World News

The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded the European Union bailout fund from triple A to double A plus.

SEOUL (AP):South Korean customs officials say they have arrested eight men over a scheme to allegedly smuggle gold out of the country by hiding it in their rectums.The Korea Customs Service said yesterday the men allegedly transformed $260,000 in gold...

BUCHAREST, (AP)Dozens of demonstrators gathered in downtown Bucharest yesterday as Romania's prime minister warned that violent protests that left 59 injured over the weekend could jeopardise stability and economic growth.Police on Sunday clashed...

WELLINGTON, (AP):Rescue officials say a United States Air Force plane will airlift seven crewmen burned in a raging fire on their ship near Antarctica that killed three other fishermen.They say the plane left New Zealand yesterday and will fly to...

WASHINGTON (AP):A United States (US) Army officer recommended a general court martial yesterday for a low-ranking intelligence analyst charged with causing the biggest leak of classified information in US history.Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza's...

SAO PAULO (AP):Brazilian police said yesterday they have doubled the number of officers assigned to a haven for crack cocaine addicts as they battle a growing drug epidemic in South America's biggest city.Police commander Alvaro Batista Camilo told...

MIAMI (AP):Immigrant advocates in Miami are suing the federal government to access documents about deportations of convicted criminals to Haiti.Americans for Immigrant Justice filed its lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court in Washington against US...

KINSHASA (AP):Members of Congo's powerful Catholic clergy yesterday called for the election commission to re-evaluate "serious errors" in national elections that gave victory to the incumbent president, or failing that, to resign.

PRAGUE (AP): Churches were seized, priests jailed or executed, and those who were still allowed to lead religious services did so under the watchful eye of the secret police.

Tensions between the rich and poor in the United States are increasing and at their most intense level in nearly a quarter-century, a new survey shows.

MEXICO CITY (AP): More than 47,000 people have been killed in drug violence in the five years since President Felipe Calderón launched a military crackdown against drug cartels, federal prosecutors said yesterday. ...

BUCHAREST (AP):A Romanian Orthodox bishop has told his priests to issue receipts for blessings and baptisms.Romanian Orthodox priests traditionally perform baptisms and bless houses, cars, and even animals at the beginning of the year to coincide with...