US retail sales rose slightly in January, held back by a drop in auto sales as consumers took a breather after December's holiday shopping season, official data released Wednesday showed.

Japanese women packed out stores on Wednesday to buy Valentine's Day chocolates for all the men in their lives -- partners, friends and bosses -- while the men sat back with nothing expected in return.

Supporters of Pakistan's main religious party staged a noisy protest against Valentine's Day on Tuesday, denouncing it as un-Islamic and calling for a "day of modesty" instead.

Nearly two million beaming revelers in outlandish costumes invaded central Rio Saturday for wild merrymaking and beer drinking on day two of the world's most famous Carnival.

Hundreds of thousands of beaming revelers in outlandish costumes poured into central Rio Saturday for wild merrymaking and beer drinking on day two of the world's most famous Carnival.

Canada's trade deficit was halved to Can$901 million (US$898 million) in December, as a big drop in imports outweighed the impact of fewer exports, a government agency said Friday.

China has banned ads that encourage giving luxury gifts to authorities, state media said on Thursday, the latest push against official extravagance since new leaders took charge vowing better governance.

A plump, naughty looking winged baby with a bow and arrow: sounds like the illustration on a Valentine's Day card, right? Wrong: it's a two-thousand-year-old statue on show in New York.

Some 70,000 revellers, many wearing elaborate costumes and masks, thronged Venice's St Mark's Square on Sunday to watch the traditional "flight of the angel," a highlight of the annual Carnival.

It's official, at least according to America's most celebrated groundhog: spring is around the corner.

A Somali-US man was found guilty of plotting to blow up a crowded US Christmas tree ceremony attended by thousands, despite his claims that he was trapped by an FBI sting operation.

A Somali-American was found guilty Thursday over an alleged plot to blow up a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in the northwestern US state of Oregon more than two years ago.

US consumers held tight to their wallets in December, the key holiday shopping season, despite a rise in incomes, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday.

Worldwide tablet sales jumped in the fourth quarter beyond even some of the most optimistic forecasts to 52.5 million, with Android-powered devices pacing growth, a survey showed Thursday.

The jury in the trial of a Somali-American accused of plotting to blow up a Christmas tree ceremony retired to consider its verdict after lawyers made closing arguments.

At least 245 people died early Sunday when a fire tore through a nightclub packed with university students in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, police said.

Millions of people murdered during the Holocaust under Nazi persecution and in other subsequent genocides were remembered in services across the Britain on Sunday as part of Holocaust Memorial Day.

At least 245 people died early Sunday when a fire tore through a nightclub packed with university students in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, police said.

The death toll from a nightclub fire in southern Brazil climbed to 150 early Sunday as firefighters searched the charred remains of the establishment, television Globo reported.

President Barack Obama paid tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. as he started his second term on the holiday honoring the iconic civil rights leader.