UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States is focusing its efforts on defeating Islamic State militants wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria but has not changed its position that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations ...

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. writers captured only two of the six places on the Man Booker Prize 2014 shortlist announced on Tuesday, easing traditionalists' fears that Americans would dominate the contest now it is open for the first time to all authors writing in ...

MAIDUGURI Nigeria (Reuters) - Islamist Boko Haram insurgents have overrun much of a north-eastern Nigerian town after hours of fighting that has killed scores and displaced thousands of residents, several security sources said on Tuesday. The Islamists ...

By Sonali Paul. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Top global miner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote)(BLT.L: Quote) will spin off a roughly $16 billion company to shareholders, mostly offloading assets acquired in its 2001 merger with Billiton, as it looks to focus on its ...

BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed overnight and Tuesday morning in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi during heavy clashes involving war planes and rockets between government special forces and Islamist fighters, medical sources ...

By Mike Collett. RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Argentina and Germany have appeared collectively in nine previous World Cup finals and two against each other. The South Americans beat West Germany to win the 1986 World Cup before the Europeans ...

By Mirwais Harooni and Maria Golovnina. KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah's camp rejected preliminary results of last month's run-off election on Monday as a "coup" against the people, putting him on a dangerous collision ...

(Reuters) - Google Inc on Thursday reversed its decision to remove several links to stories in Britain's Guardian newspaper, underscoring the difficulty the search engine is having implementing Europe's "right to be forgotten" ruling. The Guardian protested the ...

By Michael Roddy. LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Murray's defeat at Wimbledon on Wednesday should have come as no surprise, according to a new IBM system that claims the Briton was a less aggressive player than opponent Grigor Dimitrov. Computer giant ...

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday to encourage separatists in eastern Ukraine to reach an agreement with the Ukrainian authorities, the French ...

By Ian Ransom. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Teenager Nick Kyrgios's ranking is not the only thing that will soar after his electrifying run at Wimbledon. The Australian's brand has also shot into the stratosphere, according to marketing experts. An exhausted ...

By Ian Ransom. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Teenager Nick Kyrgios's ranking is not the only thing that will soar after his electrifying run at Wimbledon. The Australian's brand has also shot into the stratosphere, according to marketing experts. An exhausted ...

By Ian Ransom. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Teenager Nick Kyrgios's ranking is not the only thing that will soar after his electrifying run at Wimbledon. The Australian's brand has also shot into the stratosphere, according to marketing experts. An exhausted ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. soul singer and songwriter Bobby Womack has died, his publicist said on Friday. He was 70. Womack, who rose within the gospel music community in the 1950s, became a key figure in the R&B genre, and is best known for hits ...

By Kayon Raynor. KINGSTON (Reuters) - Six time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt has made himself available for the Jamaican relay teams at next month's Commonwealth Games, providing organizers with a potential boost for the multi-sport event's profile.

By Martyn Herman. LONDON (Reuters) - World number one Rafael Nadal pulled back from the abyss to reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday just when it looked as though bogeyman Lukas Rosol had returned to haunt him. Two years after being ...

By William Schomberg and Mike Collett. RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Soccer's governing body FIFA has not yet decided whether to expel Uruguay striker Luis Suarez from the World Cup for biting an opponent with deliberations set to continue on Thursday.

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Fighting flared between Ukrainian and pro-Moscow separatist forces, both sides reported on Sunday, further straining a unilateral ceasefire declared by Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin pressed Kiev to talk to the rebels.

By Steve Ginsburg. SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Moments after the San Antonio Spurs completed their demolition of the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, speculation about whether the LeBron James-led Big Three would stay in South Florida kicked into high gear.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Argentina led Bosnia 1-0 at halftime in their World Cup Group F match on Sunday thanks to a third-minute own goal by Bosnia defender Sead Kolasinac. The fastest own goal in World Cup finals history came when Kolasinac ...