The longest-held foreign hostage in the Sudanese region of Darfur has said he was not mistreated, but faced a daily struggle to stay positive.Gauthier Lefevre, a 35-year-old French-British aid worker, spoke about his 147-day ordeal in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, two days after his release.He said he was moved around regularly, and had been held in mountain camps or isolated in vast expanses
MEXICO CITY – More Americans in Mexico are falling victim to a wave of drug violence sweeping the country, a change driven home by the recent killing of a U.S Consulate employee and her husband who were gunned down after leaving a children's birthday party.The number of U.S citizens killed in Mexico has more than doubled to 79 in 2009 from 35 in 2007, according to the U.S State Departmen
South Africans are preparing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre, an iconic moment in the nation's liberation struggle.Sixty-nine people died on 21 March 1960 when police gunned down unarmed people protesting against apartheid laws.The dead will be honoured as part of Human Rights Day, with church services, the laying of wreaths, and a speech by Deputy President Kgalem
JOHANNESBURG – A half century ago, police officers massacred 69 black South Africans in the township of Sharpeville, where protesters had burned the passbooks that the white-led apartheid government required them to carry at all times.But survivors of the massacre here are tired of telling their stories: They are wondering when the change they thought they were fighting for 50 years ago wil
PARIS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right party faces heavy losses in regional elections Sunday that could affect the pace of reform as maneuvering begins before the 2012 presidential campaign.The center-right suffered one of its worst losses in years in the first round of the ballot, with Sarkozy's UMP party scoring just 26 percent as the Socialists took 29 percent and the b
DUBLIN – Pope Benedict XVI's unprecedented letter to Ireland apologizing for chronic child abuse within the Catholic Church failed Saturday to calm the anger of many victims, who accused the Vatican of ducking its own responsibility in promoting a worldwide culture of cover-up.Benedict's message — the product of weeks of consultation with Irish bishops, who read it aloud at Masses acr
LONDON The start of a three-day strike by cabin crew at British Airways spurred chaos and passenger angst Saturday as union members vowed more airline and rail walkouts in the coming weeks as Britain prepares for a hotly contested general election. This is our dream trip.We booked it last August, and we've been planning it for years, said Danby, who was still hoping to get to Las Vegas with her
SYDNEY – A tropical cyclone smashed into Australia's northeast coast on Sunday, with winds of up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) an hour damaging buildings, downing trees and cutting power to thousands of homes.Cyclone Ului made landfall near Queensland's Whitsunday islands, a popular tourist destination on the Great Barrier Reef, leaving 60,000 properties without power, state Emergency Serv
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