Oliver Tree

Among those banned are former dictator Hosni Mubarak's spy chief Omar Suleiman, Muslim Brotherhood chief strategist Khairat el-Shater and hard-line Islamist Hazem Abu Ismail.

Karzai went on to praise Afghan forces for handling the situation, saying they had proved themselves capable of defending their country.

As Tax Day looms on April 17, Americans face a gigantic tax code that is four times the size of the complete works of William Shakespeare.

Sudanese troops are on the outskirts of the disputed oil town of Heglig, captured on Tuesday by South Sudan, escalating the prospect of all-out war between the two countries.

The warning follows South Sudan's capture of the disputed Heglig oilfield on Tuesday after a series of border skirmishes with its northern neighbor.

Failure of the satellite and rocket, launched to mark the ascendancy of Kim Jong-un and celebrate the 100th birthday of North Korea's founder, the late Kim Il-sung, sparked fears the country will pursue further launches nuclear tests.

Jorge Fernandez Diaz laid out the draconian plans in Congress on Thursday, which would criminalize those caught organizing street protests on-line that seriously disturb the public peace.

Tehran's top negotiator Saeed Jalili told the group of six world powers gathered in Istanbul for talks this Saturday that Iran is ready to hold successful and progressive talks on cooperation.

The focus now turns to Friday, when activists have called for the largest demonstrations against the continued rule of President Bashar al-Assad in a move set to test the regime's willingness to hold to the truce.

The snap general election is expected to test Greek resolve for punishing austerity measures, and gives the parties just 24 days to prepare.

Heathrow, the third-busiest airport in the world, will be overwhelmed with the volume of passengers expected this summer for the London Olympics, with immigration wait times stretching beyond an hour and tourists forced to wait on circling aircraft or on the tarmac for blocked gates to become free.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is expected to meet with President Karolos Papoulias later Wednesday to dissolve parliament and set a date for watershed elections, which are set to test Greek resolve for punishing austerity measures.

After two days of fighting, reports indicated the South Sudanese army (SPLA) has seized control of the Heglig oil fields, a vital strategic resource for Khartoum which accounts for over half of Sudan's domestic oil production.

Desperate to salvage the ceasefire agreement, Annan said peace was still a possibility and urged both sides to stop the violence.

Three separate blasts in western Herat province and Musa Qala killed 10 policemen and eight civilians, as militants step up their activities at the start of spring fighting season.

The 48-hour strike comes in spite of pleas from business leaders and politicians not to disrupt Greece's vital tourism sector, an industry that employs 1 in 5 workers.

Despite reports of fighting in at least two towns, President Bashar al-Assad's government claimed military forces had begun pulling out of some areas in compliance with the ceasefire agreement to withdraw forces from towns and villages by Tuesday.

Fighters from Ansar al-Sharia were beaten back by Yemeni troops and aircraft. The attacks came a day after the group again called for the government to free 600 militants in exchange for 73 Yemeni soldiers.

Saif, the second son of deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has been held captive in a secret prison since his capture during last year's uprising.

In his poem What Must Be Said - published last week in Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung -- writer Gunter Grass attacked Israel's nuclear weapons

In its last-minute demand, just a day ahead of the implementation of the ceasefire, President Bashar al-Assad's government called for written guarantees from the rebels to end violence and also assurances from foreign states to stop funding and supplying the rebels.

Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh will host President Asif Ali Zardari at a lunch in New Delhi before he makes a private trip to the shrine of a Sufi saint in Rajasthan state, according to officials.

A pharmacist ought to be able to live comfortably on his pension. So for him to reach the point of suicide out of economic hardship means a lot. It shows how the social fabric is unraveling, an activist in Athens said.

According to activists, Syrian government forces continued their attacks on rebels in a town near the capital Damascus on Thursday, killing 40 people.

The opposition groups held peaceful demonstrations in nine districts of the capital Nouakchott

According to eyewitnesses, the suicide bomber detonated his device after steering a motorcycle into the group as they filmed interviews in a street market in Maymana.

The country's Foreign ministry called the ban preventing Conviasa from flying in Europe unfair, adding that Venezuela was considering as yet unspecified reciprocal measures.

The heads of the African country's Olympic committee and national soccer federation were among the dead. The blast tore through a theater that was being rededicated.

Clinton also reiterated the Obama administration's push for a diplomatic solution to the growing Gulf crisis.