Multiple Bomb Blasts In Kano!

Bombs kill at least two Nigerian police officers in Kano.

Nearby residents are frightened, a pastor says The region has been the site of religious violence. At least two police officers died and others were injured Friday when bombs exploded at three locations in the northern Nigeria city of Kano, authorities said.

At least one of the bombs exploded at a police barracks and another near the…

Why Wikipedia is going down at midnight

Why websites are going dark. Wikipedia plans to shut its site down on Wednesday.

The act is a protest against anti-piracy bills before U.S. Congress Wikipedia: The proposed laws would make it difficult for the site to operate.

CNN talks with Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales about the digital protest (CNN) — Go to Wikipedia at midnight and you won’t find any of the usual encyclopedia articles….

Iran sentences American ‘spy’ to death

An Iranian court finds Amir Hekmati “corrupt on Earth,” state media says NEW: His parents are “shocked and terrified” He was arrested in August while visiting relatives Prosecutors allege he was hired to deliver information to Iran Tehran, Iran.

Iran has sentenced an American ex-Marine to death for espionage. A court convicted Amir Mirzaei Hekmati of “working for an enemy country,” as well as membership in the…

Iran warns U.S. to keep aircraft carrier out of Gulf

The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is in the Persian Gulf region.

Deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf will continue, the Pentagon says The U.S. will protect “maritime freedoms,” including at the Strait of Hormuz, it says Iran warns the United States it will “severely react against any threat” Tensions over the Strait of Hormuz are pushing up oil prices.

Iran warned the…

Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez Has Cancer

Argentina’s reelected President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner after her inauguration in Buenos Aires, on December 10, 2011.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s surgery is scheduled for January 4 Medical exams indicate the cancer has not spread beyond the thyroid, a spokesman says Spokesman: A routine medical exam uncovered papillary carcinoma in the president’s thyroid Doctors detect papillary carcinoma, the most common type of thyroid cancer Buenos…

N. Korea is ‘world’s least democratic’

Kim Jong Il votes in North Korea’s 2009 parliamentary elections at a polling station in Pyongyang.

Norway is listed as the most democratic nation in the British report The United States ranks 19th, down two spots from 2010 Canada is eighth and the United Kingdom is 18th.

North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong Il died over the weekend, is the least democratic nation on Earth, according to…

Tunisia swears in new president

Moncef Marzouki has been sworn in as Tunisia’s new president. He is well-known for his firebrand style and his opposition to the old regime.

The presidency is more of a ceremonial role Marzouki is the founder of a center-left party The new president had lived in exile The Arab Spring started in Tunisia Tunis, Tunisia.

Tunisia has sworn in a new president, a milestone in the North…

Obama to Iran: Give us back our drone aircraft

Iranian officials display what they say is an unmanned U.S. spy plane brought down in Iran last week.

“We’ve asked for it back. We’ll see how the Iranians respond,” Obama says An Iranian military general says Iran won’t send back “the spying equipment”

Iran says that it downed an American drone on December 4. The Pentagon says it lost contact with a drone and has not…

U.S. prepares for full Iraq withdrawal

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki meets with President Obama at the White House on Monday.

Al-Maliki: “The relationship will not end with the departure” of U.S. troops “This is a historic moment,”

President Barack Obama says The United States is set to withdraw virtually all troops from Iraq by the end of the year Spokesman says 6,000 U.S. troops and four military bases remain in Iraq as…

Polls open for Egypt’s historic vote

A man prepares flags for sale at an entrance to Tahrir Square on Sunday in Cairo, Egypt.

Campaign fliers are illegally handed out as voters head to the polls “This is the first time in 55 years that I (can) vote,” one man says.

Throngs line up in Cairo to vote in parliamentary elections Several stages of voting will take place between now and March.

Egyptians headed to…