U.S. health officials are investigating 14 reports of the Zika virus that may been transmitted through sex, including to several pregnant women, raising new questions about the role sexual transmission is playing in the growing outbreak. In two of the suspecte... More »
BRASILIA World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan said on Tuesday Brazil is doing a good job tackling the Zika virus and ensuring that the Olympic games it will host in August will be safe for athletes and visitors. Chan said Brazil’s gov... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama launched a final push on Tuesday to persuade Congress to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, despite strong opposition from lawmakers who do not want detainees transferred to the United States. The presiden... More »
WASHINGTON The Republican-led Senate on Tuesday ruled out taking action on any nominee put forth by President Barack Obama to the Supreme Court in a political power move intended to thwart his ability to change the court’s ideological balance. Majority Leader ... More »
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Attorneys for sportscaster Erin Andrews said on Tuesday a Marriott hotel was negligent in enabling a guest to shoot a nude video of her that went viral on the Internet, while the Tennessee hotel put the blame entirely on the stalker. Andrews, ... More »
BARCELONA Britain’s BT said it would increase investment in superfast broadband, including more fiber to the home, if regulator Ofcom decides against forcing a break-up of the company. Ofcom is examining whether BT’s networks arm Openreach should remain part o... More »
LONDON British actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen unveiled his latest fictional alter-ego at the premiere of “Grimsby” on Monday night, an English beer-drinking soccer fan called Nobby. Cohen, known for his satirical characters Ali G, Kazakh reporter Borat a... More »
It is not just the Oscars that have a diversity problem. Women, minorities and the LGBT community are vastly under-represented throughout Hollywood, according to a report published on Monday ahead of the Academy Award ceremony. The report looked at 109 films a... More »
MOJAVE, Calif. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic venture unveiled a new passenger spacecraft on Friday, nearly 16 months after a fatal accident destroyed its sister ship during a test flight over California’s Mojave Desert. The rollout of the gleaming craft, d... More »
BANGKOK Battles, a search for love and justice, all set in China. Hired by local Chinese shrines, opera companies in Bangkok’s Chinatown perform mythical stories in Mandarin to round off celebrations marking the Lunar New Year in the Thai capital. The wobbly w... More »
HONG KONG As China’s economy wheezes to a 25-year low, investors who once collected stocks and property are turning to what they are willing to believe will become a new safe haven market – a trading platform for fine art. Even as the global fever among connoi... More »
LOS ANGELES Media mogul Sumner Redstone was under “undue influence” from people around him when he replaced his designated healthcare agent last fall, his ex-girlfriend argued on Thursday in her lawsuit challenging the elderly billionaire’s mental competence. ... More »
TAINAN, Taiwan Rescuers pulled out alive an eight-year-old girl and her aunt from the rubble of a Taiwan apartment block on Monday, more than 60 hours after it was toppled by a quake, as the mayor of the southern city of Tainan warned the death toll could exce... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO The worst health scare in recent history is not keeping Brazilians from their annual Carnival revelry, with millions of partiers swarming streets and some making fun of the mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses. Street processions, block ... More »
BEIRUT The Syrian army advanced toward the Turkish border on Monday in a major offensive backed by Russia and Iran that rebels say now threatens the future of their nearly five-year-old insurrection against President Bashar al-Assad. Iranian backed-militias pl... More »
CHICAGO Chicagoans this month are less obsessed with badmouthing Mayor Rahm Emanuel or worries about their sports teams, and more focused on finding the perfect “paczki,” a rich, Polish, donut-type dessert that’s taking the high-end dessert market by storm. Lo... More »
PARIS French choreographer Benjamin Millepied said on Thursday he was stepping down as director of dance at the Paris Opera after little more than a year in the role, citing personal reasons. The 38-year old — who is married to Hollywood actress Natalie Portma... More »
NAYPYITAW Hundreds of lawmakers from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy were sworn into Myanmar’s parliament on Monday, with enough seats to choose the country’s first democratically elected government since the military took power in 1962. The NL... More »
SYDNEY January updates on Asia’s mammoth factory sector released on Monday showed the new year began much as the old one ended – with too much capacity chasing too little demand. China was again the epicentre of disappointment as its official measure of manufa... More »
RECIFE, Brazil For scores of women in the epicenter of the Zika outbreak in Brazil, the joy of pregnancy has given way to fear. In the sprawling coastal city of Recife, panic has struck maternity wards since Zika – a mosquito-borne virus first detected in the ... More »
