Venezuela says its oil reserves surpass Saudi Arabia's. Venezuela has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world leader in oil reserves with certified deposits leaping to 297 billion barrels at the end of 2010, President Hugo Chavez’s government said Saturday. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told Reuters that the new reserves, which pushed the total 41 percent higher than the previous year, were... 

Defiant: Alya Al-Safar, arrived at court with her hair on show. She said Al-Hakim, phoned her to tell her she must die for the shame she had brought on her family. A man threatened to kill his cousin and harm her family after she decided to stop wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf, a court has heard. Mohamed Al-Hakim, 29, allegedly phoned Alya Al-Safar to tell her she must die because of the ‘shame’... 

Amid the soaring tuition fees burdening British students, a new controversy has erupted, revealing that over £250 million of British taxpayers’ money is allocated annually to fund university education for students from other EU countries. This revelation has stirred public outcry, especially as domestic students are warned of graduating with substantial debts due to the impending tripling of... 

Counting the cost: Britain's £1trillion National Debt means it will pay interest of nearly £120million a day - more than the government spends on defence. Britain’s government debt smashed through £1 trillion ($1.59 trillion) for the first time yesterday – a staggering £40,000 per household. Campaigners branded the milestone ‘terrifying’ and warned that taxpayers will have to foot the... 

On U.S. soil: Chinese President Hu Jintao walks alongside U.S. Vice President Joe Biden upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting Hu on a full state visit. The Chinese president arrived in the United States on Tuesday to meet with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, in what is being billed as the most important visit of its kind in three decades. Chinese... 

Assault charges: David Gutierrez faces 56 years in jail if convicted of his crimes. A U.S. Air Force sergeant – accused of having unprotected sex with multiple partners at swinger parties, without telling them he is HIV-positive – faced three of his victims in a court martial hearing today. Tech Sergeant David Gutierrez, 43, is accused of violating military law by breaking a squadron commander’s... 

Soldiers patrolling Nigeria’s volatile central region received shoot-to-kill orders after a Christian mob killed a Muslim election worker and set his body on fire, an army spokesman said Tuesday. The death Monday in Jos, a flashpoint of religious tension between Nigeria’s two dominant religions, comes as technical problems continue to plague the nation’s effort to register 70 million... 

Money pit: A filmmaker has captured two women climbing the expensive U.S.-Mexico border fence in just 18 seconds. A fence that has been built to secure the U.S.-Mexico border has been shown to be useless, taking two women less than 18 seconds to climb. The border fence costs taxpayers millions of dollars but in a video shot by filmmaker Roy Germano for his documentary The Other Side Of Immigration,... 

Even though on January 17, 2011 China denied plans to send troops into North Korea, yesterday on January 18, 2011 China sent troops into North Korea. A contingent of Chinese troops has reportedly been stationed for a month in the economic zone of Rajin-Sonbong in northeast North Korea. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported a South Korean official as saying the People’s Liberation Army... 

Neil Abercrombie Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie suggested in an interview published today that a long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate for Barack Obama may not exist within the vital records maintained by the Hawaii Department of Health. Abercrombie told the Honolulu Star Advertiser he was searching within the Hawaii Department of Health to find definitive vital records that would prove Obama... 

Reports that the Arctic sunrise in Greenland arrived two-days early on January 11th has shocked scientists the world over as this historic event leaves many wondering if, in fact, the End of Days are now truly here. In a world where virtually nothing is a certainty (except death and taxes), the precession [a change in the orientation of the rotation axis of a rotating body] of the Earth in relation... 

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Kremlin in Moscow, December 13, 2010. Fatah official Nabil Sha’ath tells Al-Hayat newspaper that Dmitry Medvedev will affirm Soviet Union’s 1988 recognition of a Palestinian state during West Bank visit. Israeli officials fear that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will announce on Tuesday during a visit to Jericho that Russia recognizes a Palestinian... 

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cancelled an official visit to Israel this month due to a strike by Foreign Ministry staff. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits the Palestinian territories on a “historic” trip Tuesday as part of his Middle East tour. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes him in Jericho in the West Bank, where the two are expected to hold a joint press... 

The Fall of Labor Could Clear a Path for Attacking Iran. The splitting of the Labor Party, with Defense Minister Ehud Barak forming a new, more hawkish bloc and the less enthusiastic members likely moving into the opposition will remove from the Netanyahu government any pretense of being a “broad coalition” and will cement its right-far-right reputation at home and abroad. The fall of Labor can... 

The French government and the automaker Renault SA are trying to avert a standoff with Beijing over reports that a Chinese industrial espionage ring stole details of Renault’s electric vehicle technology. The carmaker suspended three executives Jan. 3 on suspicion of involvement in leaking information. It filed a criminal complaint on Thursday, alleging that it was the victim of “organized...