CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday named Rafael Reif, an electrical engineer born in Venezuela who has been the university's provost since 2005, as its 17th president. Reif, 61, replaces Susan Hockfield, the first female president of MIT, who announced in mid-February that she was stepping down after almost eight years leading one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. Reif will take up his post at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university on July 2, the first MIT president not to be a native English speaker. ...

A woman waits for the bus in front of a graffiti depicting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas.

After nearly a year of cancer treatment that has forced President Hugo Chavez to step back from the spotlight, a burly former bus driver with a dark mustache and affable smile is emerging more than ever as the president's stand-in.

SOCOPO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Deep in the rural home state of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that has for years been off limits for opposition politicians, rival candidate Henrique Capriles struggled to push through a throng of screaming supporters. Small-time ranchers and farmers swarmed the muddy streets of Socopo, where the Venezuelan plains meet the Andes mountains, jostling to catch a glimpse of the candidate in a chaotic tumult reminiscent of the cattle herding typical of the region. ...

Pastor Maldonado held off Fernando Alonso to win the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, giving Williams its first Formula One victory in eight years.

Government critics, and even some supporters, are ridiculing a state TV host's allegation that a newspaper crossword puzzle may have had a hidden call for a plot to kill President Hugo Chavez's elder brother.

A delighted Lewis Hamilton on Saturday celebrated claiming his first pole position in Spain by claiming it was one of his best achievements in Formula One which would set him up to win Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.