Human rights campaigners in Kenya have accused police of carrying out hundreds of extrajudicial executions during an operation against the Mungiki criminal sect. A shadowy and fractured quasi-religious movement, the Mungiki were blamed for a string of grisly murders earlier this year. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights , an independent body set up by an act of Parliament, says it has evidence that almost 500 suspects were shot and their bodies dumped during the past five ...

Spare a thought for Jordan's King Abdullah as he visits Washington this week, complaining of the dire consequences of the failure of his Israeli neighbor to make peace with the Palestinians: it's not easy being a monarch in a Middle East buffeted by the democratic winds of the Arab Spring, and even less so when your country is wracked with rising tensions between its indigenous Bedouins and Palestinians who comprise as much as half of the population. ...

A day after President Barack Obama publicly endorsed India's claim to a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley poured cold water on any expectation of New Delhi's elevation anytime soon. "It is inconceivable that you could contemplate U.N. Security Council reform without considering a country like India," Crowley said Tuesday. "But we have to recognize ... this is a process that has been going on for some time, and it ...

Considering how closely tied their histories have been, the Taliban in Afghanistan have yet to release a statement on the death of Osama bin Laden. The group isn't being uncommunicative; it just doesn't quite know what to say for now. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told TIME: "We have not received any word from our leadership on Osama's death. I can't confirm that he is dead or alive. Because of some security problems, the Taliban has not had ...

In early March, Barack and Michelle Obama appeared in an exclusive Facebook video from the White House. The topic was bullying prevention, and it was by far the highest profile in the series of online conversations the social-media behemoth has produced with various members of Congress and federal and state officials in recent months. "You can participate in the conversation online," the President said, "right here on Facebook." That endorsement is one of the most provocative examples of ...

14 Killed on Sports Field in Honduras Gunmen opened fire on a group of people on a neighborhood sports field in northern Honduras and killed at least 14, the authorities said Saturday. "Ten were killed on the field and four more died on their way to the hospital, Leonel Sauceda, a spokesman for Honduras' Security Ministry, said. The gunmen arrived in two vehicles and started shooting at a group that was preparing for a soccer match in San Pedro Sula, a major hub ...

A former "enemy combatant" who was held in a South Carolina Naval brig for six years with no charges was sentenced Thursday to eight years and four months in prison, a Justice Department spokesman said.The 73-year-old bridge spans the San Francisco Bay and carries an average of 280,000 vehicles daily, according to the state transportation department. In the wake of the bridge's closing, commuters flocked to the Bay Area's rail system as an alternative. On Wednesday, Bay Area Rapid ...

A rising Canadian folk singer was killed by coyotes this week in a national park in Nova Scotia, a park spokesman said Thursday.

China is preparing to launch a trade investigation into whether US carmakers are being unfairly subsidised by the US government, according to people familiar with the matter."I looked outside of the gym and I saw 12 to 15 guys, sitting there, with no IDs," Baker said at the hearing. "The officers -- not only did they not check the IDs of those students or men sitting outside of of our campus, but the security officers who are employed here did ...

The Internet's most popular search engine should get smarter about music, as Google updates the algorithms that power its searches this week, a company spokesman said."It wasn't really like going to the movies, it was more of going to a V.I.P. behind the scenes Michael Jackson concert," Gross said in his review. "There really is nothing to compare this to!" The film will show in 99 countries, and early reports from overseas territories show strong late show and early matinee ...