KABUL - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has strongly criticized NATO for the air strikes resulting in the death of at least seven children, further aggravating the strained relations between...

MALE - A special United Nations envoy and a senior Indian diplomat have landed in the Maldives amid a political crisis in the archipelago following a dramatic regime change in the Indian Ocean...

YANGON - Less than a month after his release from jail, a Burmese activist monk was taken away by the authorities for questioning early Friday, according to reports.

U Gambira, who was released...

ISLAMABAD - In a major setback to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan Supreme Court Friday dismissed his appeal against a contempt of court charge, which means that the premier will have to...

BEIJING - China's exports and imports in January have recorded more-than-expected decline, triggering fears about the global financial crisis which may have contributed to the drop in its...

Rising manufacturing costs and weak external demand for China-made goods have dented the profits of industrial hubs in southeast China.

Industrial output in Guangdong surged 20.9 percent...

A rhino mother and her baby were shot dead by poachers in a South African preserve, police said Friday.

Their bullet-ridden bodies were found in Tiergarten wildlife reserve near the town of...

China has set up a common online auction platform to sell assets seized in lawsuits in the country.

Bidding statistics and results will be published on the website to ensure a fair process, Xinhua...

American actor Kellan Lutz thinks "Breaking Dawn" may just be the beginning of a new chapter in "Twilight" saga and want more films from the franchise.

Lutz plays Emmett Cullen in the saga which...

Iran is planning to construct a facility to send bigger satellites into orbit, the official media reported Friday.

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the base will be used to launch one-tonne...

The Iranian Navy has added two homemade submarines to its naval fleet, the official media reported Friday.

The light Ghadir-class submarines are designed and produced by Iranian experts, Xinhua...

Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda Friday won the 2011 World Press Photo of the Year.

He was honoured for a photograph taken by him on Oct 15 that shows a Yemeni woman holding a wounded relative in...

Three South Korean tourists and their Egyptian guide were abducted in southern Egypt Friday, police said.

The tourists, two males and one female, all above 50 years old, were kidnapped on their way...

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon Friday called upon Argentina and Britain to prevent "an escalation" of tensions over the Falkland Islands.

The secretary-general made the appeal when he was meeting...

Hollywood veteran Dustin Hoffman says being at the Oscar ceremony isn't as glamorous as it looks.

"Oscar is boring. It lasts forever. And don't think you're seeing spontaneous behavior. You see...

US stocks dropped Friday as Greece's crucial international bailout was put on hold by eurozone finance ministers.

Eurozone finance ministers said Greece had to save an extra $430 million in order to...

Actress Demi Moore is reportedly seeking advice from Michael Jackson's former spiritual guru, Deepak Chopra.

According to contactmusic.com, the 49-year-old is said to have consulted with Chopra in...

Members of British band "The Wanted" rave about their new bandmate Justin Bieber and say that despite being a star he is very humble and do not interfere.

Teen sensation Bieber, 17, joined the...

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed the police chief for providing security to the wife of ousted Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, said a presidential statement here...

MADRID - The Spanish government Friday approved a new decree to usher in labour market reforms to tackle an all time high unemployment of nearly 5.3 million.

The new regulation, the first major...

The United Arab Emirates has reiterated its interest in boosting bilateral relations with Kyrgyzstan in all spheres.

"Relations between the two countries have recently seen significant growth,"...

The United Arab Emirates will host the World's Strongest Man championship here Sunday.

A total of 22 contestants from 23 countries will participate in the three-day event being held in Abu Dhabi for...

MADRID - Famous human rights crusader and Spanish judge known for his role in the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and attempts to get his extradition from London, has been...

A set of surgical tools once used by a Nazi war criminal was withdrawn a day ahead of its scheduled auction Saturday following phone and e-mail threats.

The wooden box of tools belonged to Anton...

Three Muslim extremists who distributed leaflets calling for homosexuals to be hanged, stoned and burned to death were jailed by a British court Friday.

The trio were found guilty at Derby Crown...

A 54-year-old man, convicted of stalking pop star Madonna in 1996 and having "very violent tendencies", has escaped from a psychiatric hospital.

