The United Nations has protested to the Syrian government for claiming it had UN permission to attack rebel opponents in the Golan Heights demilitarized zone.
Sierra Leoneans vote on Saturday in the country's third election since the end of a brutal civil war, a high-stakes poll billed as a litmus test of the mineral-rich nation's democratic credentials.
Australia on Friday scrapped a controversial plan to filter the Internet, saying it will instead block hundreds of websites identified by Interpol as among the worst child abuse sites.
China's president Thursday warned the Communist Party faces "collapse" if it fails to clean up corruption and called for an economic revamp as he opened a congress to inaugurate a new slate of leaders.
The Pentagon will no longer retain an exclusive contract with Blackberry maker Research in Motion and has invited companies such as Apple to offer smart phones to its vast work force.
Guatemala's Mayan people accused the government and tour groups on Wednesday of perpetuating the myth that their calendar foresees the imminent end of the world for monetary gain.
Colombian government representatives and leftist rebels FARC kick off their first peace negotiations in a decade in Norway on Thursday in a bid to end almost 50 years of bloodshed.
President Dilma Rousseff wants to introduce public service quotas for black Brazilians as a way to repay a historic debt for centuries of slavery and discrimination.
The Philippines lost $2.46 billion through misuse of state funds and assets during the latter years of graft-tainted ex-president Gloria Arroyo's rule.
Governments around the world must work out how to cope with ageing, a UN report said Monday, warning developing economies with lots of young workers may one day find their populations a drag.
Spain's government unveiled Thursday a 2013 budget that tightens austerity even in the teeth of growing protests, easing the path to a widely expected sovereign bailout.
The Czech government said Wednesday it would ease a ban on liquor sales in force since September 14 following a wave of methanol poisoning that has claimed at least 25 lives.