ELECTIONS

If there is one reliable trend in Venezuela, it would appear to be a steadily rising murder rate. Violent crime in general -- whether it be homicide, robbery, kidnapping or assault -- is already a glaring problem in the oil-rich, Socialist-led South American nation, and as it continues to grow it will only further entrench itself as an imperative issue in the upcoming presidential elections in October.

Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic kicked off the CBGB Music Festival on Thursday with a keynote speech that reminisced on the days of old.

The current situation in Libya means that there is no clear best choice for Libya's 2.7 million registered voters.

Three prominent Kenyan musicians have been charged with using hate speech in their song lyrics and inciting ethnic violence for political purposes.

What does a summer estate in the French countryside have to do with a dilapidated slum on the outskirts of Paris? More than you'd think, as it turns out.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has invited his newly elected Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Morsi, to a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) nations to be held in Tehran in late August to promote undeniable and constructive cooperation between the nations, an Iranian government statement said.

Electoral authorities in Mexico have initiated a recount of roughly half of the votes cast in the presidential election

Broadcasters must now post political advertisement information online for public inspection by Aug. 2 -- but some of them can still skirt the rule.

Planned layoffs fell to a 13-month low in June as U.S. employers announced 37,551 job cuts, a 39 percent reduction from May, according to a report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Mexican election officials said Wednesday they are recounting votes from more than half of the polling booths from Sunday's presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections.

France's new Socialist government announced tax rises worth 7.2 billion euros on Wednesday, including heavy one-off levies on wealthy households and big corporations, to plug a revenue shortfall this year caused by flagging economic growth.

After turning up second in Mexico's presidential elections, leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador questioned the legitimacy of the results and refused to concede, following a similar scenario in 2006 when he lost to President Felipe Calderon by little more than half a percentage point.

In Nepal, justice for the victims of war crimes is a long time coming.

As Libya prepares for a June 7 national vote, violence shows that the sectarian divisions in the country are a serious problem.

It?s not because the exchange rate is different.

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold President Obama's expansive health care overhaul has increased public support for the law, which nonetheless remained largely unpopular.

Mexicans voted in presidential, congressional and state elections Sunday, with the party that ruled for most of the past century poised for comeback after 12 years out power.

The Fragrant Harbor was passed from British to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. Today, it's still torn between its Western-style freedoms and the Beijing model.

India's economic growth is faltering as a result of weak governance, policy paralysis and opposition to reforms by the present government. These have dragged down the investor confidence.

For the first time in over a decade, Iceland's longtime incumbent of 15 years President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has a viable candidate facing him for reelection this Saturday - a former television reporter who recently gave birth to a baby girl.

Both liberals and conservatives can use the high court?s decision to energize the rank-and-file.