The second-highest official in Mexico’s government was killed Tuesday night aboard an airplane that crashed into rush-hour traffic in the capital and exploded. Read more

Israel launched an airstrike on the Gaza Strip early today after its troops clashed with Hamas militants who fired mortar rounds into Israel. Read more

In a major defeat for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, parliament today tossed out his controversial minister of interior for allegedly falsifying his qualifications to gain the nation’s top law enforcement position. Read more

In a move that chips away at decades of tension and distrust, China and Taiwan agreed today to expand cargo and passenger flights and allow direct shipping service across the 110-mile strait separating the longtime adversaries. Read more

The next U.S. leader will inherit a war in Afghanistan that is certain to play a central role in his presidency, a conflict whose cost in blood and money is escalating even as many Afghans speak of a growing sense of peril in their daily lives. Read more

Army commander Gen. Read more

Whether they found hope, inspiration or just a reason to party, Kenyans celebrated today as they awoke to learn that a man seen here as a native son would be the next U.S. president. Read more

Iraq presents Barack Obama with the complicated task of bringing troops home from a deeply unpopular war and determining the role America will play as the devastated country struggles to rebuild. Read more

The road to Gen. Read more