Belarussian author Svetlana Alexievich has won the Nobel Prize for Literature for her portrayal of life in the former Soviet Union which the Swedish Academy said was "a monument to suffering and courage in our time". Alexievich's work includes chronicles of the lives of Soviet...

Vladimir Putin turned 63 this week with his now traditional display of sporting prowess, and an announcement that Russian naval vessels had launched a wave of missiles against Islamic State in Syria. The Russian leader has never appeared more confident and his grip on power...

World soccer chief Sepp Blatter and European boss Michel Platini were suspended on Thursday in a deepening corruption scandal, decapitating the leadership of a sport facing criminal investigations on both sides of the Atlantic. Blatter, the Swiss who has been president of world...

Eight people died and six others were injured when a bus hurtled off a road and into a gorge in Ecuador's southern Andes, security officials said Thursday. The Ministry of Public Health said the vehicle plunged some 250 meters (820 feet) after going off the road Wednesday in Canar province....