Jacey Fortin

Diancounda Traore, the interim president of Mali, was beaten in his office by protesters on Monday in the capital city of Bamako.

Tomislav Nikolic, a former extreme-nationalist who now leads the Serbian Progressive Party, was named the victor of Sunday's presidential elections in Serbia, beating incumbent President Boris Tadic of the Democratic Party.

In a bid to raise much-needed funds for its struggling economy, the Italian government is auctioning off more than a dozen picturesque lighthouses off the coast of Sardinia.

Brand new French President François Hollande has already made his first foreign policy blunder: appointing Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, whose name will spark derisive snickering all across the Middle East.

Speaking from Damascus on Friday, a leader of the United Nations observer mission in Syria said the U.N. monitors' presence alone would not be enough to stop the ongoing violence there.

On Thursday, the country of Myanmar saw its first-ever gay pride celebrations to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

On Thursday, 70 troops arrived in Guinea-Bissau as part of a peacekeeping initiative by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The troops are meant to stabilize the country as it prepares for national elections in 12 months, following a military coup that deposed the civilian government.

In bilateral discussions on Friday, British Prime Minster David Cameron is expected to urge newly elected French President François Hollande to renege on campaign promises to withdraw French troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012.

On Thursday, a Malaysian high court sentenced five people, including three Mexican brothers, to be hanged by the neck for drug trafficking.

A group of retired Chinese Communist Party members have called for the resignation of Zhou Yongkang, the head of China's Public Security Ministry.

A report on Wednesday reveals that child marriage has become less prevalent in South Asia over the last two decades, but not for brides of all age groups. Adolescents over 15 are still marrying at about the same rate as they did two decades ago.

Islamabad has ordered government officials to end a supply route blockade against NATO forces, said Pakistan Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday.

Recent polls show that Greece's far-left Syriza party is poised to gain the most votes in the June 17 parliamentary elections. The news has many wondering exactly where the popular opposition party came from, what it represents, and how it would address Greece's crushing debt burden while living up to its promise of abolishing austerity.

Four South Korean activists have been detained by China in the northeastern city of Dalian. The activists were meeting with refugees from North Korea in China in order to learn about their experiences.

Ukrainian Prime Minster Mykola Azarov announced on Tuesday that Ukraine will ramp up its natural gas production by up to 25 percent over the next three years, a move that could help the country break free of its energy dependence on neighboring Russia.

A report released Tuesday by the United Nations Development Program argues that Africa must increase its agricultural productivity in order to keep up with promising rates of economic growth.

Chinese officials summed a UK ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday in an official complaint against British Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. The two dignitaries spoke with the 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, on May 14.

Following a meeting in Abuja, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has threatened renewed sanctions against a Malian military junta that overthrew the country's democratically elected government in March.

On Monday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited Myanmar to meet with top officials there. His decision to visit with Thein Sein signifies Myanmar's growing diplomatic importance in the region.

Nine people were killed and several more wounded on Monday morning when a bomb exploded at a busy marketplace in northern Afghanistan.

Captain Paul Watson, founder of the nonprofit Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and subject of the Animal Planet reality show Whale Wars, was arrested by German officials in Frankfurt this weekend.

Peru's defense and interior ministers announced their resignation after facing criticism for their failure to fight leftist drug-trafficking rebels in the country.

Afghanistan will be the focus of a crucial NATO summit in Chicago this month, said NATO Secretary General Ander Fogh Rasmussen during a press conference on Friday. But Pakistan, once a crucial partner in NATO's efforts there, may not be represented at the event.

Lead poisoning in Nigeria's northern state of Zamfara has sickened about 4,000 children and killed 400 in recent years. On Friday, international medical aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) condemned the Nigerian government for failing to intervene.

Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, has announced a plan to offer space travel opportunities to civilians, in partnership with Bigelow Aerospace.

All bookings on flights to the United States, Canada and Europe until May 15 have been put on hold.

On Wednesday, ABC news anchor Robin Roberts say down with President Barack Obama for an historic interview. For the first time, Obama affirmed his evolved position on one of America?s most controversial issues. Read the full transcript here, courtesy of ABC.

Maker's Mark, an American bourbon company, won a court battle today over its trademark dripping red wax seal.

A collection of 49 live lizards was found in the luggage of a 28-year-old German man as he tried to get them through customs at Munich Airport, said officials on Wednesday.