Reuters - Russia and China vetoed on Saturday a U.N. resolution that backed an Arab plan calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit, stalling global efforts to end his bloody crackdown on unrest after hundreds were reported killed in the city of Homs.

Reuters - Tens of thousands of Russians defied bitter cold in Moscow on Saturday to demand fair elections in a march against Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, while supporters of the prime minister staged a rival rally drawing comparable numbers.

Reuters - A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Vancouver Island on Saturday, some 209 miles west of Victoria, the capital of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Reuters - Bitterly cold weather that has claimed hundreds of lives in eastern Europe swept westwards over the continent on Saturday, blanketing Rome's Colosseum with snow for the first time in three decades and disrupting air and rail traffic.

Reuters - Egypt's military faced pressure on Saturday to speed up its transfer of power to civilians, as top public figures demanded a faster transition and street protests against army rule disrupted the heart of Cairo for a third day.

Time.com - Friday night, Syrian security forces carried out what the opposition Syrian National Council called a "horrific massacre" targeting Homs in one of the worst in the 11-month uprising.

Reuters - The U.S. military, which is cutting its presence in Europe, plans to expand its training of European partners to cope with new threats posed by interlinked criminal and militant networks smuggling weapons and drugs, said the U.S. commander in Europe.

AP - Their kidnappers gave them tea and dried fruit, and talked about religion and tribal rights. The California women were allowed to bring their Egyptian tour guide with them. One even put out his cigarette in the car when a hostage said the smoke was bothering her.

AP - London's tabloids and British leaders are depicting Argentina as dangerous and belligerent 30 years after its invasion of the Falkland Islands. Argentines say Britain should consider its own history of waging war around the globe, and acknowledge that the islands and seas around them rightfully belong to Argentina.

Reuters - Libyan Sufis staged a joyous parade through the heart of Tripoli on Saturday to mark the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, defying radical Salafi Muslims pressuring them to scrap the centuries-old tradition.

Reuters - U.S. Senator John McCain warned China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun on Saturday that "the Arab Spring is coming to China" and highlighted the number of Tibetans burning themselves to death in his country.

Reuters - Canada's prime minister drew an apparent line in the sand on foreign takeovers on Friday, saying he wanted to see BlackBerry maker Research In Motion grow "as a Canadian company" and questioning whether hostile takeovers of key domestic firms are in the country's best interests.

Reuters - Growing speculation that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard could be dumped by her party before the end of the year forced senior ministers to rally behind her Friday after a disastrous start to 2012.

The Christian Science Monitor - With its initial public offering this week, Facebook is roaring ahead. However, new European Union privacy regulations are taking aim at Internet companies' ability to profit through control of personal information – the key to their tremendous online advertising profits. 

Time.com - Four more die in a day of violent clashes, as anger over alleged police complicity in a stadium tragedy unleashes pent-up frustrations

The Christian Science Monitor - In the good times he was the doyen of British banking. Wealthy and courted by decision makers and knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to his industry, Sir Fred Goodwin, head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), seemed invincible.