moderate rivals.
CAIRO — A mechanic hammered a fender and boys wandered amid tin and rust as Adham Bishr, his opinions flaring on an agitated afternoon along the Nile, said Egypt's next president should give him a job, not tell him how to worship God.
by By Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times
18 May 2012 at 12:00am
The scandal involving fallen politician Bo Xilai and his wife gives news outlets run by Chinese exiles a lot of ammunition against the Communist Party.
BEIJING — "Beijing power struggle heralds end of China Communist Party," screams one headline.
by By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times
18 May 2012 at 12:00am
Given the escalating crisis in Greece, the future of the Eurozone is expected to dominate the talks, raising the stakes for the summit and for Obama.
WASHINGTON — For months, President Obama has been urging his European allies to balance their zeal for spending cuts with policies to spur economic growth. His pleas have mostly been ignored.
by By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times
18 May 2012 at 12:00am
Friends and foes say Gu Kailai, the high-profile suspect in Neil Heywood's death in Chongqing, deserves an open trial that follows the rule of law.
BEIJING — The country's most famous murder suspect may have laid bare divisions in Chinese society, but friends and foes alike are united in their demand that her trial be a test case for justice in a system notorious for secrecy and flouting of the rule of law.
by By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times
17 May 2012 at 5:00am
The Bosnian Serb general, charged in the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica and other wartime atrocities, makes mocking gestures in court at The Hague.
LONDON — Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic confronted the accusations against him at the opening of his war crimes trial in The Hague on Wednesday with contemptuous gestures to the court and the victims who had come to see him face justice for atrocities during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
by By Janet Stobart and Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times
17 May 2012 at 12:00am
After the Occupy Abai encampment is cleared, authorities confront anti-Putin demonstrators in a downtown square.
MOSCOW — Russian riot police cleared a Moscow park early Wednesday of a weeklong encampment considered a local version of the Occupy movement, and hours later clashed with antigovernment protesters outside a Stalinist skyscraper in a different part of downtown.
by By Sergei L. Loiko, Los Angeles Times
16 May 2012 at 7:23pm
Greece's sense of peril has deepened with the reports of money being pulled out of the tottering banking system at an alarming rate.
ATHENS — Fear for the health ofGreece's banks increased Wednesday after a rush of withdrawals as the country braces for fresh elections that could determine whether it remains part of the Eurozone.
by By Anthee Carassava and Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times
16 May 2012 at 6:50pm
The election of French President Francois Hollande is just one factor in the fraying troop commitments in the unpopular war.
WASHINGTON — Just days before a NATO summit that leaders had hoped would present a carefully scripted display of unity on Afghanistan, the inauguration of a French president committed to an early drawdown has instead intensified a rush for the exits from an unpopular war.
by By Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times
16 May 2012 at 3:36pm
South Sudan Theatre Company performs 'Cymbeline' in Juba Arabic for the Globe to Globe festival in London to acclaim. The play resonates for them.
LONDON — Posthumus, the protagonist of Shakespeare's "Cymbeline," marched through the Herculean columns of the Globe theater, stopped abruptly at the front of the stage and looked up at an audience of hundreds — most of whom didn't speak a whisper of the language they were about to hear.
by By Ari Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times
16 May 2012 at 1:39pm
Google: World News
Queen's Diamond Jubilee: How the monarchy got its mojo back - Telegraph.co.uk
Telegraph.co.uk
Telegraph.co.uk
Not so long ago, the Royal family could do no right. Now we're in love with them all over again. By Tanya Gold Once Upon a Time ? well, in 2011, actually ? a book called Knit Your Own Royal Wedding sold lots of copies.
World's royals gather for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee lunchCBS News
Queen under fire for shaking hands with despotic King of Bahrain as she ...Daily Mail
Unpopular kings give sour taste to Queen's Jubilee lunch at WindsorThe Independent
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18 May 2012 at 9:28am
Syria forces kill two in Damascus as thousands rally - Reuters
The Guardian
Reuters
By Mariam Karouny | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shot two protesters in the capital Damascus on Friday and fired in the air to break up thousands of anti-government demonstrators in the commercial hub of Aleppo, ...
Why Bashar al-Assad needs terrorismThe Guardian
Syria forces kill 2 in Damascus as thousands rallyJerusalem Post
Syrian Protesters Rally in Northern Flashpoint CityVoice of America
The Associated Press -BBC News -AFP
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18 May 2012 at 10:18am
Iran sanctions bill blocked in US Senate - Washington Post
NEWS.com.au
Washington Post
A Senate bill intended to tighten economic sanctions against Iran was blocked Thursday by Senate Republicans who said they were holding out for an even tougher measure that included an explicit threat of a US military strike if Iran refuses to curb its ...
