By Alexei Anishchuk and Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin defended Russia's treatment of homosexuals on Monday in Amsterdam, where 1,000 gay rights activists waved pink and orange balloons and blasted out dance music to press home their protest. Western nations need Russia for energy and as a market for exports but are [...]

DUBAI (Reuters) – A court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced a man to 10 months in jail on Monday after he tweeted details of the trial of his father and 93 other people accused of plotting to seize power in the Gulf Arab state, an Emirati activist said. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said last [...]

By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) – Acting President Nicolas Maduro may struggle to advance the late Hugo Chavez's socialist policies if he wins Venezuela's election on Sunday, lacking both his predecessor's iron grip on a disparate ruling coalition and the robust state finances that cemented his rule. Maduro holds a wide lead in opinion polls [...]

LONDON (AP) — Margaret Thatcher was not just a political titan, she was a cultural icon — skewered by comedians, transformed into a puppet and played to Oscar-winning perfection by Meryl Streep. Read more

By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) – Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87. Britain's only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led the [...]