China urges quake rescuers not to give up hope
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 12:18 PM
DUJIANGYAN, China (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao urged rescuers in the southwestern province of Sichuan to race time to save lives, days after the most destructive earthquake to hit modern China, state media said on Saturday.

Panama to deploy special force on Colombian border
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 12:09 PM
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama will create an armed border protection force to combat the flow of cocaine and weapons and to catch leftist guerrillas along its jungle border with Colombia, the government said on Friday.

Dominican incumbent wins re-election: exit poll
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 09:56 AM
SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, widely credited with pulling his Caribbean country out of a deep economic slump, appeared to have coasted to a third term in elections on Friday, an exit poll showed.

Rain pushes Myanmar death toll higher
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 09:28 AM
YANGON (Reuters) - Torrential rain lashed survivors of Cyclone Nargis on Friday as Myanmar's junta raised its toll sharply to more than 133,000 people dead or missing, putting the disaster on a par with a 1991 cyclone that killed 143,000 in neighboring Bangladesh.

U.N. sees chance for global ban on cluster bombs
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 09:08 AM
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations sees renewed momentum for a global ban on cluster bombs as more than 100 nations -- but not the world's top users and stockpilers -- gather in Dublin to finalize an anti-cluster munitions treaty.

Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai to return for second round
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 08:43 AM
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai restarts his campaign to oust Robert Mugabe at home on Saturday after seeking support abroad in his risky standoff with the president.

Indian village proud after double "honor killing"
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 07:46 AM
BALLA, India (Reuters) - Five armed men burst into the small room and courtyard at dawn, just as 21-year-old, 22-week pregnant, Sunita was drying her face on a towel.

Suspected drug hit men dump head in Mexican city
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 07:32 AM
MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Suspected Mexican drug hit men dumped the head of a murdered man on top of a car in the street, police said on Friday, in a rare outrage in the wealthy city of Monterrey.

Chavez apologizes to Merkel over Hitler remarks
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 07:26 AM
LIMA (Reuters) - Days after calling German Chancellor Angela Merkel a political descendant of Adolf Hitler, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shook hands with her on Friday and apologized.

Rapporteur favors rejecting Turk headscarf case: TV
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 07:20 AM
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A rapporteur to Turkey's top court said on Friday it should reject a challenge to a ruling party reform which allows university students to wear the Muslim headscarf, broadcaster CNN Turk reported.

Rain deepens Myanmar misery; death toll soars
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 06:44 AM
YANGON (Reuters) - Torrential rain lashed survivors of Cyclone Nargis on Friday as Myanmar's junta raised its toll sharply to more than 133,000 people dead or missing, putting the disaster on a par with a 1991 cyclone that killed 143,000 in neighboring Bangladesh.

Attend to living, not dead, after disasters: WHO
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 05:43 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Getting clean water to survivors of a disaster is far more important than disposing of the dead, but myths persist that corpses somehow spread disease, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Saudis slightly increase oil output as Bush visits
Reuters - Saturday May 17, 05:30 AM
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia announced a modest increase in oil output on Friday after an appeal from visiting President George W. Bush but the news did little to douse oil prices that hit a new record earlier in the day.