LOS ANGELES – “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV,” Idris Elba joked on stage after winning twice at Saturday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, where actors of color claimed a slew of wins amid a furor in Hollywood over the lack of on-screen diversity. Le... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has decided not to impose further punishment on David Petraeus, a former U.S. military commander and CIA director who admitted sharing classified information with his mistress, according to a letter seen by Reute... More »
ROME – Ennio Morricone, who wrote some of cinema’s best-known sound tracks, said on Saturday he was glad he agreed to Quentin Tarantino’s plea to do the score for the hit film “The Hateful Eight” after first turning him down. Morricone changed his mind only af... More »
Rio de Janeiro Last January, long lines formed outside health clinics in Recife, a city in Brazil’s northeast hit hard in recent years by outbreaks of dengue, a painful tropical disease. Doctors were on guard because federal health officials and the World Heal... More »
MANITOWOC, Wis. The television documentary “Making a Murderer,” a gripping series about two Wisconsin men convicted of murder, has put this blue-collar city of 35,000 on the map, to the dismay of many residents. The wildly popular Netflix series, spread out ov... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc (AAPL.O) forecast its first revenue drop in 13 years and reported the slowest-ever increase in iPhone shipments as the critical Chinese market showed signs of weakening, suggesting the technology company’s period of exponential growth m... More »
HOUSTON Three major U.S. shale oil companies have slashed their 2016 capital spending plans more than expected in a bid to survive $30 a barrel oil prices, with one of them saying prices would need to rise more than 20 percent just to turn a profit. The cuts o... More »
HONG KONG/ BEIJING Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL], China’s second-biggest smartphone vendor, more than doubled Internet services revenue in 2015 to about $564 million, an internal document reviewed by Reuters showed, but still fell well short of an internal target of $1 ... More »
WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and acknowledge that turmoil in financial markets threatens its upbeat view of the U.S. economy, leaving the chances of a March hike diminished but alive. All 69 analysts... More »
Airlines, hotels and cruise operators serving Latin America and the Caribbean are facing growing concern among travelers spooked by the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The outbreak of the virus, linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil, comes as a re... More »
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for the rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments to fight the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and could spread to the United States in warmer months.... More »
NEW YORK A tiny green lizard found by a New Jersey kindergarten student in a bundle of chilled salad greens at home has wriggled its way into the hearts of an entire elementary school class, which has adopted it as a mascot. The three-inch (7.5-cm) critter wen... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO As Rio de Janeiro prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors for upcoming Carnival festivities and the Olympic Games in August, the city is scrambling to expel one unwelcome new arrival: the Zika virus. It will be an uphill battle. Zi... More »
LOS ANGELES She may already have won some of the biggest U.S. honors but beloved American comedian Carol Burnett says she was “gobsmacked” when told she would receive the Screen Actors Guild 2015 lifetime achievement award. Comedy duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler ... More »
NEW YORK Abe Vigoda, an American actor best known for roles in “The Godfather” and the 1970s sitcom “Barney Miller,” died on Tuesday at the age of 94, after spending three decades jokingly refuting rumors of his demise. Vigoda’s daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, s... More »
PARIS Known for his extravagant runway settings, designer Karl Lagerfeld led fashionistas into a serene garden on Tuesday at the Chanel haute couture catwalk show in Paris. Having, in previous years, turned the Grand Palais into an airport, a supermarket and a... More »
LOS ANGELES Actor David Duchovny, best known for his role as Fox Mulder in sci-fi television show “The X-Files” has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 2,572nd on the famed boulevard. Duchovny starred in the award-winning series from 19... More »
PARIS With smart outfits and sweeping evening gowns, designers showcase their luxury creations at the Paris haute couture fashion shows this week. From France’s Chanel to Italy’s Versace, more than 20 fashion houses will show their spring-summer 2016 haute cou... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The solar system may host a ninth planet that is about 10 times bigger than Earth and orbiting far beyond Neptune, according to research published on Wednesday. Computer simulations show that the mystery planet, if it exists, would orbit b... More »
