Americas

Field opens up as Perry loses lead in race for US presidency

Monday, 26 September 2011

The question of which Republican will face Barack Obama in next year's presidential election has been blown wide open, after grassroots activists dealt a straw-poll defeat to the frontrunner Rick Perry and major donors trawled for a new heavyweight candidate to enter the race.

Hundreds march in protest against Wall Street greed

Monday, 26 September 2011

At least 80 people were arrested in New York over the weekend as hundreds marched through the Lower Manhattan financial district in protest against bank bailouts and corporate greed on Wall Street.

US hikers finally leave Iran after two-year ordeal

Monday, 26 September 2011

The American hikers accused of espionage and imprisoned in Iran made an emotional homecoming yesterday, and spoke for the first time of living "in a world of lies and false hope".

Tee for two: Obama and Clinton's green credentials

Monday, 26 September 2011

President Barack Obama held a rare four-hour meeting at the weekend with Bill Clinton, his Democratic predecessor in the White House. The encounter took place not in the Oval Office or some stuffy conference centre, but at that most beloved of presidential escapes, the golf course.

Tribal protesters seize Bolivia's Foreign Minister

Monday, 26 September 2011

The Bolivian President Evo Morales's battle with indigenous tribes opposing his plans for a motorway through their Amazon reserve descended into chaos as women took one of his senior ministers hostage.

Jellyfish stings halt swim from Cuba

Monday, 26 September 2011

The endurance athlete Diana Nyad abandoned her attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida yesterday with her face and body swollen from jellyfish stings. Doctors warned that another sting could be fatal.

The debris has landed, says Nasa. Just don't ask us where

Sunday, 25 September 2011

A six-ton satellite belonging to Nasa plunged to Earth early yesterday, yet more than eight hours later US space officials still didn't know where it had come down.

Jury selected for Jackson doctor's trial

Saturday, 24 September 2011

A 12-person jury was selected yesterday to hear the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's former doctor in a process one prosecutor likened to "speed dating."

Texas ends the tradition of allowing death-row inmates final meal choice

Saturday, 24 September 2011

Some have chosen lobster tails, others went for strawberries and whipped cream.

Jaycee Lee Dugard to sue government for neglect

Saturday, 24 September 2011

Jaycee Lee Dugard, the schoolgirl who was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years, has filed a lawsuit against the US government alleging that her ordeal was the direct result of shoddy oversight by federal parole officers.

Republican leaders clash over credibility

Saturday, 24 September 2011

Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry accused each other in a debate of contradicting themselves on issues such as healthcare and social security retirement benefits.

Hugo Chavez completes chemotherapy round

Friday, 23 September 2011

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said he has completed chemotherapy.

Prisons end last meal requests

Friday, 23 September 2011

Texas prison officials say they're stopping the practice of special last meals for inmates facing execution, after a state senator complained about an extensive request from a man involved in a notorious dragging death.

Oscar bosses to crack down on excessive movie campaigns

Friday, 23 September 2011

Adam Sherwin: Hollywood stars could be banned from socialising with each other before the Oscars under a crackdown on social events aimed at wooing voters before the Academy Awards ceremony.

News Corp faces US hacking lawsuit

Friday, 23 September 2011

American lawyers are set to launch action against News Corporation over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.

Troy Davis: One jury trial, two decades of argument, and all too much reasonable doubt

Friday, 23 September 2011

Guy Adams: Witnesses started to recant their trial testimony, saying they had been forced into giving it by police officers.

Click to watch video

Satellite heading for Earth (but the odds of survival are in your favour)

Friday, 23 September 2011

The chances may be extremely slim of anyone being struck by the remnants of a six-tonne US satellite expected to crash to Earth today, but there is at least one precedent for such an unfortunate occurrence.

Truth commission to tackle Brazil's dark past

Friday, 23 September 2011

The lower house of Congress has approved the creation of a "truth commission" charged with investigating human rights abuses, including those committed during the 1964-85 military dictatorship.

Santorum asks Google to clean up web search

Friday, 23 September 2011

Some people inherit embarrassing surnames; women often pick them up when they marry. And then there's Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who is pleading with Google to remove a reference to his name from internet searches.

Click to watch video

Troy Davis executed after appeals fail

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Guy Adams: The case has drawn worldwide support over death row inmate's claims of innocence.

Fed splits over $400bn stimulus for US economy

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Stephen Foley: The Federal Reserve launched a bigger-than-expected effort to stoke the ailing US economic recovery last night, aiming to screw down long-term interest rates including mortgage rates.

White House acts over muffin-gate

Thursday, 22 September 2011

The Obama administration reacted to reports of 16 US dollar muffins served at Justice Department conferences by ordering agencies to review the spending of taxpayer dollars at such meetings.

Video: Colombian police stage cocaine raids

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Police in Colombia and Mexico have struck out in a series of raids against the cocaine trade.

Obama calls for peace talks but reaffirms US support for Israel

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Rupert Cornwell: President seeks to persuade Israeli and Palestinian leaders to re-start direct negotiations – and thus blunt the Palestinian bid for full UN membership that Washington has vowed to veto.

US to expand drone hits with secret new bases

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Daniel Howden: 'Ring of steel' around terror groups revealed in leaked cables.