As more cases of swine flu are reported in various parts of the world, governments and health officials have scrambled to take precautions to prevent the outbreak from entering their borders. The World Health Organization urged countries worldwide to look out for "unusual" outbreaks of flu following an emergency meeting. It said it will decide on Tuesday whether to raise the pandemic alert level. The following is sample of what some countries are doing to combat the outbreak: CANADA Cases: ...

Health officials around the world worked to contain what appears to be a spreading swine flu outbreak early Monday, while one out of every five residents of Mexico's most populous city wore masks to protect themselves against the virus. Mexico seems to be the epicenter of the outbreak, where as many as 103 deaths are thought to have been caused by swine flu, the country's health minister said. An additional 1,614 reported cases have been reported in the country. So ...

World number one Serena Williams has suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the Andalucia Open in Marbella, Spain, losing in three sets to little-known Czech Klara Zakopalova. The American, playing her first clay-court match of the season, was beaten 6-4 3-6 6-1 by her world ranked No.95 opponent. The 26-year-old Zakopalova, had only won two matches in 2009 before this week and she went into Wednesday's encounter having lost both of her previous meetings with Williams, failing ...

Czech football is in turmoil after national coach Petr Rada was sacked on Wednesday and six star players given indefinite suspensions for a "breach of discipline." Rada, who took over from veteran Karel Bruckner last July, pays the price for poor results in World Cup qualifying, the latest a 2-1 defeat to neighboring Slovakia in Prague. It left the Czechs in fourth in European Group 3 with eight points from six game and trailing surprise leaders Northern Ireland by ...

Turkish authorities have released a Syrian man who was arrested last week in connection with an alleged plan to kill President Obama, a senior U.S. official said. The official said that although U.S. authorities take all threats seriously, they do not believe that the president's life was ever in serious danger. Details concerning the man's release were not immediately available. The alleged plot was first reported by the Saudi Arabian newspaper al-Watan, which revealed that Turkish security services arrested a ...

President Obama made an unannounced visit to Iraq Tuesday. The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, met Obama shortly after Air Force One landed in Baghdad about 4:42 p.m. local time (9:42 a.m. ET). Obama chose to visit Iraq rather than Afghanistan because of its proximity to Turkey, which Obama just visited, said Robert Gibbs, the president's spokesman. In addition, Obama wanted to discuss Iraq's political situation with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal ...

The Berlin Wall came down 20 years ago and in that time the world game has opened its arms to a tidal wave of talent from behind the former Iron Curtain. Here, Football Fanzone picks the 11 finest footballers to emerge from the old Eastern Bloc since 1989. Let us know what you think of our selection in the Sound Off box below. 1 Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic) Nedved, who has announced his retirement at the end of ...

The conflict in Afghanistan and NATO's relationship with Russia will top the agenda at a summit meeting starting Friday marking the military alliance's 60th anniversary, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told CNN. U.S. President Barack Obama, continuing his first overseas trip in office, arrived in Strasbourg Friday for two days of talks to be co-hosted by the German town of Kehl on the opposite bank of the River Rhine. Obama met French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier Friday for talks ...

A European vacation it is not. Over the next week, President Barack Obama will board his plane anew nearly every day so that he can attend individual meetings with at least 17 political leaders from 11 nations, and appear at summits and forums in five countries to discuss international economic recovery, national security, cyber threats and global warming. He will have tea with a Queen , a private chat with a King , and convene a round table with students ...

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 ...