[World] Hugo Chávez returns home to Venezuela

Hugo Chávez returns home to Venezuela
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/18/hugo-chavez-returns-venezuela
Hugo Chávez returned to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery. Supporters of the ailing president staged street celebrations to welcome him home while he was being treated at a military ...

Pistorius' longtime coach says he's 'in shock'
http://abcnews.go.com/International/oscar-pistorius-case-police-reportedly-eye-bloody-cricket/story?id=18527579
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Oscar Pistorius' longtime coach says he's still in shock following the "heart-breaking events" of Reeva Steenkamp's shooting death, which he calls an accident.

Israel PM thanks pope ahead of his retirement
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-18/206970-israel-pm-thanks-pope-ahead-of-his-retirement.ashx
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday sent a letter to outgoing Pope Benedict XVI thanking him for his work in strengthening interfaith ties, the premier's office said in a statement.

Torn between two passports: Prioner X and dual citizenship
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/leak-to-asio-led-to-arrest-abc-20130218-2envs.html
It's not only Jewish citizens in friendly countries or Israel's diplomatic relations that have suffered damage as a result of what happened to Ben Zygier.

Pakistan Shias refuse to bury bomb victims' bodies, demand protection from ...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-Shias-refuse-to-bury-bomb-victims-bodies-demand-protection-from-Sunni-militants/articleshow/18559372.cms
QUETTA: Thousands of Pakistani Shias furious over a sectarian bombing that killed 89 people protested on Monday, demanding that security forces protect them from hardline Sunni groups.

Bashar al-Assad declares: 'We will win in Syria'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9877686/Bashar-al-Assad-declares-We-will-win-in-Syria.html
As-Safir, a pro-Damascus Lebanese daily, reported on Monday that he also told unnamed visiting Lebanese politicians that the future of Syria "is ours".

South Africa Academic to Form New Party
http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/ramphele-s-decision-based-on-flaws-1.1472488
Academic and co-founder of South Africa's Black Conscious Movement, Mamphela Ramphele, announced the creation of a new political party Monday "to build the South Africa of our dreams," lambasting the 101-year-old African National Congress of Nelson ...

David Cameron backs Westland amid bribery claims
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21498858
Prime Minister David Cameron has backed the UK helicopter firm AgustaWestland despite it being implicated in a bribery probe in India.

Australian Senate seat a possible path to freedom for Assange
http://rt.com/news/assange-senate-bid-freedom-498/
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange believes winning a seat in the Australian Senate would force the US and others pursuing him to back down, securing his safe passage out of the UK following his 8-month confinement at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London.

Red-letter weekend for Latin America's left as Correa wins reelection and ...
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2013/0218/Red-letter-weekend-for-Latin-America-s-left-as-Correa-wins-reelection-and-Chavez-returns-home
The photos illustrating the biggest news in Latin America this weekend could not have differed more. One was of a vigorous and victorious Rafael Correa in Ecuador, winning a third term in office Sunday; the other was of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's ailing ...

Bulgarian FM to EU: take action against Hezbollah
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/bulgaria-tells-eu-hezbollah-must-face-consequences-to-stop-future-terror-attacks.premium-1.504328
The European Union must take collective action against Hezbollah, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov said Monday morning.

Iran urges full 'rights' recognition ahead of nuclear talks
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2013/Feb-18/206935-iran-scolds-world-powers-over-gold-sanctions.ashx
TEHRAN: Iran will allay international concerns over its disputed nuclear drive provided its "rights" are fully recognised ahead of a major meeting with world powers next week, its foreign ministry said on Monday.

US legislators in Mali on fact-finding mission
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-malian-forces-control-bourem-18524106
TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) - A delegation of U.S. lawmakers met with military officials in Mali's capital on Monday, and urged caution as the French-led military intervention to wrest back control of the country's north from the al-Qaida fighters entered its fifth week.