MEXICO CITY (AP) ― Enrique Pena Nieto took the oath of office as Mexico’s new president Saturday vowing to restore peace and security and take on the vested interests that have hindered economic prosperity. As several hundred protesters threw fire bombs at police and smashed plate glass windows, Pena Nieto marked the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, with a 13-point plan heavy on old-party populist handouts but with reforms designed to boost the economy and modernize the e

MANILA (AP) ― The Philippines on Saturday denounced Chinese plans to search ships sailing through what Beijing says is its territory in the South China Sea in the latest irritant between the countries. The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the plans should be condemned by the international community because they violate maritime domains of countries in the region and impede freedom of navigation. Chinese state media announced the plans, saying southern Hainan province, which

BERLIN (AFP) ― Germany’s parliament on Friday overwhelmingly approved billions of euros in international aid for Greece, handing a much-needed financial boost to Athens as it battles against bankruptcy.Deputies voted by 473 to 100 to give the green light to the release of 43.7 billion euros ($56.9 billion) in aid to debt-wracked Greece agreed after torturous talks between eurozone finance ministers.There were 11 abstentions.The result of the vote was never in doubt after the two main opposition

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― Swedish author Knut Ahnlund, a member of the Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Literature Prize and who boycotted its workings over Iran’s fatwa against Salman Rushdie, has died aged 89, the Academy said Friday.“He passed away on Nov. 28,” the Academy said in a statement.Ahnlund, an author, critic, translator and professor, was appointed a member of the Academy in 1983.The 18 members of the Swedish Academy are elected for life. His successor on “chair number 7” will be elec

At least seven people were feared missing after parts of a tunnel collapsed Sunday on a highway west of Tokyo, trapping vehicles as smoke from a fire inside initially prevented rescuers from approaching.Video footage from cameras inside the tunnel, after the fire was extinguished, showed firefighters picking their way through cement roof panels that collapsed onto vehicles inside the Sasago Tunnel, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) outside the city. However, local media reported rescuers had suspen

Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi called Saturday for a referendum in two weeks on a contentious draft constitution, setting a date for another milestone in the country’s transition to democracy. Widespread disputes over the charter and Morsi’s recent seizure of near absolute power have marred the process and thrown the country into turmoil.  As has been the case in nearly two years since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, what should have been a cause for national celebration turned into dueling protest

Enrique Pena Nieto took the oath of office as Mexico's new president Saturday vowing to restore peace and security and take on the vested interests that have hindered economic prosperity.As several hundred protesters threw fire bombs at police and smashed plate glass windows, Pena Nieto marked the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI,  with a 13-point plan heavy on old-party populist handouts but with reforms designed to boost the economy and modernize the education and justic

The Obama administration sought to direct Israel and the Palestinians back toward direct peace talks, even as the two sides and much of the world seemed to be ignoring the U.S. attempts at leadership on a Mideast peace strategy.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met senior Israeli and Palestinian officials Friday, with each side locked in a pattern of actions that the United States had expressly warned against: the Palestinians winning U.N. recognition of their claim to a state on Thursda

The United States on Friday criticized Israel's decision to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling it a setback for peace.The White House earlier called the move -- which came in response to a historic vote in the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday to recognize Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member observer state -- "counterproductive.""In light of today's announcement, let me reiterate that this administration --

A custodian at a New Jersey school resigned after he was arrested for allegedly photographing students in clothes-changing areas using hidden cameras.John Martin, 41, chief custodian and operator of the video surveillance system at Gloucester Catholic Junior/Senior High School in Gloucester City, N.J., admitted he installed small cameras, hidden in ventilation ducts and smoke detectors, in eight rooms that included rooms in which students changed clothes, the Camden County, N.J. Prosecutor's Off

Mexico's incoming president Enrique Pena Nieto named his cabinet Friday, picking close advisors for key posts managing the drug war and the economy on the eve of his inauguration.Pena Nieto takes the oath of office on Saturday, marking the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after a 12-year absence from the presidency. The PRI ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century.His 20-member cabinet includes only three women, a few left-leaning independents and one holdover from the admi