LOS ANGELES Glenn Frey, the prolific guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles, died on Monday at age 67, the American rock band known for “Hotel California” and dozens of other hits said on its website. Frey died in New York City of comp... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO Olympic and tourism officials in Brazil downplayed risks for foreign visitors from the mosquito-borne Zika virus on Monday, even as the health ministry warned pregnant women to consult doctors before visiting the country amid a widening scare. A... More »
MIAMI – The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that exploded into a fiery ball just after landing at sea off California on Sunday had descended with pinpoint accuracy onto an ocean barge before a landing leg buckled, causing the booster to tip over, a landing video showed... More »
NEW YORK The 59-year-old brother of award-winning Canadian singer Celine Dion died after a long battle with cancer on Saturday, two days after the death of Dion’s husband, her representatives said in a statement. Daniel Dion, the eighth oldest of 13 siblings, ... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA cut short a spacewalk on Friday at the International Space Station after one of the astronauts reported a leak in his spacesuit helmet, the U.S. space agency said. Tim Peake, who on the mission became the first astronaut from Britain ... More »
An Ohio man wanted for drunk driving who sent police a more flattering photo of himself because he did not like his mug shot has been arrested in Florida, police said. “How’s this photo Donald Pugh?” asked the Escambia County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office on its ... More »
LOS ANGELES As Los Angeles celebrates its fifth straight year of record-breaking tourism, officials in part can thank visitors from China who, despite their reputed disdain for lying on the beach, now make up the second-largest group of international travelers... More »
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis warned on Monday that the recent influx of migrants risked overwhelming European values and traditions, but said he was confident the continent could successfully integrate the newcomers. In an annual address to diplomats at the Vatic... More »
LOS ANGELES In the latest disruption from the biggest methane gas leak in California history, nearly 2,000 Los Angeles children returning to class this week after winter break have been reassigned to schools outside the affected area over health concerns. The ... More »
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Revenge drama “The Revenant” and space adventure “The Martian” took the top film awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, setting them up as formidable Oscar contenders after a night of surprises and stinging barbs from return host Ricky Gervais... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX will attempt to land its next Falcon 9 rocket on a barge in the Pacific Ocean, seeking another milestone a month after landing a booster on the ground in a spaceflight first, the company said on F... More »
TOKYO Japan’s Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Monday it will cut nearly 7,000 consumer electronics jobs after a $1.3 billion accounting scandal, in an overhaul that will streamline the sprawling conglomerate into a company focused on chips and nuclear energy. To... More »
The host of the Miss Universe pageant mistakenly announced the wrong winner on Sunday, who then had to give up the crown and hand it over to a 26-year-old actress and model from the Philippines. It was the first edition of the annual beauty show since it was t... More »
BRASILIA Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s key ally in Congress is certain it can head off an impeachment threat, but in return the party demands a radical change of policy course to pull the economy out of its deepest downturn in 25 years. Senator Eunicio ... More »
TOKYO Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp’s (6723.T) CEO said an acquisition by Germany’s Infineon Technologies (IFXGn.DE) was unlikely as he believed its top shareholder, a government-backed fund, would not sell a majority stake to a foreign buyer. Th... More »
LOS ANGELES “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” shattered box office records with an estimated $517 million in worldwide ticket sales through Sunday, a staggering debut that re-established the celebrated space saga as a global phenomenon under Walt Disney Co. The f... More »
MANCHESTER, N.H. U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton backed elements of President Barack Obama’s strategy to fight Islamic State militants in a debate on Saturday, drawing criticism from all sides for saying “we now finally are where we n... More »
LOS ANGELES “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” collected a galactic $250 million of global ticket sales through Friday and headed toward a historic opening weekend in the United States and Canada as fans around the world reveled in the return of the beloved space ... More »
MACAU Top Republican Party donor Sheldon Adelson said on Friday he met presidential candidate Donald Trump earlier this week and that the two American billionaires broached the issue at the heart of Adelson’s political agenda: support for Israel. While the meg... More »
HOUSTON Sound, image and digital art installations collide in Houston this weekend for the Day for Night Festival, which brings together music giants including Kendrick Lamar and visual artists such as Casey Reas. Walls of light, animations projected onto buil... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders regained access to crucial voter files on Friday after taking the Democratic National Committee to court and accusing party leaders of trying to undermine his White House bid and help rival Hilla... More »
