[World] Ailing Hugo Chavez makes theatrical return to Venezuela

Ailing Hugo Chavez makes theatrical return to Venezuela
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/hugo-chavez-returns-from-cuba-treatment-to-continue-in-venezuela-332421
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made a theatrical return to Venezuela on Monday after 70 days recuperating in Cuba following cancer surgery, a long absence that had generated suspicion about who had been running the government.

Ecuador's Rafael Correa breezes to 2nd re-election
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Ecuadors-Rafael-Correa-breezes-to-2nd-re-election/articleshow/18559189.cms
QUITO (ECUADOR): A landslide second re-election secured, President Rafael Correa immediately vowed to deepen the "citizen's revolution" that has lifted tens of thousands of Ecuadoreans out of poverty as he expanded the welfare state.

Pope Benedict: Tens of thousands attend blessing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21489920
On one of his final public blessings Pope Benedict XVI thanked the faithful for their prayers and support. Tens of thousands of pilgrims filled St Peter's Square for a chance to pray with the pontiff before he steps down.

UN panel: Syria civil war increasingly sectarian, radical; weapons supply needs ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/un-panel-syria-civil-war-increasingly-sectarian-radical-weapons-supply-needs-to-be-curbed/2013/02/18/c97eaca8-79b4-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html
GENEVA - A U.N.-appointed panel of inquiry is warning that Syria's civil war is becoming increasingly sectarian and that both sides are becoming more radicalized - in part due to the growing, though still relatively small, presence of foreign fighters.

Israel Prisoner X: Ben Zygier 'leaked Mossad secrets'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21496738
Israel secretly imprisoned an Australian man who worked for its Mossad spy agency because it believed he had divulged details of his work, an Australian news programme has reported.

Nigeria Extremists Claim Abduction of 7 Foreigners
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/worker-attackers-targeted-expatriates-nigeria-18528028
A little-known Islamic extremist group claimed responsibility Monday for the kidnapping of seven foreign workers from northern Nigeria, threatening their safety if anyone tried to intervene and free them.

India Steps Up Probe of Finmeccanica
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/TOrGeYbXLtKXp0t8oMbZ5K/Chopper-scam-Haschke-cleaned-up-files-info-could-open-a.html
Officials from India will visit Italy this week as the country intensifies its investigations into bribery allegations regarding a helicopter deal worth almost €560 million ($748 million) with a division of Italian defense contractor Finmeccanica SpA.

Bulgarian FM to EU: take action against Hezbollah
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/02/15/the-depravity-of-hezbollah-knows-no-bounds-blacklist-lebanese-group-canada-tells-the-eu/
The European Union must take collective action against Hezbollah, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov said Monday morning.