Florence museum: lost Galileo relics, a tooth and 2 of astronomer's fingers, found again. Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said Friday.
Diplomats from 6 world powers urge Iran to accept UN nuclear plan. Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the United States, health experts said on Friday.
Police are weak link in Afghanistan's goal for its forces take lead on security in 5 years. Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home.
Floods batter UK's Lake District, policeman dies, hundreds rescued; Ireland also hard hit. Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes.
Mexican prosecutors investigate disappearance of journalist who reported on crime, corruption. Authorities in the western Mexican state of Michoacan are investigating the disappearance of a journalist who wrote about organized crime.
Vatican researcher says faint writing on Shroud of Turin proves its authenticity. A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus.
Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates are losing patience over ransom demand, may kill them. A British couple being held hostage by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday that they fear they will be killed or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom is not paid soon.
US ambassador criticizes negative coverage of Obama's China visit by US media. Washington's ambassador to Beijing hit out Friday at negative U.S. media coverage of President Barack Obama's visit to China, saying it failed to take into account important progress on many issues.
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will not be provoked into armed conflict with Venezuela despite its neighbor's aggressive rhetoric and dynamiting of two border bridges, Colombia's defense minister said on Friday.
Thousands of opposition supporters on Friday began a weekend of protests accusing Prime Minister Sali Berisha's government of electoral fraud and demanding a recount of ballots cast in June polls.
Mumbai Jewish center struggles to rebuild, city still vulnerable 1 year after terror attack. The walls that the rockets blew out have not been repaired, and the plaster is a dense scattershot of bullet holes. Dozens of holes, blasted by grenades, pockmark the linoleum floors.
Defense chief says US will examine its own contracts in hopes of reducing Afghan corruption. The United States will do its part to reduce corruption in Afghanistan by examining its own contracts and projects, even as it is demanding the same from the Afghan government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates are losing patience over ransom demand, may kill them. A British couple being held hostage by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday that they fear they will be killed or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom is not paid soon.
Egyptian soccer fans riot against Algeria in escalating row over World Cup rivalry. Egyptian soccer fans burned Algerian flags and rioted outside the Algerian Embassy in Cairo, smashing cars and shop windows, in an escalating row between the two countries over a bitter World Cup rivalry.
Former Metropolitan soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom dies in native Sweden, aged 82. Swedish soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom, an international opera star, has died, her husband Sverker Olow says.
Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile Friday as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.
UN committee targets Iran's human rights violations and crackdown on election opponents. A key U.N. committee approved a resolution Friday urging Iran to halt the persecution of political opponents following the country's disputed presidential election.
Efforts to end Guinea's political deadlock following a massacre at a political rally stalled on Friday with the opposition's rejection of an international mediator's proposals.
Protesters injured dozens of police near the Algerian embassy in Egypt's capital on Friday, fanning the flames of a diplomatic spat that erupted after Algeria won a football World Cup qualifier.
World football's governing body FIFA on Friday announced its decision to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) until further notice "because of government interference".
World football's governing body FIFA on Friday announced its decision to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) until further notice "because of government interference".
Israeli settlement expansion on Palestinian territory must stop immediately, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday as he seeks to position Brazil as a player in the Middle East.
President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate strove Friday to lock down support to prevail in a landmark first test vote on his top domestic priority, remaking the US health care system.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of three wavering U.S. Senate Democrats said on Friday he would vote to start the chamber's healthcare debate, bolstering the chances for a broad overhaul one day before its first crucial test.
The World Health Organization said Friday it is investigating samples of variant swine flu linked to two deaths and one severe case in Norway, but that so far the significance of the mutation is unclear.
WHO investigating swine flu mutations from Norway deaths, says significance still unclear. The World Health Organization said Friday it is investigating samples of variant swine flu linked to two deaths and one severe case in Norway, but that so far the significance of the mutation is unclear.
Yemeni coast guard says Somali pirates have hijacked Panamanian cargo ship in Gulf of Aden. Yemen's coast guard says Somali pirates have hijacked a Panamanian cargo ship in the treacherous Gulf of Aden between the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
A four-day auction of late French designer Yves Saint Laurent's ravishing artwork and the everyday objects that packed his residences reaped euro8.99 million, Christie's auction house said Friday .
Canadian court orders refugee board to reconsider case of lesbian deserter from US army. Canada's Federal Court says the country's refugee board must reconsider the case of a lesbian who deserted the U.S. Army and fled to Canada.
A UN panel on Friday blasted Iran for "serious, ongoing and recurring" human rights violations, including violence against protesters after the disputed June presidential elections.
Manny Pacquiao's 12th-round TKO of Miguel Cotto was the top-drawing pay-per-view bout of 2009 with 1.25 million purchases worth 70 million dollars in revenue, Home Box Office Sports said Friday.
Guatemala ends 2-year adoption suspension, establishes reforms to stop theft, sale of babies. Guatemalan officials on Friday announced the resumption of international adoptions after a nearly two-year suspension prompted by the discovery that some babies were being sold.
World football's governing body FIFA on Friday announced its decision to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) until further notice "because of government interference".
Israeli settlement expansion on Palestinian territory must stop immediately, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday as he seeks to position Brazil as a player in the Middle East.
Germany's new Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle emphasised strong relations with Russia during his first visit to Moscow Friday, but remained discreet on human rights issues.
Italian prosecutor: US student 'harbored hatred' for Briton; killed her in sex game. An American student accused of fatally stabbing her British roommate in Italy had a growing hatred for the victim and killed her in retaliation during a drug-fueled sex game, a prosecutor contended Friday in closing arguments at her murder trial.
'Rompuy-pumpy' and Cathy Who?: Critics underwhelmed by EU's choice for new top jobs. Catherine Ashton: International woman of mystery.
President Laurent Gbagbo, ex-president Henri Konan Bedie, ex-premier Alassane Ouattara and 11 others, including comic Adama Dahico, will contest Ivory Coast's long-awaited presidential election, officials said Friday.
The European Commission has signed a 677 million euro (one billion dollar) deal to help Nigeria tackle challenges in its restive oil-producing region, promoting peace, good governance and trade, the EU said Friday.
Kosovo's main ruling party withdrew on Friday its threat to split from its junior coalition partner in the first such rift since Pristina proclaimed independence in 2008.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Herman Van Rompuy's appointment as the first European Union president provoked fears in Turkey that he might hinder Ankara's hopes of joining the bloc, with some media declaring outright that he is anti-Turkish.
Guinea's opposition on Friday rejected proposals to end political deadlock made by the mediator, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, on the grounds that they ignored the will of Guinea's people.
West African regional bloc ECOWAS Friday banned the transfer of arms by the 15 member states except for legitimate defence, security and peacekeeping operations, a senior official said.
Violent protestors injured dozens of police near the Algerian embassy in Cairo on Friday, fanning the flames of a diplomatic row that erupted over a football World Cup qualifier won by bitter rivals Algeria.
Pakistan demands US share Afghan blueprint; suspected US missile strike kills 8 militants. Pakistan expressed fear Friday that a large increase in foreign troops in Afghanistan could push militants across the border into its territory and called on the U.S. to factor in that concern as part of its new war strategy.
The Honduran de facto regime on Friday ordered citizens to turn in their weapons in a bid to avert violence around disputed presidential elections to be held at the end of the month.
GENEVA (Reuters) - Somalia has announced it plans to ratify a global treaty aimed at protecting children, leaving the United States as the only country outside the pact, UNICEF said Friday.
A policeman died after being swept away by "biblical" floods in the scenic Lake District, officials said Friday as helicopters helped evacuate hundreds of stranded residents.