Diplomats: Nuclear agency chief to visit TehranThe Associated Press
Iran may open door to suspected nuclear facilityTelegraph.co.uk
UN nuclear chief headed to Iran, inspection deal in the worksLos Angeles Times
New York Times -Voice of America -Times of India
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18 May 2012 at 10:15am
Hollande pledges to end French combat role in Afghanistan, but support countr...
CBS News
Washington Post
WASHINGTON ? French President Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH' oh-LAWND') says he stands by his campaign pledge to withdraw his country's troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year. But the newly sworn-in leader says France will keep supporting ...
US supply trucks cross Afghan-Pakistan borderAFP
First NATO weekend rally unfolds at Daley PlazaChicago Tribune
Hardcore security: US prepared to battle protesters at G8 and NATO summitsRT
CNN International -Department of Defense
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18 May 2012 at 10:18am
News Summary: Myanmar officials, businessmen welcome easing of US economic .....
New York Times
Washington Post
THE NEWS: Myanmar officials and businessmen welcomed US plans to ease economic sanctions, but human rights activists are wary and some exporters in Myanmar say they may not immediately benefit. THE DETAILS: President Barack Obama named the first US ...
Myanmar's new ties with US may come at a costLos Angeles Times
Myanmar welcomes easing of US economic sanctionsCBS News
To reward Myanmar for reforms, US eases economic sanctions, names ambassadorChristian Science Monitor
Sydney Morning Herald -Reuters
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18 May 2012 at 10:15am
Thousands of Shia Muslims protest over Gulf union plans - BBC News
BBC News
BBC News
Thousands of mainly Shia Bahrainis have protested outside the capital against a plan to create a union of Gulf Arab countries. In Manama, the demonstration stretched for some three miles (5km), blocking a motorway. The Saudi king's proposal to unite ...
Bahrain protesters decry unity plans with SaudisThe Associated Press
Bahrain protests: Shias rally against closer ties with Saudi ArabiaThe Guardian
Tens of thousands join Bahrain protest against unity plans with Saudi ArabiaWashington Post
AFP -Tehran Times
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18 May 2012 at 9:55am
Why Chen fights, and why US abortion rights supporters should care - Washingt...
The Guardian
Washington Post (blog)
By Melinda Henneberger The day of Mei Shunping's fifth forced abortion in China was ?the saddest day of my life,'' she told a congressional subcommittee this week. This undated photo provided by the China Aid Association shows blind Chinese legal ...
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng's visa is ready, US saysThe State
Chen Guangcheng's brother describes beating by officialsThe Guardian
China blocks human rights lawyers from defending nephew of blind activist ChenFox News
Christian Science Monitor -BBC News -Reuters
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18 May 2012 at 10:17am
Robusta Coffee Gains to Eight-Month High on Vietnam Sales - Bloomberg
Sydney Morning Herald
Bloomberg
Robusta coffee climbed to the highest price in more than eight months as sales in Vietnam slowed, sending local prices to the highest since October. Sales of beans in Vietnam, the largest grower of robusta beans, slowed as farmers' stockpiles became ...
34 dead in Vietnam after overcrowded bus plunges into riverNational Post
34 killed, 21 injured in central Vietnam bus accidentXinhua
Vietnam bus plunges off bridge into river; 34 deadThe Associated Press
USA TODAY
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18 May 2012 at 8:51am
Lai's sentencing marks the end of China's Great Gatsby - Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
When a court in Xiamen sentenced Lai Changxing to life in prison for his role running a multibillion-dollar smuggling operation, it ended another chapter ? surely among the last ? in one of the most colourful capers to emerge from China's wild ...
Chinese Tycoon Gets Life Sentence for SmugglingNew York Times
Chinese smuggler Lai Changxing jailed for lifeBBC News
China jails leader of smuggling ringFinancial Times
The Guardian -Telegraph.co.uk -NPR
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18 May 2012 at 9:30am
2 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan Rocket Attack - Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America
NATO says a rocket attack in eastern Afghanistan has killed two of its service members. Local coalition officials say six other NATO troops were slightly wounded in Friday in the Nari district of Kunar province. So far this year, at least 154 coalition ...
Rockets kill 2 NATO troops, 3 Afghan civiliansThe Associated Press
Attacks by Taliban Rise in Surge AreasWall Street Journal
Afghanistan conflict: Rise of 'green on blue' deathsBBC News
New York Times -CNN International -Christian Science Monitor
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18 May 2012 at 7:05am