International

In 1510, Pope Leo X thanked Divine Providence for having preserved the Maronite Christians through the hardest of times, "planted among infidels, schismatics and heretics as in a field of error".

Gunmen attacked U.S. consulate offices in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday, and fought with security forces in protest against a U.S. film they say is blasphemous, a security official said.

At least four people were killed and dozens wounded on Tuesday in ground and aerial bombardments of one of the last rebel strongholds in the Syrian capital Damascus, opposition activists said.

Two bombs exploded simultaneously on Sunday night next to Syrian army compounds in the northern city of Aleppo, killing and wounding scores of President Bashar al-Assad's forces, residents and opposition activists said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged her support for Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann in the debate over the role of the European Central Bank (ECB), sources at a meeting of Merkel and leading German conservatives said on Wednesday.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos unveiled on Wednesday a six-man team to negotiate with Marxist FARC rebels in the hope of ending almost 50 years of war.

Iran could hit U.S. bases in the Middle East in response to any Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities even if American forces played no role in the attack, the leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said on Monday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron began a reshuffle of his cabinet on Tuesday that he hopes will tame rebellious politicians on his party's right and revive a recession-hit government suffering a mid-term drop in popularity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world powers on Sunday to set a "clear red line" for Tehran's atomic program that would convince Iran they were determined to prevent it from obtaining nuclear arms.

When Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the euro zone's finance ministers, arrived in Athens last week, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras ran down red-carpeted steps to envelope him in a warm embrace.