Costa Rican President Oscar Arias presented an updated proposal to end the Honduran political crisis, but its adoption seemed unlikely, as one side described the talks as "failed" and the other asked for more time. The document, dubbed the San Jose Accord, calls for ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya's return to power, the creation of a unity government and early elections. The accord is very similar to an original plan suggested by Arias but with more details and a ...

California's crisis continues while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders inch slowly toward agreement on the deep cuts necessary to close California's massive $26 billion budget shortfall. Now, even as the state continues to pay its bills with IOUs, the University of California, the nation's leading public university, is being forced to cut its budget by $813 million — or 20%. It is highly unlikely that these cuts will be reduced by a budget agreement in Sacramento. UC Berkeley ...

A second round of talks between two disputed governments of Honduras is scheduled to take place Saturday in Costa Rica The outcome of this weekend's talks, following an unproductive initial mediation last week, could set the tone for how the crisis, now in its third week, will play out, observers say. "If you take too long too resolve this type of issue, the force of the mediation loses clout," Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, said. Deposed ...

Since the earliest days of his Administration, President Barack Obama has sought to engage Iran's leaders in the search for diplomatic solutions to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program and other points of conflict. But in the days since protests exploded in the streets following the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, many U.S. observers have suggested that prospects for engagement and reconciliation have dimmed. Republicans and even centrist Democrats have pressured the Administration to take a harder ...

There are a number of ways to measure the financial turbulence of the past year: the billions of dollars in public funds used to prop up banks; the cliff-drop in exports from any major economy; or the latest unemployment report. Another way to judge the financial volatility of the past year is the ranking of the most expensive cities for expatriate employees to live. The 10 most expensive cities for expatriates -- according to a cost of living survey released ...

Under the white walls and blue-and-gold cupolas of the Sergiyev Posad monastery, the row of vendors selling nesting dolls and other traditional Russian handicrafts is noticeably shorter this summer. Usually the cheap folding tables, set up in a double row outside the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church, are surrounded by tourists snapping up the iconic egg-shaped souvenirs, made of smaller and smaller wooden dolls hidden one within the other. But on a recent Thursday afternoon, there were ...

The Organization of American States suspended Honduras late Saturday because the nation's new leaders refused to reinstate ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya. Zelaya was removed by the military on June 28 and flown to Costa Rica. Congressional leader Roberto Micheletti was sworn in as provisional president later that day. The OAS set a Saturday deadline for Honduras to return Zelaya to power or be suspended from the 35-nation hemispheric organization. Honduran officials told OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza on ...

Thousands of protesters demanding the return to power of ousted Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya pushed through riot police at Tegucigalpa's airport and surrounded the terminal Saturday, but there were no reports of violence. The airport continued to operate, CNN Correspondent Karl Penhaul reported. In Washington, the Organization of American States held an emergency meeting Saturday evening to discuss expelling Honduras from the 35-nation hemispheric organization. The OAS had given Honduras' new leaders until Saturday to reinstate Zelaya or be ...

The head of the Organization of American States said Friday he has found no willingness among leaders of Honduras' interim government to return President Jose Manuel Zelaya to power. "They have, for the moment, no intention of reversing the situation," Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza told reporters. He said he had reached that conclusion after speaking Friday with members of the Supreme Court, among others. Insulza also rejected assertions by the interim government that the change in leadership was not ...

With budget negotiations stalled, a cash crisis looming and its fiscal crisis deepening, California today will begin issuing IOUs — formally called registered warrants — to tens of thousands of businesses and individuals to whom the state owes money. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday declared a fiscal emergency and ordered a third unpaid furlough day each month for 235,000 state employees. California's fiscal crisis has been years in the making and will not be easy to fix. But ...