Greece — With a wildfire contained after raging for days near Athens, the Greek government faced a different kind of firestorm Tuesday as media lambasted its response to the blaze as inadequate. Firefighters patrolled smoldering areas north and east of the capital Tuesday, guarding against flareups while assessing the damage. At... More

Voters are turning away from Japan’s ruling party in virtually every district and the opposition is on track to win in a landslide when elections are held this weekend, a senior Cabinet minister said Tuesday. At stake in the elections are all 480 seats in the Japanese parliament’s lower chamber. The opposition Democratic... More

The African Union is considering a proposal to demand at least $67 billion a year in environmental damages from developed countries at the Copenhagen Climate summit in December. Africa is seeking a common position to increase its bargaining power in Copenhagen. Representatives of several African heads of state met at AU headquarters... More

Reporting from Beirut – Hard-line supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad employed the nation’s judiciary against two major moderate political parties in their boldest attempt to excise Iran’s reform movement from the political scene. The prosecution at the fourth session of an extraordinary legal proceeding,... More

Gordon Brown today broke his silence on the release of the Lockerbie bomber, saying that the UK government had done no deal with Libya and that he was “angry and repulsed” at the scenes of jubilation in Tripoli. The Prime Minister has been under pressure to comment ever since the Scottish Justice Secretary announced... More

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is leading by just two percent, according to official, partial election results five days after millions of voters braved Taliban threats to cast ballots.  Mr. Karzai has 40.6 percent of votes tabulated, while his closest challenger has 38.7 percent. Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission... More

Maruti Suzuki India has launched a new revamped Zen Estilo with the new K-series engine and significant visual upgrades, further strengthening their small car lineup. This new updated Zen Estilo now has a 998-cc K-series engine which has a claimed fuel efficiency of 18.2 kpl (ARAI tests) and passes the BS IV emission norms. A new... More

Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez (L) is named Miss Universe 2009, while Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza from Venezuela was preparing to put the crown on his head during the annual fair at Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas August 23, 2009 . [Agencies] HAVANA: Miss Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe 2009 show Sunday night,... More