Kazakhstan bans smoking shisha in public places
Kazakhstan Healthcare Ministry introduced a ban on smoking shisha in public places, including night clubs, restaurants, cinemas and any indoor public entertainment facilities on March 14, 2013.
01 April 2013
US says kit removal from Afghanistan to cost $5-6 bn
The US operation to remove military hardware and vehicles from Afghanistan as troops withdraw after 12 years of war will cost between five and six billion dollars.
Rebels, opposition form government in Central Africa
The Central African Republic's prime minister has named mostly rebels and opposition figures to his new post-coup government, as reports emerged of child soldiers killed in the fight for the capital.
China 'two-child policy' town shows scope for reform
A few places in China give parents a rare right to have two offspring rather than one, but many stop at a single child anyway -- fuelling demands to end what critics call an unnecessary, harmful rule.
China's Xi signs multi-million-dollar deals in Congo
China's new President Xi Jinping on Friday signed deals worth several million dollars with his Congolese counterpart in sectors as varied as banking and infrastructure, on the final leg of his three-nation Africa tour.
01 April 2013
Russia accuses US of meddling after 'witch hunt' remarks
Moscow on Saturday accused Washington of interfering in its domestic affairs after the State Department compared searches of Russian non-governmental organisations to a "witch hunt."
N. Korea declares 'state of war' with South
North Korea on Saturday declared it had entered into a "state of war" with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict.
30 March 2013
Canada pulls out of UN drought convention
Canada said Thursday it is pulling out of a UN convention that fights drought, mostly in Africa, becoming the only nation to walk away from a pact that Ottawa says is a waste of money.
30 March 2013
Hollande says judge slur by Sarkozy backers unacceptable
French President Francois Hollande on Thursday said respect for judges was sacrosanct after backers of his predecessor questioned the credentials of a magistrate who charged Nicolas Sarkozy in a corruption probe.
US names Breedlove as new NATO commander
The United States on Thursday nominated General Philip Breedlove, a veteran pilot in Europe, as the top commander of NATO a month after Afghan war supremo John Allen stepped aside.
29 March 2013
'Saint Hugo Chavez': Leader worshipped at his tomb
An endless line of Venezuelans files past the tomb of late president Hugo Chavez inside an old barracks perched in a hillside Caracas slum. Many pray and sing hymns until night falls.