MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin has waived visa requirements for athletes, coaches and other staff attending international sporting events in Russia.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Obama administration on Monday filed a last-minute appeal to delay the sale of the morning-after contraceptive pill to girls of any age without a prescription.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A medical student who witnessed the shooting that wounded 19 people during a Mother's Day parade in New Orleans said Monday the gunman appeared to be firing in a controlled manner, but it wasn't clear if he was trying to hit specific people.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The sun has fired off a massive flare, the strongest solar eruption this year.

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Authorities have released a prominent opposition politician in Sierra Leone who was accused of making statements that could undermine state security.

For even those most accustomed to the frenzy of celebrity, the Cannes Film Festival can be a disorienting experience.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday urged Britons to watch whether European Union reforms were successful before deciding whether to leave the multi-nation bloc, backing the position taken by Prime Minister David Cameron. "I think the UK's participation in the EU is an expression of its influence and its ... role in the world," Obama said during a news conference with Cameron, who was visiting the White House. Cameron is trying to unite his party on the issue after two cabinet ministers suggested they would vote to leave the EU if a referendum were held today. ...

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) — Human rights groups are expressing concern about the fairness of legislative elections taking place later this month in Equatorial Guinea.

Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. PLC plans to pay $1 billion for the right to future royalties from four respiratory treatments being developed by Theravance Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline.

ROME (AP) — Venus Williams lost to Laura Robson 6-3, 6-2 in the wind at the Italian Open on Monday, ending prospects for a sister showdown in the second round.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups is "outrageous" and anyone involved needs to be "held fully accountable."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the United States is working with Britain to keep pressure on the government of Syria, strengthen the moderate opposition there and work to push for the end of the hardline regime of President Bashar Assad.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed in midday trading, pausing a record-breaking stock rally even after the government reported that Americans increased spending last month.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Lawyers for Holmes say he wants to plead guilty by reason of insanity but judge to rule later.

LONDON (AP) — Japan's stock market once again outperformed on Monday after officials from the world's leading industrial economies refused to criticize the Bank of Japan's super-easy monetary policy and the massive depreciation in the value of the yen it triggered.

By Andrew Osborn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron moved to end a damaging revolt over European Union membership in his ruling Conservative party on Monday, saying his ministers all backed him on the issue even though two had expressed more sceptical views than his own. Cameron's promise to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU and hold a plebiscite on membership if he wins the next election in 2015 has failed to end his party's divisions over Europe or halt the rise of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP). ...

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has called for caution as the European Union works on creating a central authority with the power to rescue failing banks, suggesting the 27-country bloc would lose credibility if it rushed the plans.

BERLIN (AP) — German police arrested a man who allegedly acted as an accountant for Somali pirates blamed for the hijacking of an oil tanker in 2010, authorities said Monday.

MILAN (AP) — Milan prosecutors on Monday demanded a prison sentence of six years and a lifetime ban from public office for former Premier Silvio Berlusconi in his sex-for-hire trial.

By Sam Cage and Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - The center-right GERB has emerged from Bulgaria's election as the largest party but it is short of coalition options, and any new government will almost certainly need backing from a nationalist party which alarms the European Union. GERB, whose leader Boiko Borisov resigned from government in February during nationwide protests in the EU's poorest country, won most votes in Sunday's poll but not enough to gain a majority. ...