ELECTIONS

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home early Thursday after 11 days of cancer treatment in Cuba, putting an end to ongoing rumors of his death.

The final list of Egyptian presidential candidates was announced on Thursday, and 13 men will face off in the first free presidential elections in the country in decades.

More than a third of the $200 million poured into Super PACs this election cycle has flowed from a mere 10 donors, including seven individuals, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.

Pakistan's Supreme Court Thursday sentenced Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to a symbolic detention for a few seconds after he was found guilty of contempt of court by refusing to reopen the corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The Senate advanced legislation Wednesday evening that would let the U.S. Postal Service end Saturday mail after two years as part of efforts to overhaul the agency and keep it from shuttering thousands of facilities next month.

Three military representatives close to the coup that toppled Mali's democratically-elected government gained key security position in new government.

The Libyan National Transitional Council bans religious political parties before elections in June, angering the Muslim Brotherhood

Greece will no longer pay benefits to 200,000 fraudsters and dead pensioners; Greek central-bank governor warns of departure from euro zone if budget cuts are not followed

Sarkozy has to walk a fine line between trying not to alienate Le Pen?s supporters, while appearing not to agree with some of their more extremist points of view.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who trails candidate Francois Hollande in France's presidential elections, said that he will not make a deal with the far-right National Front party.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's Wednesday cut India's outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable, saying that the country's economy is facing high fiscal deficits and a heavy debt burden.

European and U.S. stocks rose Tuesday as a negative sentiment the day before gave way to an upbeat, risk-on sentiment, despite weak economic news from the United States.

The New York Republican primary may be awarding the most delegates of all the presidentials contests on Tuesday, but Manhattan voters largely stayed home. Their state traditionally votes Democrat in the general election, and the GOP nomination has already been all but declared for Mitt Romney.

Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Holland faced a crisis, and asked opposition parties to support the ?16 to ?18 billion cuts needed to satisfy the EU, and financial markets, next week.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that he will step down as the leader of United Russia, the nation's dominant political party, after he assumes the presidency in May.

Ahmed Shafiq has been disqualified from Egypt's upcoming president elections because of his former position in the Hosni Mubarak regime.

Sen. Chuck Schumer said if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Arizona immigration law known as S.B. 1070, he will introduce a bill to let Congress block it.

However, Ottawa will keep in place a ban on any arms trade with Myanmar.

A high-profile protest by Chinese villagers against the alleged corruption of local officials has produced a result: Two former village officials from Wukan, near Hong Kong, have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and ordered to return stolen funds.

Until the second round of French elections, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande and incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy will be battling it out for the 17.9 percent of the French public who voted for Marine Le Pen won in the first round.

Yulia Tymoshenko, the jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister, was moved back to her cell after a short stint in the hospital. She refused treatment from doctors for an undisclosed medical issue.