U.S. and Cuban officials said on Wednesday they had made important headway in a months-long effort to restore scheduled flight service between the countries after half a century of confrontation. An agreement would pave the way for U.S. airlines to schedule fl... More »
LOS ANGELES As Disney reboots the much-loved “Star Wars” franchise with “The Force Awakens” this week, the absence of Luke Skywalker from the film’s marketing has been the subject of much speculation – and for good reason. Luke Skywalker has vanished. So opens... More »
ECONOMY, Pa. Investigators said on Monday that red balls had been placed in the eye sockets of a woman’s embalmed head found a year ago in a case that may be linked to a growing black market for body parts. Economy Borough Police Chief Michael O’Brien at a new... More »
CARACAS Venezuela’s opposition trounced the ruling Socialists on Sunday to win the legislature for the first time in 16 years and gain a long-sought platform to challenge President Nicolas Maduro’s rule of the OPEC nation. The opposition Democratic Unity coali... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Sunday laid out the most sweeping defense yet of his strategy to defeat Islamic State, but he offered no U.S. policy shift to confront what he called a “new phase” in the terrorist threat after a mass shooting in California... More »
TOKYO Fifty individual shareholders of Toshiba Corp sued the Japanese conglomerate in Tokyo on Monday, seeking 301.99 million yen ($2.45 million) in damages after the firm’s stock plunged in the wake of a multi-billion dollar accounting scandal. The lawsuit ag... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to review the K-1 fiance visa program that was used by a couple responsible for a mass shooting in California, a White House official said on Sunday. ... More »
PARIS Irish rock band U2 paid tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks on their return on Sunday to France, where two concerts had been canceled following the shootings. But Eagles of Death Metal did not make a rumored appearance with U2. The U2 Paris conce... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Florida on Sunday, sending a long-awaited Orbital ATK cargo ship on its way to the International Space Station for NASA. The Atlas 5, built and flown by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a partnershi... More »
A drum kit played by Ringo Starr on recordings of some of the Beatles’ early hits has been purchased by the owner of a National Football League team for $2.2 million, according to the U.S. auction house that managed the sale. Starr used the Ludwig Oyster Black... More »
Robert Loggia, the gravelly voiced character actor who danced with Tom Hanks on a giant floor keyboard in “Big,” fought aliens in “Independence Day” and trafficked in drugs in “Scarface,” died on Friday at age 85, his widow said. Loggia, who was nominated for ... More »
BANGUI Pope Francis ventured into one of the world’s most dangerous neighbourhoods on Monday to beg Christians and Muslims to end a spiral of hate, vendetta and bloodshed that has killed thousands over the past three years. Under intense security, Francis pass... More »
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE Almost a year after students ended pro-democracy street protests in Hong Kong, they face an online battle against what Western security experts say are China-sponsored hackers using techniques rarely seen elsewhere. Hackers have expanded th... More »
TOKYO An award-winning Japanese manga artist, whose retellings of traditional ghost stories and depictions of the horrors of World War Two helped propel anime to global popularity, died on Monday at the age of 93. Shigeru Mizuki, a beloved household name in Ja... More »
SAO PAULO The reliance of Brazil’s Grupo BTG Pactual SA on market funding may pose an immediate challenge for new boss Persio Arida, who sought to calm clients on Friday after its shares fell for a third straight day. The São Paulo-based investment bank tapped... More »
JERUSALEM The Palestinian National Theatre, for three decades the leading performing arts and cultural centre for Arabs in Jerusalem, is facing potential closure after running up large municipal debts, its director said on Friday. Known as “Al Hakawati” (The S... More »
ROME Five frescoed stone slabs stolen from a tomb in the ancient city of Paestum and trafficked by a notorious artifact smuggler went on display in Italy on Thursday after a 10-year investigation. Police were led to the pieces, all dating from around 400 BC, a... More »
NAIROBI “I have lost a lot of people I knew to crime,” says George Kiru, nursing a drink at 2 in the morning in a bar on the edge of Nairobi’s Korogocho slum. Music blares as he lists childhood friends who joined gangs, many of them now dead or in jail. “Perso... More »
COGNAC, France France’s centuries-old cognac houses are raising their bets on the U.S. market with new products and campaigns to broaden the drink’s appeal beyond its African American stronghold. The big four producers — LVMH Moet Hennessy (LVMH.PA), Remy Coin... More »
BERLIN Germany withdrew its contender for next year’s Eurovision song contest on Saturday following a backlash from critics who accuse the R&B artist of using anti-Semitic and homophobic slurs in his songs. Xavier Naidoo, a singer of Indian and African heritag... More »
