Julian Assange is expected to make a public statement later on the diplomatic row that has engulfed him since being granted asylum by Ecuador. The Wikileaks founder reportedly plans to speak outside the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he has taken … N.Korean official completes China trip: media
A powerful North Korean official and uncle of young ruler Kim Jong-Un has returned home, state media said, after meetings with Chinese leaders focused on beefing up economic ties. Chinese politician's wife due to hear verdict
A fallen Chinese politician’s wife who confessed to killing a British businessman is due to hear the verdict Monday in her murder trial and Communist Party leaders might have decided against a death penalty for fear it could incite public sympathy for her.
Al-Arabiya TV reports two explosions in Tripoli
CAIRO (Reuters) – Two explosions struck the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Sunday, Al-Arabiya television reported, citing its correspondent. The Arabic satellite channel said there were deaths and injuries but did not give numbers. It said one of the blasts struck near the interior ministry and another in Omar Mukhtar Street, without giving further details of what caused the blasts. The report could not immediately be independently confirmed. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Jackie Frank)
Embattled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to face the world's media on Sunday from the safe haven of London's Ecuadoran embassy but risks arrest if he takes even one step out of the building. With police officers primed to detain him, … 
* Fiscal hawk says he would protect Medicare * Obama: Romney-Ryan would end Medicare "as we know it" * Health insurance for elderly key issue in Florida By Alina Selyukh THE VILLAGES, Florida, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Republican vice presidential candidate … 
Mitt Romney's raised roughly $7 million at weekend fundraising events — money that Romney said Saturday he needs and "appreciates" but that such efforts curtail the campaigning he must do in battleground states. Romney had two events Friday night in … 
With drought parching farms in the United States and near the Black Sea, weak monsoon rains in India and insidious hunger in Africa's Sahel region, the world could be headed towards another food crisis, experts say. 
Japan plans to replace its ambassador to China possibly in October amid a growing territorial row over a group of islands in the East China Sea, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday. 
By Alina Selyukh | THE VILLAGES, Florida (Reuters) – Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan on Saturday put a personal spin on the debate over Medicare, bringing his 78-year-old mother on stage at a speech to seniors in Florida where he vowed … 
* "Ecuador will not kneel," says president * Regional bodies meet over Assange saga By Eduardo Garcia QUITO, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Ecuador cast its dispute with Britain over asylum for WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange as a struggle against colonialism on … 
COLLEGE STATION – The night before his life was publicly celebrated for dedication to community, Brian Bachmann was returned to his spiritual home, there to be remembered and grieved over in a more familiar venue. It was a night for tears and sorrow … 
By Laura Zuckerman | SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – Authorities on Saturday ordered the evacuation of a small mountain resort in Idaho as firefighters braced for the possibility that a wildfire that has charred 82000 acres could reach the town of … 
| LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Madonna, who had already voiced her support for the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, on Saturday joined a chorus of celebrities in slamming a jail sentence handed down in Moscow to three women from the group over a protest … 
* New White House report says 300000 education jobs lost * Obama says Republican budget plan would cut thousands more * He wants voters to identify Romney with this austerity plan WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama accused … 
Third time's a charm? 
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard defended her decision to send asylum-seekers, arriving by boat, to Pacific islands, saying it was a "tough" policy but could save lives. 
A group of Japanese activists swam ashore and raised flags early Sunday on one of a group of islands at the center of an escalating territorial dispute with China. 
Embattled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to face the world's media on Sunday from the safe haven of London's Ecuadoran embassy but risks arrest if he takes even one step out of the building. 
British intelligence on Syrian troop movements is helping rebels launch successful attacks on regime forces, a Sunday newspaper reported, quoting an opposition official. 
Iraq is helping its neighbor Iran skirt international sanctions by smuggling oil and letting Tehran secretly move large amounts of cash through bank auctions, The New York Times reported Sunday. 
EAST CHINA SEA (Reuters) – Several Japanese nationalists landed on Sunday on a rocky island in the East China Sea at the heart of a territorial row with Beijing, a move all but certain to fan anger in China and worsen ties between Asia's two biggest economies. Tokyo and Beijing have been feuding for decades over the island chain, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, near potentially huge maritime gas fields. Tensions flared last week after seven of a group of 14 Chinese activists slipped past Japan's Coast Guard to land on one of the uninhabited isles and raise a Chinese … 
A US drone strike targeting two militant vehicles early Sunday killed at least four rebels in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said. 
QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador cast its dispute with Britain over asylum for WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange as a struggle against colonialism on Saturday, drawing growing support from its neighbors in the international diplomatic saga. Incensed by London's threat to break into the Ecuadorean Embassy where the former hacker is taking refuge, President Rafael Correa's government has accused Britain of bullying and has formally granted Assange asylum. … 
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Madonna, who had already voiced her support for the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, on Saturday joined a chorus of celebrities in slamming a jail sentence handed down in Moscow to three women from the group over a protest against President Vladimir Putin. "I protest the conviction and sentencing of Pussy Riot to a penal colony for two years for a 40-second performance extolling their political opinions," Madonna said in a statement. … 
THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- Paul D. Ryan wove a story of generational obligation on Saturday to make the case for his controversial Medicare plan and personalize an issue that has the potential to be one of Mr. Ryan's biggest liabilities in joining the … 
By HERB KEINON Jerusalem working to persuade nonaligned countries to boycott meeting or send junior representation; Israeli official: Idea Iran only the West's problem a fallacy. get UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and leaders of friendly Non-Aligned … 
Pentagon chief Leon Panetta urged Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday to crack down on a rise in attacks by Afghan security personnel on their Western colleagues, officials said. 
Tropical Storm Helene quickly weakened into a tropical depression Saturday after moving ashore on Mexico's Gulf Coast, bringing strong rains but few reports of damage. 
By Jim Kuhnhenn on August 18, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rushing toward their party conventions, the rival presidential campaigns are trying to invigorate core supporters while reaching out to a sliver of undecided voters who harbor doubts about President … 
By Jon Herskovitz | MARIKANA, South Africa (Reuters) – The bloody protest by South African miners that ended in a hail of police gunfire and 34 deaths this week could also wound the ruling ANC and its main labor ally, laying bare workers' anger over … 
| LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Madonna, who had already voiced her support for the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, on Saturday joined a chorus of celebrities in slamming a jail sentence handed down in Moscow to three women from the group over a protest … 
Fifty-seven people arrested in Gabon last week during a violent opposition protest are being held in a barracks and denied food from their families, an opposition leader said Saturday. 
Third time's a charm? 
MARIKANA, South Africa (Reuters) – The bloody protest by South African miners that ended in a hail of police gunfire and 34 deaths this week could also wound the ruling ANC and its main labor ally, laying bare workers' anger over enduring inequalities in Africa's biggest economy. Thursday's shooting, bringing back memories of apartheid-era violence, underlined that after 18 years in power the African National Congress and its union partner have not been able to heal the fissures of income disparity, poverty and joblessness scarring the country. … 
A Syrian warplane on Saturday bombed a small town partially controlled by anti-regime fighters near the Turkish border, killing eight people and wounding at least 20, the latest escalation in the use of air power by President Bashar Assad's government in the Arab nation's civil war. 
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi will attend a summit in Iran later this month, a presidential official said on Saturday, the first such trip for an Egyptian leader since relations with Tehran deteriorated decades ago. The visit could mark a thaw … 
By Natasha Mozgovaya and Reuters | Aug.18, 2012 | 2:24 AM By Zvi Bar'el | Aug.18,2012 | 2:24 AM | 3 The United Nations on Friday confirmed that veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will replace former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as the … 
(AP) MOSCOW – Russia's top Orthodox clerics on Saturday asked for mercy for the punk band Pussy Riot for its anti-government protest in a Moscow cathedral, but the church's forgiveness is unlikely to change the band's punishment in a case that caused … 
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Most of the threatening mobile phone text messages and website images that spread panic among migrants from cities in the south and west of India last week originated in Pakistan, India's interior ministry said on Saturday. Thousands of students and workers from India's northeast fled Mumbai, Bangalore and other cities, fearing retaliation for recent violence against Muslims in Assam, one of the states in their far-flung corner of the country. … 
Southern African leaders on Saturday accused Rwanda of supporting rebel groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, denouncing it as "interference" that threatened regional peace and stability. 
Nigeria's government signalled Saturday they had held some form of talks with Islamist militants waging a deadly insurgency, but its statement was vague and the extremists have repeatedly ruled out dialogue. 
A dismal week for South African Currie Cup title holders Golden Lions ended Saturday with a 30-14 away defeat to Sharks in the second round. 
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi will attend a summit in Iran later this month, a presidential official said on Saturday, the first such trip for an Egyptian leader since relations with Tehran deteriorated decades ago. 
Not long ago, Arabs everywhere listened when the leader of Hezbollah spoke. Sheik Hassan Nasrallah's prominence, bolstered by his Lebanese guerrilla force's battles against Israel, was a sign of the rising regional influence of Shiite Muslims and overwhelmingly Shiite Iran. Now, his speeches don't necessarily make front pages even in Lebanon.