The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has chosen three cities as finalists to bid for the chance to host the 2020 Summer Games. "In the order of drawing lots: Istanbul, Tokyo, and Madrid," said IOC communications director Mark Adams on Wednesday in Quebec City. The announcement marks the beginning of a 16-month campaign among finalists to win over the IOC before it makes its final selection in September 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two other candidate cities: ...

About 4,000 Nigerians have been killed by violence during the past 11 years in Plateau State, according to Human Rights Watch.  Locals say the conflict may be along ethnic and religious lines, but the root of the fighting is often political and economic.   Nigeria is often described as predominantly Muslim in the North and mostly Christian in the South.  In between, there is the "Middle Belt," an area that during the past 11 years has seen enough massacres, bombings ...