He was jailed for 10 years in 1996, and after his...

About 28,000 people were killed in nearly 200,000 traffic accidents that occurred across Russia in 2011.

According to Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, Russia continues to suffer from an ...

West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle struck an unbeaten 44-ball 101 to guide Barisal Burners to a 10-wicket win over Sylhet Royals in a Bangaldesh Premier League (BPL) match at the Sher-e Bangla...

A Russian military district court Friday sentenced an engineer of the country's Plesetsk Space Centre to 13 years in prison on charges of state treason, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

The...

Sania Mirza's campaign in the singles of the WTA Pattaya Open tennis ended Friday with her 5-7, 3-6 quarterfinal defeat to Chinese Taipei qualifier Su-Wei Hsieh. The Indian, however, kept alive her...

Angelo Matthew's valiant 50 went in vain as Australia scored a five-run victory over Sri Lanka in the third match of the ODI tri-series here Friday.

Sri Lanka looked down and out at 147 for seven...

Telecom service provider Uninor Friday signalled its participation in the upcoming auction of 2G licences, asking the telecom regulator to fix the reserve price at Rs.1,658 crore and limiting it to...

Ten people, including four police personnel, were injured in a grenade attack and firing at a rally of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan in Swabi area of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province...

While people may be extra cautious about what they wear on a date, a British survey has found slim women wear the least sexiest underwear for such an occasion.

Women size eight and below are most...

British model Danielle Lloyd has been hospitalised due to some health issues, and she has thanked fans for supporting her during the crisis.

The 28-year-old Lloyd was hospitalised after doctors...

Mothers opting for delivery through caesarean section could be harming their baby's health, researchers have warned contrary to the widely-held belief that a C-section delivery poses no health risks...

Singer Elton John is urging officials to stop plans to restrict India's pharmaceutical industry, branding the proposals an "attack on the health of the world's poor".

The 64-year-old, who is a long...

Ireland cricket selectors have left wicket-keeper Niall O'Brien out of the side going to Kenya as he was not available for the entire duration of the tour, owing to his commitments in the Bangladesh...

At least 700 people fell ill after eating rice and eggs at a political rally in Mexico, officials said.

The residents of Chilapa in Guerrero state were hospitalised after the rally held earlier this...

A security guard in Britain has been nabbed 19 years after going on the run following a million pound (over $1.5 million) raid on a cash van.

Eddie Maher, now 56, was on the police wanted-list since...

Around 15 tonnes of synthetic drug methamphetamine have been seized from a ranch in Mexico, the army said.

The seizure took place in Tlajomulco city of Jalisco state, said 15th Military Zone...

A 150-kg pet crocodile was seized from a house in Mexico, officials said.

The two-metre-long crocodile, named "Chuy", was seized from Tlaquepaque city in western Jalisco state.

The reptile lived in...

Five people in Beijing have been charged with selling blood to patients who badly needed it for surgery, a court has said.

A district court in Beijing heard that the five accused would find blood...

The weekend in the Spanish La Liga football sees Barcelona in danger of waving an almost definitive goodbye to the league title, offering Real Madrid the chance to extend their lead at the top of the...

The Chinese government will soon launch a nationwide crackdown on illegal possession of guns and explosives following a recent spate of armed robberies.

The government "will concentrate on tackling...

A villager in China has been charged with poaching and skinning a giant panda 17 years ago.

Zhang Chengwa, from Yangxian county in northwestern Shaanxi province, was charged with hunting protected...

A Saudi Arabian newspaper columnist who fled his country after being accused of insulting Islam has been arrested in Malaysia, said police sources Friday.

Just as the suspect landed at the Kuala...

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the US will provide an opportunity to end the "trust deficit" that exists between the two countries, a minister has said.

"The level of mutual...

Singer Lady Gaga has launched her own social networking site called LittleMonsters.com.

The 25-year-old has launched the website for her fans where they will be able to convey and share their views,...

Five people have been detained in Shanghai for stealing over 1,600 iPhone devices bound for the US, police said.

The value of the stolen iPhone 4S phones was estimated at about eight million yuan...