President Bush takes the oath of office for second term later today (Thursday) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice is expected to win easy confirmation from the full Senate -- despite facing criticism from some Democratic Party lawmakers.
The Unites States is preparing to scale back tsunami relief efforts led by the by the military.
At least 12 people have been killed and two others injured an a bus explosion in northwest China's tense Xinjiang's capital to Usu.
An 18-year-old woman has died of bird flu in Vietnam, raising the death toll in the communist country from the deadly disease to six in the past three weeks.
Listen to our World News for the details of those stories and other interesting news around the world.