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Kenya's incursion into Somalia last month to go after the militant Islamist group al-Shabab caught the United States and others off guard and has raised alarms among aid groups. While Kenya has asked for U.S. assistance, the State Department is advising caution.

The pace of political reform in Myanmar has surprised many and, coupled with recent election results, has led to an easing of economic and political sanctions by the West. But the reforms are by no means irreversible, nor are the poor nation's myriad problem easily solved.

A Libya-Egypt border post was controlled Tuesday by armed men who described themselves as "free Libyan troops." There were no signs of police or any Libyan authorities. Moammar Gadhafi appeared on state TV to show he was still in charge.

Analysts say the Assad government appears to be relying exclusively on brutal repression, giving free reign to the security services to crush the revolt.

Diplomats say the deal would see Iran ship most of its enriched uranium to Russia, stripping Tehran of most of the material it would need to make a nuclear weapon.

Davos, Switzerland, is the glamorous place where about 2,600 wealthy business executives, top political leaders, central bankers and closely followed economists gather this week. They will discuss ways to hold off a potentially disastrous European financial meltdown that would threaten world growth.

One of the literary world's unexpected successes over the past year has been a book written by former French resistance fighter Stephane Hessel. In Time for Outrage, Hessel calls for young people to resist the injustices of today's world — and he seems to have struck a nerve.

American and Russian planes involved in the exchange landed briefly in Vienna, swapped agents, then took off again in the largest such diplomatic dance since the Cold War. Both countries won admissions of crimes from those involved: guilty pleas in the U.S. and signed confessions in Russia.

The U.S. sold bunker buster bombs to Israel in 2009, a recent report details. No U.S. officials have talked openly about why the bunker busters were provided to Israel but speculation falls most heavily on the Iranian nuclear program.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is on a cease-fire mission to the Middle East. While his country no longer holds the European Union presidency, Sarkozy says it is France's duty to look for all paths to peace. Critics say Sarkozy is on a power trip after his six-month stint as diplomatic head of Europe. They accuse him of muddying EU efforts to broker a cease-fire.