Europe

Pope avoids predecessor's show of suffering
The closest of confidants, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger watched from the front row as Pope John Paul II, once a strapping athlete, steadily deteriorated ...
Papal resignation opens door to many contenders
Pope Benedict XVI's resignation opens the door to an array of possible successors, from the conservative cardinal of Milan to a contender from Ghana ...
Papal resignation sparks global disbelief, grief
From the parishes of Poland to the churches of Chile, Roman Catholics around the world were stunned Monday at the first papal resignation in six ...
Ex-chief of Russia's Gazprom Vyakhirev dies at 78
Rem Vyakhirev, the man who helped create Russia's state-run Gazprom natural gas giant and led it for nearly a decade, has died at 78. Gazprom said ...
Syrian rebels capture country's largest dam
Syrian rebels scored one of their biggest strategic victories Monday since the country's crisis began two years ago, capturing the nation's largest ...
French, Malian troops control Gao; seek out rebels
Malian soldiers scoured the city of Gao on Monday for remnants of the radical Islamic fighters who invaded the town and engaged in an hours-long fight ...
Pope to resign Feb. 28, says he's too infirm
Declaring that he lacks the strength to do his job, Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday he will resign Feb. 28 — becoming the first pontiff to step ...
Pope's resignation stuns native Germany
Many in Germany haven't always had an easy relationship with the conservative-minded Pope Benedict XVI, but most on Monday praised their countryman's ...
Key events in the life of Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI says he is stepping down at the end of the month, lacking the strength to fulfill his duties at the head of the Catholic Church.
Electing a pope: conclave, oath, chimney smoke
Pope Benedict XVI's resignation sets in motion a complex sequence of events to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The laws governing ...
Former jailed student Amanda Knox talking to ABC
Amanda Knox, the college junior who spent four years in an Italian prison after being accused of murdering her British roommate, is telling her story ...
Chechnya's Kadyrov calls for crackdown on sorcery
Sorcerers, psychics, and faith healers may be on the way out in Chechnya, where the leader of the mountainous, overwhelmingly Muslim region in ...
Text of pope announcement he will resign Feb. 28
Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday he would resign Feb. 28 because he is simply too old to carry on. Here is the text of his announcement, delivered ...
Pope resigning on Feb. 28, conclave in March
Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign Feb. 28 — the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a ...
3 killed in Azerbaijan helicopter crash
An Azerbaijani air force helicopter crashed into the Caspian Sea Monday, killing all three people aboard, officials said. The Defense Ministry said ...
UK grandmother appeals Indonesian death sentence
A British grandmother has appealed the death sentence she received in Indonesia for smuggling cocaine worth $2.5 million into the resort island of ...
Mexico: 'Several' detained in tourist rape case
Mexican authorities announced Sunday that several people had been detained for investigation in connection with last week's rape of six Spanish ...
Cruise ship lifeboat accident kills 5 in Spain
A lifeboat being used on a safety drill aboard a cruise ship in Spain's Canary Islands fell about 65 feet (20 meters) into a port on Sunday when a ...
France charges 4 suspects in budding jihad network
Preliminary charges have been filed against four men detained last week and suspected of links with a budding network of jihadists for Mali.
American adoptive mothers get their Russian kids
After weeks of anxiety plodding through the opaque Russian legal system, two U.S. women have custody of their adopted Russian children and are ...
UK authorities charge man in US school threat
A British man was charged Saturday after he allegedly posted a threat on Facebook to kill 200 people in the U.S. state of Tennessee, causing many ...
Russian opposition leader placed on house arrest
A top Russian opposition figure has been placed under house arrest for two months, a move that also bans him from using most forms of communication, ...
Swedish ice pole-sitting contest has 6 winners
Six contestants have braved butt-numbing cold and boredom to win an annual ice pole-sitting contest in northern Sweden. Two women and four men shared ...
Armenian soldier reported killed in tense region
Officials in Nagorno-Karabakh say an Armenian soldier has been killed by a sniper near the no-man's-land separating the disputed territory from the ...
5 reported dead in small plane crash in Belgium
A small private plane crashed south of Brussels on Saturday, killing five members of a family including three small children, according to Belgian ...