Strauss-Kahn strikes secret deal to end US sex case Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Monday agreed a financial settlement with a New York hotel maid who had accused him of sexual assault.
12 December 2012
US report faults Pakistan over Afghan war Despite an easing of tensions with the United States, Pakistan is persistently undermining security in Afghanistan by permitting safe havens for insurgents.
12 December 2012
North Korea successfully launches long-range rocket North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket on Wednesday, sharply escalating the security threat posed by the nuclear-armed state and provoking concern from China and global condemnation.
12 December 2012
December 21: End of Mayan calendar, or end of the world? Gonzalo Alvarez, who had just arrived in Cancun for two weeks of revelry linked to a major milestone in the Mayan calendar, seemed reasonably cheerful for a man about to swallowed up by the Apocalypse.
12 December 2012
Kazakhstan to launch the first Islamic educational websiteThe e-ISLAM portal is being developed as instructed by Head of State following the 38th sitting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers August 15, 2011.
Limited options to punish N. Korea rocket launch With North Korea seemingly intent on going ahead with its planned rocket launch, the international community must decide how it can punish a country that has proved largely impervious to past sanctions.
12 December 2012
World powers watching closely Iran-IAEA talks World powers keen to re-start diplomatic efforts to resolve he Iranian nuclear crisis will be closely watching a UN atomic agency trip to Tehran on Thursday for any indications of a change in mood.
Petrol bombs thrown during Bangladesh protest Hundreds of protesters in Bangladesh threw petrol bombs at police on Tuesday as opposition parties enforced a nationwide strike demanding elections under a neutral caretaker government.
12 December 2012
Impoverished Greek families facing uncertain future Blue-eyed Angelina had the misfortune of being born in Greece in 2010, just as the country became engulfed by an economic crisis that has deprived her parents, like so many Greeks.
12 December 2012
PPR joins luxury sector rivals on China gold rush trail PPR, the French retailer that has snapped up Hong Kong jeweller Qeelin, intends to leverage the brand to build its presence in China and across Asia in a path already trodden by up-market rivals such as Richemont and Hermes.
12 December 2012
Kazakh guard sentenced to life for mass border killing A court in Kazakhstan Tuesday sentenced a border guard to life in prison for murdering 14 fellow servicemen in a mysterious May massacre in the remote Tian Shan mountains.
Japan utilities dive on atomic plant shutdown fears Shares in Japanese power companies plunged Tuesday after a panel of experts said one of the nation's nuclear plants may sit over an active seismic fault, raising fears it would have to be scrapped.
Philippines typhoon toll tops 700, hundreds missing The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has climbed above 700 with hundreds more missing, many of them tuna fishermen feared lost at sea.
Weddings abound as Washington's gay marriage law kicks in Hundreds of same-sex couples flocked to get married in the northwest state of Washington on Sunday, the first day possible after the state approved gay marriage in a referendum in November.