WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called for China to address a “deterioration” of its human rights record as he met activists ahead of a key visit by his Chinese counterpart, the White House said Thursday.Biden ― the host for next week’s visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is widely tipped to be the Asian power’s next leader ― met jointly Wednesday with four advocates for human rights.In the meeting, Biden and the activists “discussed the deterioration of China’s huma

WASHINGTON (AFP) - U.S. President Barack Obama praised Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday, saying he was boosting confidence across Europe and world markets with his economic rescue program.The U.S. leader, who is concerned contagion from any worsening of Europe‘s crisis could impact his reelection prospects, also called for a stronger eurozone firewall to stabilize the continent’s battered financial system.“I personally have great confidence in the prime minister‘s leadership and hi

The superstar Spanish judge who won global fame for aggressively taking on international human rights cases has been convicted of overstepping his jurisdiction in a domestic corruption probe and barred from the bench for 11 years, marking a spectacular fall from grace for one of the nation’s most pr

New orders from the Pentagon: The military formally opened thousands of jobs to women on Thursday in units that are closer to the front lines than ever before, reflecting what already has been occurring as female American soldiers fight and die next to their male comrades.The new rules, affecting th

The U.S., lacking a plan to contain $1 trillion deficits, faces the prospect of another rating cut in six to 24 months depending on the outcome of November elections, according to John Chambers of Standard & Poor’s. America has had an “AA+” rating with a negative outlook since Aug. 5 when the New York-based unit of McGraw-Hill Cos. stripped the nation of its “AAA” ranking for the first time, citing the government’s failure to agree on a path to reduce deficits. The U.S. has a one-in-three chance

DENVER (AP) ― Mitt Romney just can’t shake his difficulty attracting conservatives. And that reality is undercutting the former Massachusetts governor’s effort to cast himself as the inevitable Republican presidential nominee and prolonging a race that each day exposes deep divisions within the party.Newt Gingrich also now faces a fresh challenge to his claim that he’s the chief conservative alternative to Romney, the Republican front-runner.Those were the big takeaways from former Pennsylvania

NEW DELHI (AP) -- India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier in recent weeks as it modernizes its military to match China‘s.India and China have had tensions since a 1962 border war, and New Delhi has watched with dismay in recent years as Beijing has increased its influence in the Indian Ocean.China has financed the development of ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar

LONDON (AP) ― Real Madrid and Barcelona are soccer’s biggest moneymakers for the third straight year and look set to top their rivals for the foreseeable future.The annual review of soccer finance by Deloitte shows Madrid topping the list for the seventh straight year with revenue of $636.5 million for the year ending June 30, an increase of 9 percent from the previous 12 months.English champion Manchester United was again third with $487.2 million, the highest of four English clubs in the top 1

Three government ministers in the southern Indian state of Karnataka resigned Wednesday after they were accused of watching a pornographic video during an assembly session.The right wing Bharatiya Janata Party, which rules Karnataka, ordered the three ministers to resign after local television chann