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SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba on Monday in the footsteps of his more famous predecessor, gently pressing the island's longtime communist leaders to push through "legitimate" reforms their people desire, while also criticizing the excesses of capitalism....

SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) -- This sun-scorched city is accustomed to playing second fiddle to Havana at the other end of Cuba. On Monday, though, Santiago came first as Pope Benedict XVI arrived, bringing the world's gaze with him....

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The leaders of South Korea, the United States and China are opening the main day of a nuclear security summit with stark warnings about the threat of nuclear terrorism....

NEW YORK (AP) -- The United States was the only Western democracy that executed prisoners last year, even as an increasing number of U.S. states are moving to abolish the death penalty, Amnesty International announced Monday....

NEW YORK (AP) -- A surge of executions last year in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen pushed the worldwide total higher than the year before, the global anti-death penalty group Amnesty International announced Monday....

TORONTO (AP) -- A ban on brothels puts prostitutes at risk and is unconstitutional, Ontario's top court ruled Monday, in a case that is expected to be appealed to Canada's top court and have ramifications for the country at large....

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) -- World leaders and international observers on Monday lauded Senegal's presidential runoff election, saying that the country's peaceful vote and its quick resolution provided hope in a region long beset by coups and strongman rule....

SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba on Monday in the footsteps of his more famous predecessor, saying he holds great affection for Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits and has heartfelt hopes for reconciliation....

MOSCOW (AP) -- Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria, said Monday there can be no deadline for ending the Syrian crisis but it's urgent to move ahead quickly to stop the killing....

LILLE, France (AP) -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn was handed preliminary charges Monday alleging he was involved in a French prostitution ring, his lawyer said. The former International Monetary Fund chief is denying wrongdoing....

LILLE, France (AP) -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn was handed preliminary charges Monday alleging he was involved in a French prostitution ring, his lawyer said. The former International Monetary Fund chief is denying wrongdoing....

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) -- The head of Mali's military junta made clear Monday that he would have a powerful say over how the country is run in the weeks ahead, and does not want foreign forces helping reclaim the country's north from rebels who declared independence....

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- The United States dropped Argentina on Monday from its system of trade preferences, citing the South American country's failure to pay court-ordered damages of $300 million plus interest to two U.S. companies....

TIRANA, Albania (AP) -- Albania's prime minister rebuked a Cabinet member Monday for saying that people planning to join the country's first-ever gay pride celebration "should be beaten with batons."...

PARIS (AP) -- Mohamed Merah grew up in one of the toughest housing projects of Toulouse, with his mother, two brothers and two sisters. At age five, his parents split up - and he took that hard. As a youth he turned to petty crime, landing in prison twice....

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) -- Moammar Gadhafi's son and former heir apparent Seif al-Islam will be put on trial inside Libya and there will be a verdict before mid-June, a Libyan official said Monday....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- NATO and Afghan forces launched a daring operation to rescue two female foreign aid workers and their two Afghan colleagues after learning the Taliban planned to kill one of the hostages, an intelligence official said....

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombia's military killed 32 rebels in the pre-dawn bombing of a guerrilla camp Monday, officials said, striking a second major blow in less than a week to the nation's main guerrilla force....

SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI followed in the footsteps of his predecessor's groundbreaking trip to Cuba on Monday, hoping to renew the faith in Latin America's least Catholic country....

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Bark beetles and old age have damaged Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century painting "Lady with an Ermine," but the masterpiece is still holding up well, according to a conservationist at the Polish museum where it is displayed....