World

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The Pentagon yesterday lifted a longtime ban on women serving in front-line combat positions, taking a historic step toward gender equality in the U.S.

UNITED NATIONS,  (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council has given a green light for peacekeepers to use surveillance drones in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after weeks of delay over concerns of Russia, China and Rwanda about the use of aerial spy equipment.

OTTAWA,  (Reuters) – Canadian native leaders vowed yesterday to carry on the fight for better living conditions as a chief at the center of a simmering aboriginal protest movement ended her six-week hunger strike.

(Reuters) – People seeking to get a tattoo should be picky about the parlor they have them done at, U.S.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Spain’s influential El Pais newspaper withdrew what it said was “false photo of Hugo Chavez” that it had published in its on-line and print editions yesterday.

RIO DE JANEIRO,  (Reuters) – After years of gains against destruction of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil appears to be suffering from an increase in deforestation as farmers, loggers, miners and builders move into previously untouched woodland, according to data compiled by the government and independent researchers.

UNITED NATIONS,  (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council has given a green light for peacekeepers to use surveillance drones in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after weeks of delay over concerns of Russia, China and Rwanda about the use of aerial spy equipment.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The U.S. military will formally end its ban on women serving in frontline combat roles, officials said yesterday, in a move that could open thousands of fighting jobs to female service members for the first time.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday forcefully defended her handling of the Sept.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – Leading judges and jurists from around the world, many from developing countries, yesterday condemned the Sri Lankan government’s sacking of the country’s chief justice, arguing it violated international law.

AMMAN,  (Reuters) – Around 20,000 Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring Jordan in the last seven days due to escalating violence in southern Syria, the fastest influx since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad two years ago, Jordan’s foreign minister said yesterday.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a vote on quitting the European Union, rattling London’s biggest allies and some investors by raising the prospect of uncertainty and upheaval.

Tegucigalpa, (Reuters) – Honduras’ Congress on Tuesday approved a measure that allows senior political officials including the president to be prosecuted and removed from office, lawmakers said.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman stepped behind the camera for his directing debut with the British film “Quartet” about a group of retired opera singers.

(Reuters) – Never mind President Barack Obama’s inauguration address or what Michelle Obama was wearing at the ball.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift the military’s ban on women serving in combat, a move that could open thousands of front-line warfighting jobs to female service members, a senior U.S.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today angrily defended her handling of the Sept.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron promised today to give Britons a straight referendum choice on whether to stay in the European Union or leave, provided he wins an election in 2015.

JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel’s parliamentary election, shrugging off surprise losses to centre-left challengers and vowing yesterday to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

LA PAZ/CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez is undergoing physical therapy to hasten his return from Cuba after surgery there last month for the cancer jeopardizing his 14-year rule, Bolivian President Evo Morales said yesterday.