A protester in protective mask holds a placard during an anti nuclear rally in Tokyo, Sunday, March 27, 2011. Leaked water in Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant measured 10 million times higher than usual radioactivity levels when the reactor is operating normally, Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Takashi Kurita told reporters in Tokyo. The placard has a message that reads "Don't spread... 

Germany's abstention runs counter to its allies. For the first time in post-war history, Germany has publicly taken a position contrary to virtually all of its major allies. The fallout of Berlin’s abstention from coalition operations in Libya could be far reaching. By abstaining from the UN Security Council vote to intervene in Libya, Germany has managed to position itself against both the United... 

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is fighting a war against his own people, and against NATO. This week, Brazil, Russia and China condemned the NATO strategy. Brazil joined its BRIC partners Russia and China in calling for an immediate cease fire in Libya. According to the Brazilian senate’s news agency on Friday, the Committee on External Relations and National Defense called for an immediate cease... 

Ground operation in Libya could start in April. The international coalition force is planning a ground operation in Libya that could start in late April, a high-ranking Russian intelligence service source said on Friday. “Information coming via different channels shows that NATO countries, with the active participation of Britain and the United States, are developing a plan for a ground operation... 

Protesters on the anti-cuts march at the rally in Hyde Park, London. These are the scenes in central London tonight as riot police struggle to control anti-capitalist protesters following the TUC’s national demonstration against the cuts. Violence broke out in iconic London locations after splinter groups of activists broke away from the main demonstration and spread out across the centre of... 

Madonna during a visit to Malawi in 2007. A high-profile charitable foundation set up to build a school for impoverished girls in Malawi, founded by the singer Madonna and fellow devotees of a prominent Jewish mysticism movement, has collapsed after spending $3.8 million on a project that never came to fruition. The board of directors of the organization, Raising Malawi, has been ousted and replaced... 

A shocking report written by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the meetings held between President Medvedev and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates this past week says that America’s war on Libya was “forced” onto it after French President Nicolas Sarkozy [photo top right with Libyan leader Gaddafi] threatened President Barack Obama with “total exposure” if the US didn’t attack. Upon... 

The Obama administration has begun examining whether it can make cuts to its nuclear weapons stockpiles that go beyond those outlined in a recent treaty with Russia. The classified review is not expected to be completed until late this year, but some Republicans already are worried that it will go too far. On Tuesday, 41 Republican senators warned Obama in a letter not to make major changes in nuclear... 

Jean-Marie Vianney Mudahinyuka, in the custody of Rwandan officers. A man going by the name of Thierry Rugamba reportedly immigrated to the United States in 2000, as a victim of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He settled in Bolingbrook, Illinois, where he worked at an African grocery. But all was not as it seemed with Thierry Rugamba, according to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. In 2004, he was identified... 

Joint Chief Vice Chairman Gen. James E. Cartwright, right, accompanied by Defense Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley, conduct a media briefing at the Pentagon to discuss the progress of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal implementation effort. Four branches of the military have begun sending training material to 2.2 million active and reserve troops... 

Gene Simmons condemned musicians who boycott Israel as ‘fools’. Kiss’ Israeli-born singer-musician Gene Simmons is shouting out loud at the string of musicians who refuse to perform in his homeland. “They’re fools,” the legendary bassist said in an interview on his first return to Israel since leaving the country as a child more than 50 years ago. Simmons described... 

The BBC's Lina Sinjab is one of the few journalists to reach Deraa. At least six people have died after security forces fired on protesters outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Deraa, human rights activists say. Hundreds of people had gathered in the streets outside the Omari mosque to prevent troops from storming it. The mosque has been the focus of anti-government demonstrations – at... 

Defiant: Colonel Gaddafi appeared on Libyan state TV to declare he is ready for a drawn-out conflict. Ministers admitted yesterday that they have no idea how long the military operation against Colonel Gaddafi could take. Asked for an estimate, Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said: ‘How long is a piece of string? We don’t know how long this is going to go on. ‘We don’t know... 

A French warplane has reportedly crashed in the Libyan city of Sirte, while the US-led coalition forces’ military operation intensifies the abject state in the African nation. The Libyan newspaper al-Watan reported Wednesday that Libyan forces shot down a French jet fighter which was bombing the city and detained its pilot. Sirte, some 600 kilometers east of the Libyan capital Tripoli is the... 

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul will be co-sponsoring an amendment announced Tuesday by Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich that would defund the American military intervention in Libya. Kucinich suggested during a Saturday conference call with anti-war Democrats that he thought impeachment could also be considered for Obama’s “unconstitutional” actions in Libya. Paul’s spokeswoman Rachel...