[World] Cuban leader Raul Castro says he will retire in 2018

Cuban leader Raul Castro says he will retire in 2018
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/diaz-canel-brings-generational-change-to-cubas-leadership/article9017698/
By Marc Frank. HAVANA | Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:27am EST. HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Sunday he will step down from power after his second term ends in 2018, and the new parliament named a 52-year-old rising star ...

Park Geun-hye
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/02/25/the-most-powerful-woman-in-south-korea-park-geun-hye.html
Park Geun-hye has long been one of the most powerful women in South Korea, and when she is sworn in next week, she will make history as the first female president of the patriarchal conservative country.

• Moualem says Syria prepare to meet armed opposition
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syrian-foreign-minister-holds-talks-in-moscow-1.505669
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov speaks with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem during their meeting in Moscow on Monday.

Kerry opens first official overseas trip in London
http://www.google.com/hostednews/getty/article/ALeqM5gzYfS2PDUglw4sr8ldlBneaxaP1Q?docId=162622927
LONDON (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has kicked off his first official overseas trip by meeting with British leaders in London on the first leg of a hectic nine-day dash through Europe and the Middle East.

Fighting roils Syria as rebels make gains
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/02/24/prominent-syrian-comedian-killed-in-damascus-fighting-both-sides-blame-the-other/
An influx of heavy weaponry has aided anti-regime forces in recent weeks in a conflict in which nearly 70,000 people have been killed.

Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes eastern Japan north of Tokyo, no tsunami ...
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/earthquake-shakes-buildings-in-tokyo-reports-335155
On Monday afternoon the Japan Meteorological Agency confirmed that a fairly strong earthquake hit eastern Japan's Tochigi Prefecture, with an early magnitude rating of 6.2.

Swollen With Syrian Refugees, Lebanon Feels Its Stitching Fray
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/world/middleeast/syrian-flood-into-lebanon-stirs-fear-of-looming-disaster.html?pagewanted=all
Members of a Syrian family in their tent in Qaa, Lebanon. An anemic Lebanese government response is testing people's patience.