Editor's note: Read this story in Spanish. (CNN) — The US Anti-Doping Agency said early Friday it will strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and impose a lifetime ban, a move that came just hours after the cyclist announced he would … Lance Armstrong will be banned from cycling by USADA after saying he won't ... - Washington Post
Lance Armstrong persevered through the most difficult bicycle races on the planet and survived testicular cancer, but this week, the 40-year-old found a battle he had no interest in continuing. Armstrong said late Thursday night that he will stop … Even more brutal leader takes over Mexico's Zetas
A falling out between the leaders of the hyper-violent Zetas cartel appears to have put the gang in the hands of a brutal and feared gangster who has been blamed for an eruption of bloodshed in Mexico's once relatively calm central states. Report: Iran opposition leader has cardiac tests
An Iranian news agency is reporting the country’s main opposition leader has returned home after medical examinations for a heart ailment.
Isaac aims for Hispaniola, projections downgraded
Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened slightly as it spun toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti, but seemed unlikely to gain enough steam early Friday to strike the island of Hispaniola as a hurricane. Myanmar press still fighting for true freedom
Although unshackled from decades of direct censorship, journalists in Myanmar still face repressive laws that can land them in prison and say they will not stop fighting for greater freedom. Australia's Victoria state bans coal seam gas "fracking"
PERTH (Reuters) – Australia’s southeastern state of Victoria on Friday put a hold on hydraulic fracturing, a technique used to produce hard-to-reach gas deposits, and a halt on new coal seam gas exploration licenses. The moratorium would remain until a national regulatory framework for regulating coal seam gas and hydraulic fracturing was put in place by Australia’s federal government, state energy and resources minister Michael O’Brien said in a statement. …
China deports Myanmar refugees amid fighting - group
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has forcibly returned scores of ethnic Kachins who have fled Myanmar because of civil war, putting them at risk of armed violence and abuse by Myanmar’s army, a human rights group said on Friday. Up to 10,000 Kachins have sought refuge in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan after fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Myanmar’s government flared up in the middle of 2011 following a 17-year truce, according to aid groups. Diplomats say the conflict in Kachin state is one of the biggest tests for Myanmar’s new civilian government’s reform …
Court bans sales of some Apple, Samsung products in South Korea as patent war unfolds
SEOUL, South Korea – A South Korean court ruled Friday that technology rivals Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. both infringed on each other’s patents, and ordered a partial ban of their products in South Korea. Each side was also ordered to pay limited damages.
China plays down golden Paralympic expectations
A new generation of Chinese athletes arrived in London this week with hopes of dominating the Paralympics, but officials are downplaying chances the streamlined team can match its mammoth 2008 medal haul. USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour de France titles, ban star from cycling for life
AUSTIN, Texas – With stunning swiftness, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he dropped his fight against drug charges that threatened his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.
Updated 11:28 PM ET (CBS/AP) The US Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he declared he was finished fighting the drug charges that threaten his legacy as one of the … 
By P. SOLOMON BANDA | AP Centennial, Colorado o The former graduate student accused in a deadly mass shooting at a movie theater had failed a key exam six weeks before the rampage, made threats and was banned from his college, prosecutors said Thursday … 
By CHARLES M. BLOW The noxious "legitimate rape" comment by Todd Akin, Missouri congressman and Senate candidate, has me once again pondering a simple question: Why do any women vote Republican? The Republican establishment rushed in to pressure Akin … 
Asian markets fell Friday as disappointment over weak economic indicators from the United States, China and Europe offset hopes for more stimulus from central banks. 
The Sun on Friday published nude photographs of Prince Harry despite being asked not to by the royal family. 
Declaring "enough is enough," Lance Armstrong says he will not fight charges brought by the US Anti-Doping Agency, which said it will ban Armstrong from competition for life and strip him of the seven Tour de France titles that turned him into an … 
A powerful typhoon made landfall in southern Taiwan before dawn Friday, toppling trees and dumping torrential rain that flooded farmlands but sparing the island's heavily populated areas before roaring out to sea. 
A New Zealand man who fled to China after a bank mistakenly deposited millions of dollars into his account was jailed for four years and seven months Friday. 
