Islamabad, May 5 (RHC)-- A U.S. drone strike has killed at least nine people in the volatile tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan.  According to Pakistani officials, the drone fired missiles at a suspected militant compound in the Shawal area of North Waziristan, close to the Afghan border.

Damascus, May 5 (RHC)-- Two bombs, apparently planted under cars, exploded early Saturday in the Syrian capital on a busy avenue, not far from a building where the Syrian Army has several offices.

Caracas, May 5 (RHC) -- A survey recently conducted by the polling firm VOP Consultores shows that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would be re-elected in the upcoming general elections with 63.7 percent of the votes.

Caracas, May 5 (RHC) -- The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), lamented the recent death of Tomás Borge, the last surviving founder of the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua.   

Buenos Aires, May 5 (PL-Xinhua-RHC) -- Argentinean lawmaker Agustin Rossi said that his country is now on the path of energy sovereignty after the overwhelming approval of a law establishing the expropriation of 51 percent of the shares of the Spanish-owned oil company YPF.

Asuncion, May 5 (PL-RHC) -- Fabrizio Arniella, a member of the Coordinating Youth Branch of Paraguay’s ruling Guasú Front, said his organization began a structuring process on Saturday aimed at promoting unity and achieving social demands in the country.

Mexico City, May 5 (RHC) -- Mexican left-wing presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he visited every state in the country with very good results during his election campaign.

La Paz, May 5 (PL-RHC) -– Bolivia’s exports totaled 2.24 billion U,S, dollars from January to March this year, representing an 20.2-percent increase compared to the same period in 2011.

Mexico City, May 5 (Xinhua-RHC) -- The remains of 23 people, 14 of them decapitated and nine hanging from a bridge, were found Friday in Mexico’s border city of Nuevo Laredo, official sources said.

Cairo, May 5 (RHC)-- Thousands of protestors clashed with military police on Friday before the Ministry of Defense in Abbasiya district in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, wounding about 60 people from both sides, according to state-run Nile TV.

Tehran, May 5 (RHC)-- Director of Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company said that Iranian local contractors will build a 220-km natural gas pipeline to Iraq.  According to the official Mehr news agency, a total of 450 million U.S. dollars will be invested in the construction of the pipeline to transport Iran's natural gas to neighboring Iraq.

Tokyo, May 5 (RHC)-- Japan is switching off its last working nuclear reactor, as part of the safety drive since the March 2011 tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima plant.  The third reactor at the Tomari plant, located in Hokkaido prefecture, is shutting down for routine maintenance.

Houston, May 5 (RHC)-- A trial involving billions of dollars in damages related to BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been delayed until January next year, despite a push from the federal government to begin the trial this summer.

Washington, May 5 (RHC)-- A key Barack Obama administration official has asked the U.S. Congress to authorize increased government access to the cellphone records of U.S. citizens.

Charlotte, May 5 (RHC)-- Five environmental activists have been arrested after hanging a protest banner at Charlotte’s Bank of America stadium, in the U.S. State of North Carolina, where President Barck Obama will close out the Democratic National Convention at the end of the summer.