In forested hills in eastern Congo, rebels are honing their ambush skills to prepare to face a new United Nations force which has a mandate to go on the offensive.

The anti-European Union UK Independence Party made big gains in local elections on Friday, siphoning support from British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives in a vote that underlined the threat it poses to his re-election chances in 2015.

Don't look to Washington. The United States will remain the world's most powerful nation for years to come, but the Obama administration and U.S. lawmakers are now focused on debt, immigration, guns and growth.

This is a critical week for the world economy and financial markets, especially in the United States. Friday's U.S. employment report will signal either a renewal of the economic recovery or, much more likely, will confirm that the economy is sinking into another seasonal “soft patch” for the fourth time in four years.

U.S. President Barack Obama reminded the world on Thursday of the lofty goal set early in his presidency to double American exports over five years. It looks like he won't deliver.

Shinzo Abe makes no secret of wanting to revise Japan's constitution, which was drafted by the United States after World War Two, to formalize the country's right to have a military — but critics say his plans go deeper and could return Japan to its socially conservative, authoritarian past.

At his news conference on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama for the first time in years spoke about the controversial detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which he had promised to close when he first took office.

If there are two words that tense the jaws of European policymakers and prompt a concerned sucking of teeth, they are treaty change.

The victory in Iceland's election of parties who would spurn the European Union may keep the country isolated by cementing damaging currency controls in place.

Israel risks a loss of credibility over both its “red line” for Iran's nuclear program and its threat of military action, and its room for unilateral maneuver is shrinking.