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Banco Santander is looking to list its Mexican unit in Mexico and New York on September 25, according to a source close to the deal. The euro zone's biggest bank, which has suffered less than domestic rivals from a severe Spanish economic downturn, is looking to raise between $3 billion and $4 billion in the offering, Reuters' IFR reported last week. The bank plans to list about 25 percent of the unit, which is Mexico's third-largest bank by assets, with just over 6 percent being sold in Mexico and 18.7 percent abroad. … 
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent futures fell below $115 per barrel in Asia on Friday on signs of economic weakness across the globe, while doubts about more easing by the Federal Reserve and renewed worries over Europe's debt crisis also weighed. Crude prices may still find support from a supply crunch because of sanctions on Iran and maintenance-linked production cuts in the North Sea as well as a seasonal pick-up in demand in the fourth quarter, analysts said. Investors are also closely monitoring two tropical storms in the Atlantic, which potentially threaten U.S. … 
VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran has installed many more uranium enrichment machines in an underground bunker, diplomatic sources said on Thursday, potentially paving the way for a significant expansion of work the West fears is ultimately aimed at making nuclear bombs. Iran denies allegations it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability. But its refusal to curb its nuclear enrichment program has prompted tough Western sanctions and has heightened speculation that Israel may attack its atomic sites. … 
By Keith Coffman | CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) – Accused Colorado gunman James Holmes made threats prior to a shooting rampage that left 12 people dead at a suburban Denver movie theater last month, and had been barred from the University of Colorado, … 
* Pre-convention battle between party and Christian right? * Huckabee throws full support behind Akin campaign By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Under fire from his own party for controversial comments on rape, US Republican … 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Coal-fired power plants will face pressure and in some cases closure despite a Republican energy plan favorable to the industry and a court victory against new environmental rules. As many as one-sixth of US coal-fired power … 
Pentagon officials said Thursday that they have identified the former Navy SEAL who is anonymously penning a tell-all book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, but it remained unclear whether he had violated any secrecy rules about the … 
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares retreated from a two-week high on Friday on scaled back expectations of more stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve and growth concerns after manufacturing surveys from the euro zone and China depicted a bleak outlook. But the euro was underpinned by sustained hopes of European Central Bank's action to rein in surging sovereign debt yields in Spain and Italy, as well as a report saying Spain is negotiating with euro zone partners over conditions for aid to drive down its borrowing costs. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0. … 
Prominent Australian right-to-die campaigner Philip Nitschke said Friday he wants to set up an assisted suicide clinic in Fiji and the government in Suva was seriously considering it. 
As Democrats and Republicans prepare to open back-to-back conventions, a nationwide USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds Americans taking a decidedly more negative view of the presidential candidates and the tenor of their campaigns than they did four years ago … 
* Could become a hurricane as it nears Dominican Republic * Many forecasts show Isaac tracking west of Florida * Hundreds of thousands in Haiti tent camps brace for storm By Tom Brown MIAMI, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Isaac unleashed heavy rain … 
By Michael Winter, USA TODAY Hours later, the Associated Press also reported that Bissonnette was Owen, writing, "One current and one former US military official confirmed the name, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to … 
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Under fire from his own party for controversial comments on rape, US Republican Representative Todd Akin on Thursday won the support of social conservatives in his effort to stay in Missouri's US Senate … 
Updated 8:45 PM ET (CBS/AP) DENVER – Prosecutors say the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting made threats and was banned from the University of Colorado after failing a key exam six weeks before the rampage. Prosecutors made the accusations about … 
WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney's to-do list at the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week starts with re-introducing himself to voters and ends with what could be his most critical hour of the campaign ahead: the speech. For four days (the threat … 
Typhoon Tembin made landfall in Taiwan early Friday, toppling trees and ripping off rooftops in exposed areas in the south of the island, officials said. 
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government has not reached a decision yet on whether it will buy South Korean government debt, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Friday, as a diplomatic row escalates between the two countries over a territorial dispute. Azumi reiterated that the government might not extend a currency swap arrangement with South Korea after it expires in October. … 
This column originally appeared on The New Republic's website Wednesday night. (The New Republic) Clearly, the Romney campaign's anti-Obama welfare ads have come at a cost. Given the way they have been condemned as false by even mainstream media … 
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Under fire from his own party for controversial comments on rape, US Republican Representative Todd Akin on Thursday won the support of social conservatives in his effort to stay in Missouri's US Senate … 
(CBS News) LONDON – Eighteen months after anti-Assad street protests spiraled into all-out civil war, sources inside Aleppo tell CBS News that many of the business leaders, scholars and other prominent figures in Syria's largest city, who have backed … 
Authorities in New York have denied parole to the man who shot dead musician John Lennon in 1980 – for the seventh time. Mark Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in 1981 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. Chapman, now 57, shot Lennon … 
LONDON (Reuters) – The Sun tabloid on Friday published photographs of Prince Harry naked in Las Vegas, becoming the first British publication to defy a request from the royal family's lawyers. On Thursday, newspapers in Britain did not publish the images of the Queen's grandson naked with an unnamed woman while on holiday in Las Vegas, following a request from St James's Palace, the official residence of the prince, through the Press Complaints Commission to respect his privacy. … 
Afghanistan's top cricket official on Friday demanded more technical support from the cricket world to build on his team's success. 
Tropical Storm Isaac churned toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday, threatening to strengthen into a hurricane that could take a shot at Florida just as the Republicans gather for their national convention. 
Li Na believes her decision to hire Carlos Rodriguez, the man who steered Justine Henin to the 2003 and 2007 US Open titles, could be her New York gamechanger after enduring two successive first round failures. 
