Palau considering taking Uighur detainees, officials say

The Obama administration is in talks with the South Pacific island nation of Palau to relocate some or all of 17 Uighurs — native Chinese Muslims — held at Guantanamo Bay, senior administration officials told CNN Tuesday. Last week, Daniel Fried, the Obama administration’s special envoy to oversee the closure of Guantanamo, visited Palau and Australia as part of a tour of the Pacific region

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Woods wins at U.S. Open warm up

Woods broke away from a four-way tie for the lead Sunday at the Memorial with birdies on his final two holes, the last one a 7-iron that stopped a foot away from the cup for a 7-under 65 and a one-shot victory over Jim Furyk. The “March 14” coalition won 71 seats in Lebanon’s parliament, while the Hezbollah-dominated “March 8” alliance won the remaining 57 seats, Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud announced. Saad Hariri, the leader of the Sunni-dominated March 14 bloc, gave a victory speech Monday after the polls closed but hours before the official results were released

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Pro-West bloc retains control in Lebanon

Lebanon’s pro-Western bloc will retain its control of the country’s government despite a strong challenge from a Hezbollah-dominated alliance, according to official election results released Monday. The “March 14” coalition won 71 seats in Lebanon’s parliament, while the Hezbollah-dominated “March 8” alliance won the remaining 57 seats, Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud announced

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Hezbollah choice at center of Lebanon vote

Lebanon goes to the polls on Sunday with the main choices a Hezbollah-backed alliance or the U.S-backed coalition to lead their government. U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday came at a critical time for Lebanon as it sits amid a power struggle between a weakened pro-Western government and a stronger pro-Syrian Hezbollah political bloc that has gained political momentum in recent years.

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Japanese researcher recalls imprisonment in North Korea

As the trial for two American journalists began Thursday in North Korea, a former Japanese journalist has recounted his experience while he was imprisoned in the country for about two years. “When I was first arrested, I thought my life had ended. I was wondering how I would be killed, by public execution, by poisoning” Takashi Sugishima told CNN in a recent interview.

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The 5 Big Health-Care Dilemmas

Max Baucus, the Senate’s point man on health care, sounds supremely confident when he talks about the odds that Congress will pass its most sweeping piece of social legislation since the New Deal. “Meaningful, comprehensive health-care legislation passes this year. That’s a given,” he declares, sipping a bottle of water in his functionally furnished hideaway office just steps from the Senate chamber

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Commentary: Does Obama want to change Israeli government?

President Obama has embarked on what could represent a radical departure in America’s Mideast policy, at least on settlements. WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Obama has embarked on what could represent a radical departure in America’s Mideast policy, at least on settlements. Having worked for Republican and Democratic administrations, I took it for granted that the current president and secretary of state would first try to invest in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before publicly confronting him.

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