Neil Macfarquhar New York Times

The order from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia came as the United Nations has sought to resume peace talks to end the war, entering its sixth year.

Colonel Moammar el-Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years, died on Thursday as his last stronghold fell to the Libyan forces that drove him from power, officials of Libya's transitional government said. There were conflicting initial reports of the specific circumstances of his death: some said he was killed in Sirte, his hometown; others said he di...

As one nation after another has battled uprisings across the Arab world, the one major country spared is also its richest -- Saudi Arabia, where a fresh infusion of money has so far bought order. The kingdom is spending $130 billion to pump up salaries, build housing and finance religious organizations, among other outlays, effectively neutralizing...

With the referendum over the constitutional amendments that will shape Egypt's immediate political future just days away, the country's nascent political forces were squaring off on Sunday, scrambling to influence a choice that leaves many confused.The Muslim Brotherhood and rump elements of the disbanded governing National Democratic Party, which ...

Egypt's interim prime minister appointed a new caretaker cabinet on Sunday, answering a public demand to eliminate most ministers with links to former President Hosni Mubarak, even as protesters nationwide continued to try to storm the offices of hated institutions.Egyptians were riveted by a trove of secret police documents seized while protesters...

After Hosni Mubarak's younger son, Gamal, left his job as an executive with Bank of America in London in the mid-1990s, he joined forces with Egypt's largest investment bank. Today he has a significant stake in a private equity company with interests throughout the Egyptian economy, from oil to agriculture to tourism, corporate records and intervie...

The three American hikers accused of espionage by Iran stepped off an unmarked dirt road -- inadvertently crossing from Iraq into the Islamic republic -- only because a border guard of unknown nationality gestured for them to approach, the lone hiker to be released said Sunday.Sarah E. Shourd, a teacher freed in September after nearly 14 months in ...

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans to end a development summit meeting of world leaders on Wednesday by announcing a huge increase in aid to improve the health of women and children, but independent specialists said they were skeptical about the amount of actual new money committed, given the global economic crisis.Governments and private aid orga...

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ran through his standard talking points at his annual gathering with American journalists on Tuesday, denying that dissidents languished in jail or that economic sanctions were biting, and rejecting the idea that Tehran deserved anything less than a gold star for its nuclear inspection record. But this time, he em...

Sarah Shourd, a teacher released last week after 410 days in an Iranian prison, said on Sunday after her arrival back in the United States that she felt only "one-third free" because the two other American hikers arrested with her remain incarcerated in Tehran.Shourd, her cropped, dark brown hair no longer shrouded underneath the purple head scarf ...

The number of undernourished people in the world decreased this year for the first time in 15 years, but the level remains higher than before the 2008 food crisis, and the volatile state of prices gives cause for unease, senior United Nations officials said Tuesday. The number of hungry people fell to 925 million from the record high of 1.02 billio...

The order from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia came as the United Nations has sought to resume peace talks to end the war, entering its sixth year.

Colonel Moammar el-Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years, died on Thursday as his last stronghold fell to the Libyan forces that drove him from power, officials of Libya's transitional government said. There were conflicting initial reports of the specific circumstances of his death: some said he was killed in Sirte, his hometown; others said he di...

As one nation after another has battled uprisings across the Arab world, the one major country spared is also its richest -- Saudi Arabia, where a fresh infusion of money has so far bought order. The kingdom is spending $130 billion to pump up salaries, build housing and finance religious organizations, among other outlays, effectively neutralizing...

With the referendum over the constitutional amendments that will shape Egypt's immediate political future just days away, the country's nascent political forces were squaring off on Sunday, scrambling to influence a choice that leaves many confused.The Muslim Brotherhood and rump elements of the disbanded governing National Democratic Party, which ...

Egypt's interim prime minister appointed a new caretaker cabinet on Sunday, answering a public demand to eliminate most ministers with links to former President Hosni Mubarak, even as protesters nationwide continued to try to storm the offices of hated institutions.Egyptians were riveted by a trove of secret police documents seized while protesters...

After Hosni Mubarak's younger son, Gamal, left his job as an executive with Bank of America in London in the mid-1990s, he joined forces with Egypt's largest investment bank. Today he has a significant stake in a private equity company with interests throughout the Egyptian economy, from oil to agriculture to tourism, corporate records and intervie...

The three American hikers accused of espionage by Iran stepped off an unmarked dirt road -- inadvertently crossing from Iraq into the Islamic republic -- only because a border guard of unknown nationality gestured for them to approach, the lone hiker to be released said Sunday.Sarah E. Shourd, a teacher freed in September after nearly 14 months in ...

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans to end a development summit meeting of world leaders on Wednesday by announcing a huge increase in aid to improve the health of women and children, but independent specialists said they were skeptical about the amount of actual new money committed, given the global economic crisis.Governments and private aid orga...

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ran through his standard talking points at his annual gathering with American journalists on Tuesday, denying that dissidents languished in jail or that economic sanctions were biting, and rejecting the idea that Tehran deserved anything less than a gold star for its nuclear inspection record. But this time, he em...

Sarah Shourd, a teacher released last week after 410 days in an Iranian prison, said on Sunday after her arrival back in the United States that she felt only "one-third free" because the two other American hikers arrested with her remain incarcerated in Tehran.Shourd, her cropped, dark brown hair no longer shrouded underneath the purple head scarf ...

The number of undernourished people in the world decreased this year for the first time in 15 years, but the level remains higher than before the 2008 food crisis, and the volatile state of prices gives cause for unease, senior United Nations officials said Tuesday. The number of hungry people fell to 925 million from the record high of 1.02 billio...