Krishnadev Calamur

Sweden today recognized Palestine, just weeks after incoming Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said his government would become the first major European nation to make the move.

In response, Israel's Foreign Ministry recalled Isaac Bachman, its ambassador to Sweden, for consultations. The Haaretz newspaper cited an unnamed Foreign Ministry ...

More than one-third of Americans are obese, and one recent study showed that obese drivers are more likely to die in a car crash. So the world's largest maker of dummies is making one that is obese.

"Obese occupants are up to 78 percent more likely to die ...

Updated at 2:55 p.m.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the closing of Jerusalem's Temple Mount for the first time since 2000, calling it a "declaration of war" on the Palestinians.

"Harming the places sacred to Muslims and Christians is a red line," Abbas' spokesman said. The spokesman added ...

In 1997, Cylvia Hayes, now Oregon's first lady, received about $5,000 to marry an Ethiopian man who wanted a green card. At a tearful news conference in Portland, Ore., Hayes said Thursday that she had made a "serious mistake" in what was a "difficult and unstable period" in her life.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hasn't been seen in public in more than a month, leading to speculation that he might have been deposed or is merely indisposed. For now, though, Western and South Korean officials are awaiting a Friday event to mark the 69th anniversary of the North's ...

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has temporarily blocked Tuesday's appeals court decision that struck down bans on same-sex marriage in Idaho and Nevada.

Officials in Idaho had filed a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court following Tuesday's appeals court decision. In his order, Kennedy gave lawyers representing ...

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said Friday that his new center-left government would recognize Palestine, making his country the first major European nation to take that step.

"A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful coexistence. Sweden will therefore recognize the state of Palestine," Lofven said ...

Banks have made it tougher for people to get mortgages after the Great Recession. Just how hard is it? Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told an audience in Chicago Thursday that he was unable to refinance his home loan.

"Just between the two of us," he told moderator ...

Hong Kong media are providing wall-to-wall coverage of the protests calling for the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, but in mainland China there has been little to no mention of the unrest.

The contrast is an illustration of the "one country, two systems" policy that has been ...

President Obama appears to have strong bipartisan support in Congress to carry out airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. He also made his case for aggressive action in a speech to the United Nations on Wednesday. Most Western and Middle Eastern nations seem to be supporting military action, which the ...

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba opened at $92.70 a share on the New York Stock Exchange today, making it the biggest initial public offering in U.S. history.

The offering price for a share of the company was set at $68.

NPR's Zoe Chace, who is following the story, tells our Newscast ...

From "It's No!" to "No Thanks," British newspapers devoted their front pages to news that voters in Scotland rejected independence by a 55 percent-to-45 percent margin.

Here is a selection from Twitter.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

British Prime Minister David Cameron says now that voters in Scotland have rejected independence, he is committed to giving more powers not only to Scotland, but also to "everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland."

Cameron announced that Lord Smith of Kelvin, who ran the recently concluded Commonwealth ...

Oracle's Larry Ellison is stepping down as CEO, the company announced today, and will be replaced by Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, who will be co-CEOs.

Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977, was named executive chairman of the board and Oracle's chief technology officer.

"Safra and Mark will ...

The group that calls itself the Islamic State has released a new video that purports to show a British man who says he is a journalist and a hostage of the militants.

The man in the video is dressed in orange, sits behind a desk and identifies ...

Scotland votes tomorrow on whether to become an independent country. The polls show the two sides are neck and neck. British newspapers, as expected, are leading with the story.

Here's what some of them are saying (courtesy of the BBC's Nick Sutton's Twitter feed).

Scotland's referendum on independence Thursday could resonate far beyond the borders of the United Kingdom. There are many places with separatist movements, like the militias in eastern Ukraine who have been battling the Ukrainian government this year.

Here's a look at some of the other places with separatists who want ...

President Obama reiterated that he will not commit U.S. troops to fight another ground war in Iraq, adding that U.S. airstrikes, combined with expertise, would be more effective in defeating the group that calls itself the Islamic State.

"As your commander in chief, I will not commit you ...

Bangladesh's Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of an Islamist leader who was convicted last year by a war crimes tribunal for his role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Delwar Hossain Sayedee, now 74, will instead spend the rest of his life in prison, a five-member ...

Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry has taken an indefinite leave of absence following revelations that he made racially charged comments about forward Luon Deng.

Team CEO Steve Koonin, in a statement Friday, said he hoped Ferry's "time away from the Hawks organization allows him the privacy he needs ...