Reuters - Russia and China vetoed Saturday a U.N. resolution that backed an Arab plan calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit, stalling global efforts to end his bloody crackdown on unrest after hundreds were reported killed in the city of Homs.
Reuters - Tens of thousands of Russians defied bitter cold in Moscow on Saturday to demand fair elections in a march against Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, while supporters of the prime minister staged a rival rally drawing comparable numbers.
Reuters - Bitterly cold weather that has claimed hundreds of lives in eastern Europe swept westwards over the continent on Saturday, blanketing Rome's Colosseum with snow for the first time in three decades and disrupting air and rail traffic.
Reuters - A civilian council appointed to advise Egypt's military rulers said on Saturday preparations for a presidential election should begin on February 23, a step that would bring forward the presidential election from an expected June date.
Reuters - South Africa's ruling ANC on Saturday upheld a decision to ban youth leader Julius Malema for five years for bringing the movement into disrepute, sending into the political wilderness a noisy rebel who had called for the nationalisation of mines.
Time.com - Friday night, Syrian security forces carried out what the opposition Syrian National Council called a "horrific massacre" targeting Homs in one of the worst in the 11-month uprising.
AP - Bosnia's government declared a state of emergency in its capital on Saturday after Sarajevo was paralyzed by snow, and hundreds of people remained trapped in their homes and vehicles throughout the country.
AP - Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution backing calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, despite international outrage Saturday over a devastating bombardment of the city of Homs by his regime's forces. Activists said more than 200 were killed in the bloodiest episode of the nearly 11-month uprising.
AP - It's been months since Maria Luisa Gonzalez and her husband have been able to harvest anything from their drought-parched land or catch fish in a lake that's become little more than a muddy puddle.
AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday issued a new warning to Egypt that the failure to resolve a bitter dispute over the status of non-governmental pro-democracy groups may lead to the loss of American aid to the country.
Reuters - U.S. Senator John McCain warned China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun on Saturday that "the Arab Spring is coming to China" and highlighted the number of Tibetans burning themselves to death in his country.
Reuters - Canada's prime minister drew an apparent line in the sand on foreign takeovers on Friday, saying he wanted to see BlackBerry maker Research In Motion grow "as a Canadian company" and questioning whether hostile takeovers of key domestic firms are in the country's best interests.
Reuters - Growing speculation that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard could be dumped by her party before the end of the year forced senior ministers to rally behind her Friday after a disastrous start to 2012.
The Christian Science Monitor - With its initial public offering this week, Facebook is roaring ahead. However, new European Union privacy regulations are taking aim at Internet companies' ability to profit through control of personal information â?? the key to their tremendous online advertising profits.
The Christian Science Monitor - In the good times he was the doyen of British banking. Wealthy and courted by decision makers and knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to his industry, Sir Fred Goodwin, head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), seemed invincible.
