JOHANNESBURG (AFP) ― South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela is in “good shape” after his recent hospitalization, the ruling ANC said Monday, after President Jacob Zuma visited the democracy icon.“They found President Mandela in good shape and in good spirits,” the party said in a statement.Zuma and the top brass of the African National Congress dropped in on the ailing 94-year-old at his Johannesburg home, where he has been recuperating under high-care since his hospital release earlier

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday expressed determination to hold talks on solving a territorial dispute over Pacific islands that has prevented the two countries from signing a World War II peace treaty.The two leaders agreed it was "abnormal" the countries had not signed a peace treaty 67 years after the end of World War II and expressed determination to overcome "the existing differences" on the islands dispute through talks, said a joint declar

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday confirmed that his government received money from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, following reports of cash being handed over in suitcases and backpacks."Yes, the NSC of Afghanistan has received money from CIA in the past 10 years. The amount was not big, rather it was small," Karzai said in a statement, referring to the National Security Council which is part of the president's office. (AFP) 

TRIPOLI (AP) ― Libya’s prime minister warned of a perilous security situation Sunday after armed men stormed the Interior Ministry and a state-owned television station after blocking access to the Foreign Ministry. Two years after the country’s civil war, Libya is struggling to maintain security, build a unified army and reign in militias, which include rebels who fought to oust longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. About 200 armed men surrounded the Foreign Ministry building in Tripoli, de

BAGHDAD (AP) ― Iraqi authorities suspended the operating licenses of pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera and nine Iraqi TV channels on Sunday after accusing them of escalating sectarian tension. The move signaled the Shiite-led government’s mounting worries over deteriorating security amid Sunni unrest and clashes that have left more than 180 people dead in less than a week. The suspensions, which took effect immediately, appeared to target mainly Sunni channels known for criticizing Prime Minister

CARACAS (AFP) ― Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles vowed Sunday to “take to the world” his challenge of this month’s presidential vote, as election officials readied a partial ballot recount.Capriles, who says he should have been declared the winner of the April 14 presidential vote, alleged via his Twitter account that election authorities rejected his appeal for a full recount “at the order of the Socialist Party” that governs Venezuela.Election officials said they plan to begin a

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Investigators are pursuing other “persons of interest” possibly linked to the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, U.S. lawmakers said Sunday.“There are still persons of interest in the United States that the FBI would like to have conversations with,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers told ABC’s “This Week.” The Michigan Republican declined to indicate how many such people were on the radar of authorities.Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the panel, said in

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday during the first top-level visit in a decade as the two countries seek to revive ties soured by a festering territorial dispute.The two leaders were due to hold one-on-one talks at the Kremlin followed by meetings involving business delegations from both sides. They were then to give a joint news conference.A Japanese government source told Kyodo News on Sunday that Abe and Puti