Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigned on Thursday, just days after Houthi rebels battled their way into his presidential palace, plunging the unstable Arab country deeper into chaos and depriving Washington of a key ally against al Qaeda.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world's top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in a statement carried by state television.
The Philippines on Wednesday accused China of undertaking massive reclamation work on several reefs in the disputed South China Sea, expressing concern the activities could fuel tensions.
Miguel Barnet, one of Cuba's most prominent Communist Party intellectuals, fondly recalls his teenage years in the 1950s, attending one of Havana's elite private schools, singing in the Episcopal church choir and performing in American musicals.
