One down, one to go. A robust rescue package for Greece suddenly seemed a reality on Friday after Germany caved in to France and the European Central Bank by abandoning their demand to roll over Greek debt maturities. Details remain to be finalized on the Franco-Germany deal, but even as the Euro zone's two biggest economies reached agreement, a major obstacle remains — whether the Greek government can survive a vote of confidence next week following this ...

Planet hunting is by far the hottest area of astronomy these days, and just about everyone who's in on the search is looking for the same thing: a distant world where life could exist, at least in theory. That means a world more or less the size of Earth, orbiting its parent star in the habitable zone — the location, just the right distance away from its sun's heat, where water can exist in liquid form. Size ...

From the battlefields along the Demilitarized Zone to the fearful capital of Saigon and southward, the allies last week were nearly everywhere on the military and political defensive, waiting uncertainly for the Communists' next blow and by no means confident that it could be wholly blunted. A full 25 days after the Communists first launched their general offensive, South Viet Nam was still a country taut with terror and riven by fire. In Hu, South Vietnamese and U.S. Marines were ...

Almost 10 years ago, Osama bin Laden ghosted away from the Afghan battlefields. Since then, it is as if the doomsday sheikh had slipped into a twilight zone where the only proof that he was alive was the chilling voice on a spool of tape, the occasional video image — and a string of terrorist outrages and wars lengthening around the globe that claim inspiration from him and his cause. At 11:35 p.m. on May 1, ...

East Libya's rebels are fighters, but they're not an army. As forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi continue to rain Grad missiles and tank shells on rebel positions about 10 km north of Ajdabiyah, most of the rebel fighters seem less than willing to charge forward, despite the frantic urging of some of their peers. "Move! Move, everyone!" shouts a volunteer fighter standing on the roof of a car several kilometers from the battle zone, where ...

As the G-8 leaders and the U.N. Security Council continued debating a no-fly zone over Libya on Tuesday, the country's capital erupted in wild celebrations after reports that Muammar Gaddafi's forces had retaken the crucial rebel-held town of Ajdabiyah — the last major obstacle on the road to the rebel capital of Benghazi. The question that may soon face the international community is, What if Gaddafi manages to put down the rebellion and survive in power? ...

Sri Lankan military authorities predicted a swift end to the country's 25-year civil war after tens of thousands of civilians who had been trapped in a narrow combat zone in the country's north for over two months escaped the iron grip of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on April 20. But more fighting is in store before that end can be reached. It will take weeks, if not longer, to capture or kill the over 500 hardcore Tigers ...