If you've had your fill of moonlit beach walks and peach-colored drinks, try something altogether different. I recently spoke with several couples whose idea of a passionate vacation involved less hand-holding and more giving a hand: they spent their vacation time volunteering. Jamie Cann and his wife, Mary, returned recently from a trip to Tanzania. Jamie spent his days in a home for orphans and vulnerable children, teaching English and playing soccer with the kids. Mary taught English and math ...

Alberto Contador wrested the overall lead in the Paris-Nice cycle race on Friday with a commanding victory on the testing sixth stage. Contador was always expected to make his move on the "mini-Ventoux" in a summit finish to the stage at La Montagne de Lur and did not disappoint. Germany's Jens Voigt made the early move on the 13.8 kilometer climb before Contador jumped out of a whittled down main group to turn the screw. The Astana rider quickly shrugged ...

As the economic tsunami continues to rage across the planet, the near universal refrain has been that joint action is needed to pull us out of the crisis. But when it comes to stimulus spending, the United States and Europe have taken different paths, jeopardizing hopes of a united front to combat the downturn. President Barack Obama this week urged the world's top economies to adopt aggressive, American-sized spending programs. "It's very important to make sure that other ...

David Beckham is a man who knows his own mind and has the courage of his convictions. And that's why, instead of heading back to LA to help revive the struggling Galaxy, he's fought tooth and nail to stay in Italy to pursue la dolce vita with AC Milan. The fact that his Italian swan song will be temporarily interrupted by a mandatory half season back in LA, starting in June, in no way disguising the fact that he is ...

"Why are you risking your life for a vacation?" a close friend gasped, aghast when I told her I planned to spend my post-election holiday in Cartagena, Colombia. In fact, few of my friends seemed to think it was a good idea: I couldn't convince any of them to share my rental house in the city's walled Old Town. If they had heard of Cartagena at all, it was only as the backdrop of the classic 1980s romantic caper Romancing ...

A chairlift broke on Monday morning, sending skiers into the snowy hillside at a ski resort in southern Spain, according to the Sierra Nevada resort. It was not immediately clear how President Joao Bernardo Vieira, 69, died. Prime Minister Carlos Gomes confirmed the death to CNN. Early Monday, gunfire and rocket explosions that lasted for about an hour were heard near the presidential palace in the capital, Bissau, according to local media. Looting was later reported at the presidential palace. ...

The incumbent Basque nationalists won the most seats in Basque regional parliamentary elections on Sunday, but they could lose a 29-year hold on power because three non-nationalist parties won a combined majority for the first time, according to official election results. The vote for the powerful 75-seat regional parliament and Basque president are seen as a bellwether of the region's sentiment on how to end decades of violence by the Basque separatist group ETA. The moderate Basque Nationalist Party won ...

Court hearings began Friday for 11 people, including two Spanish professional football players and a Serb-French football agent, who were arrested this week on charges of cocaine smuggling, a police source told CNN. The 11 are accused of taking advantage of their football contacts in Latin America, and their trips to the region, to organize the drug trafficking. Spanish police made the arrests on Thursday, mainly in Madrid, and seized 600 kilos (1,320 pounds) of cocaine they alleged had been ...

Title holders Manchester United are facing a "nightmare" injury crisis in central defense ahead of their Champions League San Siro showdown with Inter Milan on Tuesday. Manager Alex Ferguson revealed the extent of the problem of Saturday's 2-1 victory over Blackburn on Saturday which saw Jonny Evans aggravate an ankle problem. The Northern Ireland international was set to partner Rio Ferdinand for the match against the Italian champions with Serbian international Nemanja Vidic out through suspension while veteran Gary Neville ...

The woman who received the first-ever near-total face transplant in the United States told her doctor she has regained her self-confidence, said Dr. Maria Siemionow, head of plastic surgery research at the Cleveland Clinic and leader of the transplant team. The patient, who prefers to be anonymous, is finally able to breathe through her nose, smell, eat solid foods and drink out of a cup, Siemionow told participants of the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of ...