Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to announce on Thursday an assistance package in the "tens of millions" of dollars for the Syrian opposition when he meets with them in Rome, according to two Obama administration officials.

Since early February tens of thousands of people have occupied an intersection of Bangladesh's capital every day, but unlike Tahrir Square and Occupy Wall Street, they're not calling for the overthrow of the government or greater economic equality.

Don't expect a lot of shuffleboard games for the soon-to-be former Bishop of Rome, Successor of St. Peter, Head of the College of Bishops, Vicar of Christ, and Pastor of the Universal Church: Pope Benedict XVI.

Militants shot dead 17 people overnight, including 10 local Police officers, as the victims slept, in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

A surfer in New Zealand died Wednesday after he was attacked by a great white shark on the country's west coast, authorities said.

Japan will never stop its annual hunt for whales, a government minister has reportedly said, amid recent clashes on the high seas between environmental activists and Japanese whaling ships.

Big parts are coming off a former U.S. Navy minesweeper that became stuck on a Philippine reef in January.

Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman and three members of the famed Harlem Globetrotters arrived in North Korea Tuesday to "entertain and inspire" with their basketball skills while they film a TV show.

On the subject of Silvio Berlusconi Italians and non-Italians are, to paraphrase George Bernard-Shaw's famous quip about Britain and America, divided by a common political language.

In front of rapt crowds, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about moments of joy and struggle Wednesday as he delivered his final public address in St. Peter's Square.

The Obama administration is moving toward increasing aid to the Syrian opposition, including providing nonlethal military equipment and possibly strategic military training, sources told CNN Tuesday.

A gunman killed two people and himself in a shooting at a lumber plant near the central Swiss city of Lucerne on Wednesday, local media reported.

An official investigation into the cause of a balloon accident that killed 19 people in Egypt could take two weeks, the governor of Luxor province said Wednesday.

Six world powers and Iran have concluded a second round of talks over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, agreeing to hold "expert-level" consultations in Turkey on a yet undetermined date, Iran's state-run Press TV reported.

More than 26,000 people have gone missing in Mexico over the past six years as violence surged and the country's government cracked down on drug cartels.

An Egyptian court ordered authorities Tuesday to destroy tunnels between the country and Gaza -- the latest sign of a crackdown on underground smuggling networks.

It was the trip of their dreams: to tour South America riding their bicycles. Jamie Neal and Garret Hand, a couple from the San Francisco area, left last November and began chronicling their trip on social media.

The Syrian National Coalition -- the principal opposition group battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad -- has changed its position and will attend an international meeting this week in Rome focused on the Syrian crisis, the coalition's leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib announced Monday on Facebook.

Health workers administering polio vaccinations to children came under attack in northern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing their police escort, authorities said.

Frostbite has forced British adventurer Ranulph Fiennes to quit his attempt to cross the Antarctic in winter -- a challenge his team regarded as the coldest journey on earth.