Afghan peace on the table as Pakistan PM heads to US
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif departed Saturday for talks in the United States, with the Afghan peace process and the prickly issue of Washington's drone campaign likely to top the agenda.
19 October 2013
Mayor of Chinese city of Nanjing fired for corruption
The mayor of the Chinese city of Nanjing has been removed from his post for corruption, state media said Saturday, the latest official to fall foul of a crackdown on graft.
Snowden says he took no secret documents to Russia
US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden says he did not bring any secret documents with him to Russia when he fled there, ensuring Moscow had no access to the files.
Syria says peace talks possible as rebels kill top officer
Syria says peace talks could be possible next month amid international efforts to push for a conference in Geneva as a top military intelligence officer was killed in clashes with rebels.
Japan gives muted welcome to US debt fix
Japan's finance minister on Friday gave a muted welcome to the US debt deal, but hinted at the need for a more permanent solution to the warring in Washington.
Top Labor figure lashes out at 'bastard' Australia ex-PMAustralia's former attorney-general has launched a scathing attack on Labor colleague and ex-prime minister Kevin Rudd, calling him a rude and disorganised "bastard" who should quit parliament.
Congress pulls US back from brink, averts defaultThe United States was spared the ignominy of a disastrous debt default Wednesday when Congress passed a bill extending the nation's borrowing authority and ending a two-week government shutdown.