People evacuate office buildings after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Beijing Monday, May 12, 2008. via Athens Banner-Herald

"Apart from the delay in getting aid to people we may now have to re-evaluate how we transport that aid"

The United States launched its first relief airlift to Myanmar on Monday, after prolonged negotiations with the isolated country's military rulers, who have been accused of restricting international efforts to ... via KansasCity.com

"We might succeed and we might not, but we have to try"

Arab foreign ministers urged warring Lebanese factions to immediately cease fighting and said Sunday they will send a delegation to try to broker a settlement between the Hezbollah-led opposition and U.S.-backed government.

After an emergency meeting in Cairo on the Lebanon crisis, the Arab League issued a statement implicitly criticizing the Shiite militant Hezbollah.

'The ministers reject the principal of resorting to armed violence to achieve political goals,' it said.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the delegation would leave for Lebanon soon but did not give a date. No flights have gone into Beirut for four days because Hezbollah supporters have blocked the airport road. Moussa said the delegation would need to make security arrangements with the Lebanese army to go in. Read more

Calm returns to the streets of Beirut after days of fighting as the Lebanese army takes over security control. via Reuters

"They will continue their mission"

Hundreds of rebels from war-ravaged Darfur clashed with Sudanese security forces on the doorstep of the capital Saturday in a dramatic widening of the five-year-old conflict.

It was the first foray into the seat of the Sudanese government by a rebel group once confined to the western region, which is deeply scarred by the struggle between the ethnic African rebels and the Arab-dominated central government.

The country's interior minister said government forces successfully 'chased' away the rebels by nightfall, about three hours after the first outbreak of violence, and killed a rebel leader and his aide. State television showed footage of the fighters in handcuffs and soldiers driving confiscated jeeps through empty streets, saluting colleagues standing at attention. Read more

Venezuela's proven crude oil reserves had swelled to 130 billion barrels as of late April, marking a rise of 30 billion from its prior estimate, energy and oil minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday.