Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is riding a popularity wave unseen by six immediate predecessors as he pushes his Bank of Japan nominees through a divided parliament, raising the odds of the ruling party winning a July election. Buoyed by a surge in the benchmark stock index to a 4 1/2 year high -- spurred by his anti-deflation policy -- Abe has the highest approval ratings since Junichiro Koizumi stepped down in 2006. This week he may secure his biggest achievement since he took the helm in December,

Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles on Sunday launched what many consider a doomed candidacy to replace Hugo Chavez with a no-holds-barred attack against a government he accused of coldly betraying Venezuelans' trust.Chavez's political heirs have toyed with Venezuelans' hopes, lying to them about his deteriorating health by suggesting he could recover and even producing decrees he supposedly signed, said Capriles, whom Chavez defeated by a 12-point margin in October. He did not make d

Radical Islamic fighters killed seven foreign hostages in Nigeria, European diplomats said Sunday, making it the worst such kidnapping violence in decades for a country beset by extremist guerrilla attacks. Nigeria's police, military, domestic spy service and presidency remained silent over the killings of the construction company workers, kidnapped Feb. 16 from northern Bauchi state. The government's silence only led to more questions about the nation's continued inability to halt attacks that

The U.N. chief for refugees says the number of refugees from Syria could increase by “two or three times” the present level by the end of the year if the country's conflict doesn't end. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres says the international community should work toward ending the conflict and says there is a “risk of an explosion” throughout the already volatile Middle East region if it continues much longer. Guterres was speaking in Ankara on Sunday, days after the number o

AMMAN (AFP) ― Twenty-one Filipino U.N. peacekeepers seized by Syrian rebels on the Golan Heights arrived in Jordan on Saturday, hours after their captors released them from an ordeal of more than three days.“They arrived in Jordan; they are on Jordanian land now,” Jordanian government spokesman Samih Maaytah said.The United Nations and the Philippines government also confirmed that the 21 members of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, had crossed safely into Jordan from Syria where rebels bat

NAIROBI (AFP) ― Uhuru Kenyatta narrowly won Kenya’s presidential election Saturday, urging calm and pledging to work with rivals and cooperate with the international community.Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s founding president and one of Africa’s richest men who also faces an international crimes against humanity trial, scraped by with 50.07 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff against his closest rival Raila Odinga.However Odinga, the outgoing prime minister, said he would contest the results in cour

VATICAN CITY (AP) ― The Vatican sought Saturday to quash speculation that divisions among cardinals could drag out the conclave to elect the new pope, while preparations for the vote plowed ahead with firefighters installing the Sistine Chapel chimney that will tell the world when a decision has been reached. But the specter of an inconclusive first few rounds of secret balloting remained high, with no clear front-runner heading into Tuesday’s papal election and a long list of cardinals still an

TOKYO (AFP) ― Anti-nuclear rallies took place across Japan Sunday on the eve of the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, urging Japan’s new government to abandon nuclear power.Tens of thousands gathered in Hibiya park in central Tokyo, where activists and unionists packed a concert hall to voice their opposition.Scholars, business people and volunteers gave anti-nuclear talks as musicians performed, before the crowds marched through the government district of Kasum

MILAN (AP) ― Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi remained hospitalized Saturday with an eye inflammation, but court-appointed doctors said the condition was not severe enough to prevent him from attending a hearing in his tax fraud appeal.San Raffaele hospital’s chief ophthalmologist, Francesco Bandello, told reporters that Berlusconi’s condition, specifically bilateral uveitis, had only moderately improved overnight and he was expected to remain hospitalized at least until Sunday.Berluscon

LIMA (AFP) -- Dozens of naked and half-naked cyclists rolled through Lima Saturday to press for more bike-friendly streets.A few of the protesters stripped down completely for the 10-kilometer ride through Peru‘s capital.The more modest peddlers wore underwear, while some wore masks of cartoon characters like Batman. Some riders also brought along a breed of hairless Peruvian dog.The protesters were demanding bike lanes and better traffic lighting.They said they also were trying to raise awarene