What can the first lady accomplish when she accompanies her husband on his first trip to Europe? She can play a role in the rebranding of America. President Obama has star power. We saw it when he traveled to Europe during the campaign. So does the first lady: When Michelle Obama accompanies her husband overseas this week for the G-20 summit, it's likely to double the wattage. "I believe in this nation. And I believe in my husband,'' the first ...

Remember the dire predictions surrounding the 'millennium bug?' The doom-and-gloom scenarios bandied about by security analysts on how computers could act when their clocks turned to January 1, 2000? Well, researchers are hoping that a potential April Fool's time bomb -- the Conficker.c that is supposed to hit computers on April 1 -- turns out to be equally unfounded. But realizing that hope alone is not a prudent option, here is a primer on the worm so you can adequately ...

Seven suspected pirates are in German custody after they fired on a naval tanker off the coast of Somalia and were pursued by warships, the German military said. Well, researchers are hoping that a potential April Fool's time bomb -- the Conficker.c that is supposed to hit computers on April 1 -- turns out to be equally unfounded. But realizing that hope alone is not a prudent option, here is a primer on the worm so you can adequately prepare ...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he is ready to work with U.S. President Barack Obama to overcome a recent low point in U.S.-Russian relations. The Russian leader, writing an op-ed in The Washington Post ahead of Thursday's G-20 summit in London, said he and Obama have exchanged letters this year that "showed mutual readiness to build mature bilateral relations in a pragmatic and business-like manner." Medvedev cited a number of possible areas of cooperation between the two countries, starting with ...

As Barack Obama takes off for his first overseas trip as president, a new national poll indicates that more than eight in 10 Americans think he will do a good job representing the United States to the world. And seven in 10 people questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Tuesday, believe that leaders of other countries respect Obama. That last figure is in sharp contrast with George W. Bush. At the start of his presidency in ...

Kaing Guek Eav on Tuesday expressed sorrow for his actions 30 years ago as a prison chief for the Khmer Rouge regime, as he stood before the tribunal trying him for alleged war crimes. He kept his emotions in check for the most part but cracked slightly during parts of his testimony. Earlier in the day, prosecutors continued to lay out their case against the 66-year-old former math teacher, who is better known as Duch. Once again, prosecutors stressed ...

Hundreds of people were feared dead on Tuesday after high winds and heavy seas capsized boats carrying African migrants heading for Europe off the coast of Libya. "A tragedy has happened off the Libyan coast with at least two boats going down ... with obviously hundreds of people going down at sea," Jean-Philippe Chauzy with the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, Switzerland, said Tuesday, citing diplomatic officials in Tripoli and Libyan officials. The vessels departed Sunday and were heading ...

Twenty-three pilgrims died and more than 70 were injured as a truck carrying them overturned in north India, police said Tuesday.

Fifteen employees were fired for improperly accessing medical records of Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets, a Kaiser Permanente spokesman said Monday. "We always provide training on the importance of patient privacy and confidentiality," said Jim Anderson, the hospital spokesman. "We knew from the time she (Nadya Suleman) was admitted to the hospital in December, this case would attract attention. "Numerous training sessions were held to remind people of the need to keep the information confidential." Eight other employees were ...

Asia's economic growth will tumble to the slowest pace since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released Tuesday. "The short term outlook for the region is bleak as the full impact of the severe recession in industrialized economies is transmitted to emerging markets," said Jong-Wha Lee, acting chief economist for the ADB. The Asian Development Outlook 2009 forecasts that economic growth in developing Asia will slip to 3.4 percent in 2009, down ...