US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton disembarks from her plane upon her arrival in Athens, as she continues her regional diplomatic tour, Saturday, July 16, 2011. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has begun a visit to Greece after telling officials in Turkey she wants to see an early solution to the Cyprus dispute. Clinton’s talks with Greek officials will also cover that country’s... 

Britain is to cut its army by 17,000 while boosting territorial units who will be called on for dangerous missions. The Army is to be cut in size by 17,000 soldiers in a radical overhaul of the armed forces to be announced on Monday. The reorganisation will see the Army shrink to its smallest size since the Boer War, while Britain’s reserve forces will benefit from a £1.5 billion investment programme. Members... 

The Arab Spring may be a great source of inspiration for popular movements around the world. However, a study assessing social, political and economic freedoms points to a steady, global shift towards authoritarianism. Above, Red Shirt anti-government protesters gather in Bangkok in April 2010. Over the past six months, the world has watched as the Middle East, a region that long seemed immune to democratic... 

China has accused the United States of “grossly” interfering in its internal affairs and damaging relations after President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House. Barack Obama met the Nobel Prize laureate for about 45 minutes on Saturday, praising him for embracing non-violence while reiterating that the US did not support independence for Tibet. China, which accuses the exiled... 

Yesterday’s report that the US killed eight in a combined drone and warplane attack on a Yemeni police station in the southern town of Wadyia has been dramatically revised upwards, with reports now putting the death toll at 50. Yemeni reports say that the police station, which had been taken over by an opposition faction (which controls much of that province) and some media outlets termed all 50... 

Under its leader Heinz-Christian Strache, the right-wing populist Freedom Party has become a force to be reckoned with in Austrian politics. It is currently neck and neck with the country’s two largest mainstream parties in the polls. Meanwhile the governing Social Democrats are struggling to reconnect with ordinary voters. They aren’t actually that far apart, the chancellor and his adversary... 

Speaking today in Seoul, South Korea, Admiral Michael Mullen declared North Korea a ‘very real threat’ to peace, and pressed for China to move into a “leadership role” against the North Korean government. “North Korea shows no signs of relenting in pursuit of its nuclear capabilities,” insisted Mullen, who was visiting as Gen. James Thurman took over command of the 28,500 US troops in... 

Conflict and chaos in Libya: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. will recognize the rebels’ Transitional National Council, allowing them access to some frozen Libyan assets. The United States granted Libyan rebel leaders full diplomatic recognition as the governing authority of Libya on Friday, a move that could give the cash-strapped rebels access to more than $30 billion in... 

Turkish relations with the European Union “will freeze” if Cyprus takes over the EU presidency in July 2012 without a solution to the divided island, Turkey’s foreign minister said Wednesday. Ahmet Davutoglu made his comments as the European Union’s enlargement chief said in a visit to Ankara that he wanted to see “a new momentum” in Turkey’s membership process now that Turkish parliamentary... 

As War Drags On, Growing NATO Acceptance that Bombing Won’t Produce ‘Victory’. In the latest shift by a NATO member nation about the war in Libya, the Obama Administration has today issued a statement saying it endorses the Russian efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Libya, provided it ends with Moammar Gadhafi stepping down. The move follows a pair of announcements from France over... 

Escalating its rhetoric against Bashar al-Assad, the White House declared Tuesday that the Syrian president had “lost his legitimacy” but declined to call explicitly for his resignation or removal. The statement, which echoed similar remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday, followed what appeared to be orchestrated attacks by pro-Assad demonstrators on the U.S. and French embassy... 

The Southern Poverty Law Center included Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky in a list of “extreme right-wing” candidates in its latest Intelligence Report. The civil rights organization labeled Paul as an extremist because he said that private businesses should not have to follow the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and has criticized the Fair Housing Act. The freshman senator has also warned... 

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, tipped to be the presidential candidate for the Socialist Party, has been undermined by a sexual assault case. The incumbent Nicholas Sarkozy’s popularity has taken a knock in the last year as well. Marine Le Pen, leader of the Nation Front Party, is hoping to use the failures of both men to her advantage. In the interview, Marine Le Pen said that “Nicolas Sarkozy... 

Yesterday’s announcement that the US is withdrawing some $800 million in military aid from Pakistan looks to do more serious harm to US-Pakistani relations, but if administration officials expected the “rebuke” to be met with an act of contrition from the Pakistani military, they were mistaken. Rather, Pakistan’s military today insists that they don’t need the US military aid at all, and... 

The BBC's Will Ross describes the celebrations in the capital Juba. South Sudan has become the world’s newest nation, the climax of a process made possible by the 2005 peace deal that ended a long and bloody civil war. Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon are among international dignitaries attending celebrations in the capital, Juba. Sudan earlier became...