A man who was convicted of stalking and threatening pop star Madonna has escaped from a psychiatric hospital. Robert Dewey Hoskins was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 1996.
Month: February 2012
Thousands take to the streets of Athens as Greek unions launch a two-day general strike against planned austerity measures , a day after the country’s crucial international bailout was put in limbo by its partners in the 17-nation eurozone.
At 86, Father Gabriele Amorth still performs several exorcisms per day. He sees the devil everywhere, including in the music of Marilyn Manson. And he’s convinced that Satan – as much as he feared John Paul II – fears Pope Benedict XVI even more.
Seven years after Burundi’s civil war came to an end, Sylvère Ndayishimiye, a former child soldier forced into action by the rebel FNL army, is still trying to shake his memories of murder and mayhem. He made his first kill with a knife – straight to the
Michel Debout, a well-known psychiatrist and forensic science professor, used historical data linking unemployment to suicide, concluding that France’s economic woes prompted at least 10,000 people to try to take their lives during the three year
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Gorbachev To Putin: Your Time Is Up
The 80-year-old former Soviet leader says Vladimir Putin’s best days are behind him. Putin, Russia’s current prime minister, is hoping to regain the presidency in next month’s election.
A suspected member of Mexico’s Zetas drugs gang has led authorities to two graves in Veracruz state containing 15 bodies.
Greek leaders have failed to agree on reforms and austerity measures, the price of a bailout to avoid a messy default, forcing Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos to go to the country’s financial backers with an incomplete deal.
Germany says it is expelling four Syrian diplomats following the arrest earlier this week of two men accused of spying on Syrian opposition groups in Germany.
Theater director Emma Dante is a singular voice in contemporary theater. The Sicilian director’s theater company is based in her native Palermo, which serves as a troubled muse, and yet offers little tangible support. That she finds in the top th
Op-Ed: After being forced to shelve their proposal for a European-appointed Greek budget commissioner, the German-France “Merkozy” duo now are floating the idea of a special account for Greek debt. But this is just one more symbolic atte
Op-Ed: The governing PAN made history last weekend by becoming the first major Mexican party to select a female presidential candidate. Although PAN trails in the polls, Josefina Vázquez Mota – a conservative deputy – could certainly shake things up ahead
Ex-Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed says he was forced to step down at gunpoint and urges his successor to step down.
Rick Santorum has awakened to a new reality after sweeping all three Republican presidential contests in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri a day earlier, reshaping the contest that will decide who runs against President Barack Obama in November.
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Syria: Homs under ‘heaviest’ shelling yet
The Syrian city of Homs has come under renewed bombardment for the fifth day running – the heaviest so far, according to residents.
Essay: Nestlé board chairman Peter Brabeck used an exchange during the recent World Economic Forum in Davos to take a dig at Europeans who aren’t as devoted to work as he is. Of course, some also don’t pull in seven-figure salaries.
Tensions are simmering between locals in Hong Kong and the many mainland Chinese who come to spend their newfound riches, and even give birth, in the former British colony that in many ways is still set apart.
The ebbs and flows of human migration include the moments when certain immigrants choose to return to their native land. Moncef Ghezal is set to go back to Tunisia after seven years of farm work in southern Italy. His story reflects big changes on both sh
For the world’s major humanitarian aid organizations, saving human lives has a core business, as well as altruistic, element. Supply and demand matter. So do prices. And like in any other major industry, there are huge logistical concerns to factor in as
The rumors are real: Rebel film director Abel Ferrara plans to shoot a film about the Dominique Strass-Kahn sex scandal with legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu as the lead. Filming could begin as early as June, Ferrara has told Le Monde.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in Syria for talks with President Bashar al-Assad amid a renewed government assault on rebel forces.
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Entire staff of L.A. school to be replaced
In a dramatic move to quell parents’ fears, Los Angeles school officials have said they will temporarily replace the entire staff of an elementary school south of downtown Los Angeles, where two teachers have been accused of lewd acts against stu
The idyllic tourist destination of the Maldives has descended into violence and political chaos after a revolt by police officers led to the resignation of the country’s first democratically elected president in decades.
Op-Ed: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, daughter of a Lutheran pastor, thinks Europe should save its way out of the current crisis. What the continent should do instead is grow its way to prosperity, even if that means passing along some debt to the next
What do Rafael Nadal, Marion Cotillard and Zinedine Zidane have in common? They’ve all had their portraits taken at the legendary Parisian photo studio Harcourt. Now you too can get one of Harcourt’s distinctive glamor shots – in a photo
As a cold snap covers much of Europe, the Italian capital was hit with record snowfall over the weekend, but is largely cleared of major disruptions. But surrounding towns, which were hit with even more snow and strong winds, have been largely cut off fro
In Moscow, thousands braved the cold Saturday in marches both for and against Vladimir Putin. Russia’s state-run TV channels made a point of downplaying the latter. Still, there are real signs of change in how the channels cover Russia’s growing
Officials in Lima are hoping to start a low-cost, no frills airline to get lower-income Peruvians off of buses and into the air. If history is a guide, there are few guarantees the ambitious state-run airline scheme will work.
Analysis: A crackdown on anti-mining protestors and the recent appointment of a retired army man as prime minister have some observers warning that Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, who was elected on a progressive platform, is “militarizing” the governm
Analysis: Russia’s decision to block a resolution condemning Assad regime is both morally repugnant and diplomatically short-sighted. The “river of history” cannot be stopped, and Syrians and the Arab world at large will remember Moscow’s stance.
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Queen celebrates 60-year reign
Braving cold temperatures, crowds gather to greet the Queen of England on the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.
Syrian forces have bombarded Homs, killing 50 people in a sustained assault on several districts of the city which has become a center of armed opposition to President Bashar Assad.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has banned Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador for two years for doping, and stripped him of his 2010 Tour de France victory.
Swiss authorities have spent years investigating a jet-setting Pakistani man whose Zurich-based family somehow qualified for nearly $10,000 a month in social benefits. A Swiss court has finally delivered a verdict in the high-profile fraud case.
These two Internet giants share similar goals and scale, but different approaches that largely reflect the differences between how the Internet functions in the West and in China. Still, both have much to learn from the other.
Think ski holiday in Europe, and most people imagine the Alps. But what about Bulgaria’s Pirin Mountains? The skiing is great, the scenery is spectacular and lift tickets are refreshingly affordable.
Starting next year, the German government would like to put a little money in the pockets of stay-at-home parents. The E.U. Commmission in Brussels doesn’t approve, saying the bonus scheme encourages mothers not to rejoin the workforce.
Abd al-Hadi Rafa Ghanim is one of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners exchanged for Israeli solider Gilad Shalit, who’d been held hostage for five years by Hamas. Ghanim makes no apologies for the 16 murders he committed, but has no interest in further v
Villa Altachiara is among the most luxurious residences on the Italian Riviera. After the mysterious death of the last owner, it has become impossible to find a buyer. Superstitious locals blame a curse dating back to ancient Egypt’s King Tutankh
Rice has long been held in great esteem in Asia. Not so in Europe, where it is often dismissed as “food for the poor.” Little by little, however, Europeans are starting to clue in to the fact that rice is far more than just filler food.