BEIRUT (AP) ― U.N. observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating.Maj. Gen. Robert Mood said rising bloodshed over the past 10 days was posing significant risks to the lives of the 300 unarmed observers in the country, and was impeding their ability to carry out their mandate.The observers were sent to the country aft

BAGHDAD (AFP) ― Car bombs targeting Shiite pilgrims in the Iraqi capital killed at least 32 people on Saturday, officials said, marring commemorations for a revered Shiite imam attended by tens of thousands.An interior ministry official said a car bomb exploded at about 12:15 p.m on a highway near Shuala in north Baghdad, killing 14 people and wounding 32, while a second car bomb exploded at the Aden intersection near Kadhimiyah about 2:00 p.m., killing 18 people and wounding 36.A medical source

WASHINGTON (AP) ― There’s not much President Barack Obama can do to boost the economy in the next five months, and that alone might cost him the November election. But on a range of social issues, Obama is bypassing Congress and aggressively using his executive powers to make it easier for gays to marry, women to obtain birth control, and, now, young illegal immigrants to avoid deportation.It’s a political gamble that might fire up conservatives, many of whom remain cool to Republican candidate

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s latest space mission is its most ambitious yet and shows Beijing’s resolve to increase its technological capabilities and bridge the gap with the United States and Russia, experts say.The Shenzhou-9 rocket blasted off from the Gobi desert on Saturday with three astronauts on board ― including, for the first time, a woman ― to conduct China’s first manned space docking, the latest step towards setting up a space station.The mission marks a huge stride forward for China, wh

This image grab from a video on CNN website shows sex trafficking victim "Soo".She came to America with dreams, and was left with only nightmares.A young South Korean woman who was tricked into sexual slavery described the past six years of her life, which had virtually been a living hell.The victim -- who asked to be identified only as Soo -- said that she came to the U.S. looking for a job and p

(AP-Yonhap News)Daredevil Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk on a tightrope across the Niagara Falls, taking steady, measured steps Friday night for 1,800 feet across the mist-fogged brink of the roaring falls separating the U.S. and Canada.Afterward, he said he accomplished the feat through “a lot of praying, that's for sure. But, you know, it's all about the concentration, the focus, a

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference in the White House, Washington, on Friday. AFPU.S. President Barack Obama suspended the threat of deportation against hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants Friday, delighting crucial Hispanic voters ahead of November's election."These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods... they are Americ