OSLO (Reuters) – A Norwegian court delivers its verdict in the ten-week trial of gunman Anders Behring Breivik on Friday, deciding whether to send the anti-Muslim militant to jail or a mental hospital for the massacre of 77 people last summer. Prosecutors have demanded a verdict of insanity, a fate Breivik called "worse than death", while many of his victims say only a sane person could have carried out such a complex attack. Either way he is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars. … 
* Romney says will undo Obama's 'coal-killing' regulations * Cheap gas, EPA's rules to force coal plant retirements * One-sixth of coal-fired plants would close within eight years By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Coal-fired power … 
France indicated Thursday that it would consider supporting a partial no-fly zone over Syria, turning the screws on President Bashar al-Assad's regime as fighting rages in Damascus and second city Aleppo. 
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran hopes to earn diplomatic kudos over the coming week as it hosts a summit of 120 developing nations, but any jubilation could turn sour over starkly different views on the bloody conflict in Syria. The Islamic Republic's three-year tenure of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which starts on Sunday, is a chance for Tehran to elevate its international standing as the United States seeks to cripple its economy and isolate it diplomatically over its nuclear program. … 
By Brian K. Sullivan and Asjylyn Loder on August 23, 2012 Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to cross Hispaniola tomorrow, possibly without reaching hurricane level, as it travels west on a path watched by commodity markets and officials preparing for … 
Less than a week before the Republican convention begins, the race for the White House is a virtual tie. According to a Fox News poll of likely voters, the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket receives the backing of 45 percent, while the Barack Obama-Joe … 
Nigeria's main oil workers union NUPENG on Thursday shelved a planned strike to protest the refusal of government to pay subsidy claims to indicted petrol importers after talks in the nation's capital. 
ROME (Reuters) – So bad it is universally known as the "pigsty", Italy's electoral law is at the center of political instability that is stoking fears the euro zone's third-largest economy could topple into a Greek-style debt crisis. Market jitters over whether Italy is heading for a default that would probably destroy the euro have been aggravated by uncertainty over what will happen when respected technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti steps down for elections next spring. … 
US and Japanese officials are considering deploying a new US early-warning radar to Japan to help counter possible missile threats from North Korea, officials said Thursday. 
48 minutes ago o AP Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands braced for torrential rains on Thursday as Tropical Storm Isaac whipped up waves as high as 10 feet (3 meters) in the Caribbean and threatened to become a hurricane that could take a shot at … 
Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Australian-born tycoon Rupert, urged the media to concentrate on morals as well as profit during a speech to television executives in Scotland on Thursday. 
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos replaced his finance minister on Wednesday in a surprise move and named current Energy Minister Mauricio Cardenas to take over running Latin America's fourth-largest economy. At the midpoint of his four-year term, Santos asked all 16 ministers to send in resignation letters on Wednesday, setting the stage a cabinet reshuffle aimed at shoring up his approval ratings. Santos did not say who would be the next minister of mines and energy. … 
The Sun, Rupert Murdoch's popular British tabloid, on Thursday announced it would publish nude photographs of Prince Harry in Friday's paper despite being asked not to by the royal family. 
Tropical Storm Isaac churned toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday, threatening to strengthen into a hurricane that could take a shot at Florida just as the Republicans gather for their national convention. 
France signaled Thursday that it was prepared to take part in enforcing a partial no-fly zone over Syria, piling pressure on President Bashar Assad's embattled regime as it widens a major offensive against rebels in Damascus and surrounding areas. 
DUBAI (Reuters) – Leading Iranian opposition figure Mirhossein Mousavi, under house arrest for more than a year, was taken to hospital on Thursday for treatment for a heart problem, one of his former senior advisors said. Mousavi and fellow reformist Mehdi Karoubi ran for election against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009 and became figureheads for the large protests that followed by Iranians who accused authorities of rigging the vote to bring back the hardline incumbent. … 
Liverpool scraped a 1-0 win over Hearts while a Newcastle side shorn of several familiar faces survived sweltering conditions to hold Greek side Atromitos to a 1-1 draw in their Europa League play-off round first-legs on Thursday. 
HANOI (Reuters) – From the rural heartlands to traffic-choked cities, Vietnam Electricity Group is hard to miss. It builds apartments, runs a bank, oversees a stock brokerage, provides electrical power to millions of homes and employs 100,000 people. Today, Vietnam's sole retail power supplier, known as EVN, looks badly overextended, according to a senior industry official with knowledge of its business. … 
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday used the legislative powers he wrested back from the army this month to pass a law banning the pre-trial detention of journalists, a move that may deflect criticism of his handling of the media. The announcement by the newly elected Islamist president came hours after a court ordered the pre-trial detention of Islam Afifi, the editor-in-chief of the Al-Dostour opposition newspaper, on charges of insulting the president. …