HOUSTON Houston-area police have arrested a man dubbed the “Cookie Monster” robber who is suspected in holdups at more than 30 fast-food restaurants, often demanding that a cookie be handed over along with the cash, authorities said on Friday. Eugene Bradshaw,... More »
PARIS/BRUSSELS French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Sunday as police in Europe widened their investigations into coordinated attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday’s suicid... More »
PARIS French police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across the country overnight in the aftermath of the Paris shootings, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday as he warned of potential further attacks. Valls said that since this summe... More »
BELEK, Turkey Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he wanted Britain to carry out air strikes against Islamic State militants (ISIL) in Syria but still needed to convince more lawmakers to back such action. “I have always said I think that it is sensibl... More »
SYDNEY/TOKYO/PARIS/NEW YORK Stocks in major markets are set for a short-term sell-off on Monday after suspected Islamist militants launched coordinated attacks across Paris that killed more than 130 people, but few strategists expect a prolonged economic impac... More »
LOS ANGELES While heroine Katniss Everdeen leads a rebellion in the final “Hunger Games” movie, the actress who brought the character to life, Jennifer Lawrence, is coming into her own in a business dominated by men. With an Oscar and a number of hit films to ... More »
WASHINGTON/DES MOINES, Iowa The lethal attacks in Paris have the potential to reshape the U.S. presidential race, placing a new emphasis on issues of national security, border control, and counterterrorism, while perhaps bolstering candidates who talk toughest... More »
LOS ANGELES The California-based rock band Eagles of Death Metal was in the midst of a European tour, promoting its fourth album release, when the musicians found themselves caught up in a terror attack at the Paris concert hall where they had begun to perform... More »
LOS ANGELES Pauley Perrette, an actress on the popular U.S. television show “NCIS,” was attacked in Los Angeles by a homeless man who punched her repeatedly in the face and made her fear for her life, she said in a social media post. A man has been arrested in... More »
LOS ANGELES El Nino’s warm currents have brought fish in an unexpected spectrum of shapes and colors from Mexican waters to the ocean off California’s coast, thrilling scientists with the sight of bright tropical species and giving anglers the chance of a once... More »
Viacom Inc (VIAB.O), the owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue on Thursday, although declines in ad sales for its U.S. cable TV business were not as steep as analysts had anticipated. Chief Executive Offi... More »
NEW YORK A Modigliani nude painting was sold to an unnamed Chinese buyer at Christie’s on Monday for $170.4 million, the second-highest price ever for a work of art at auction, as deep-pocketed collectors continue to pay, and pay big, for some rare masterpiece... More »
BALTIMOREFor many who knew Ben Carson in Baltimore, his U.S. presidential candidacy comes as a surprise. Over more than three decades as a Baltimore resident ending in 2013, Carson – now a front-runner in the race for the Republican Party nomination – rarely s... More »
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc said on Sunday it had closed all its restaurants in two West Coast markets due to a reported outbreak of E. coli bacteria that is being investigated by the company and health authorities. “After being notified by... More »
OSLO Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber, who made a triumphant return to the European stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan on Sunday, abruptly canceled his concert in Oslo on Thursday night after performing just one song. The singer, who found fame at ... More »
(This October 28 story has been corrected in 13th paragraph to fix 100 mph metric conversion to 160 kph from 60kph) By Joe McDonald and Phil Stewart EXCHANGE, Pa./WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A high-tech U.S. military blimp designed to detect a missile attack came l... More »
GUATEMALA CITY Jimmy Morales, a former TV comedian who has never held office, swept to power in Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday after milking public anger over a corruption scandal that deepened distrust of the country’s political establishment. Th... More »
Maureen O’Hara, the flame-haired Irish-American actress known for playing feisty women in classics like “How Green Was My Valley” and “Miracle on 34th Street” as well as her on-screen chemistry with John Wayne, died on Saturday of natural causes at the age of ... More »
NEW YORK Two more women accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct on Friday, and their attorney Gloria Allred said she has been contacted by even more women who are prepared to say the same. The two women join more than 50 who have come forward to accus... More »
WASHINGTON The howler monkeys whose guttural calls reverberate through Central and South American rainforests possess a secret that the males of the species may prefer to be left unrevealed. Howler monkeys make among the loudest, deepest sounds of any land ani... More »
