Latin America

The fate of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi remains up in the air after the United States and its allied partners began missile strikes over the weekend to impose a no-fly zone (NFZ) in the North African country.

Crowds have set fire to the courthouse and other buildings on a third straight day of demonstrations in the southern Syrian city of Daraa.

Libya’s government has announced it will halt all military operations in the country hours after the United Nations Security Council backed a no-fly zone over the country.

Palestinians are calling for boycotts against Israeli products and companies. But in the Gaza Strip — at the heart of the Israeli occupation — it is often impossible for residents to follow their own call to action.

Tensions are running high in Haiti as dueling campaigns for the presidency enter overdrive in their final days, and Jean- Bertrand Aristide, a popular former president, returns today from a seven-year exile in South Africa.

A global nuclear disaster potentially worse than Chernobyl may be underway in Japan as hundreds of tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel are open to the sky, and may be on fire and emitting radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

On the eve of President Barack Obama’s first-ever visit to South America, administration officials and independent analysts say that the emphasis throughout his five-day trip will be very much on the positive aspects and possibilities of U.S.-Latin American relations.

Also on Wednesday, a strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake was felt across large areas of eastern Japan, the U.S. Geological Survey said, with the force strong enough to sway buildings in the capital Tokyo.

Day five of Japan’s post-earthquake, post-tsunami life dawned dismally Tuesday, with soaring radiation levels from the Fukushima Daiichi power plants and a relentlessly rising death toll in the four worst-affected prefectures.