Japan's yakuza-linked justice minister quits Japan's justice minister, who has admitted past links with organised crime, resigned Tuesday just three weeks into the job, citing "health problems".
24 October 2012
Leonardo DiCaprio urges Antarctic ocean sanctuary Leonardo DiCaprio urged a high-level Antarctic conservation meeting in Australia Tuesday to approve a sweeping Southern Ocean marine sanctuary to protect thousands of polar species.
24 October 2012
Apple expected to debut 'mini' iPad Apple on Tuesday is expected to pull back the curtain on a "mini" version of its iPad to battle Amazon and Google in the hot, crowded arena of tablet computers with smaller screens.
24 October 2012
Singapore opens new cruise terminal, eyes Asian market Singapore has opened a new cruise terminal capable of berthing the world's biggest luxury liners, in a bid to boost the city-state's position as a regional travel hub.
24 October 2012
Australia's Abbott says sorry to childless PM in new row Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott apologised Tuesday after saying the government was inexperienced when it comes to having babies, a comment seen as a dig at childless Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
24 October 2012
US scientists outraged by Italy seismologist ruling US scientists on Tuesday joined global colleagues in expressing outrage at an Italian court's sentencing of six seismologists to jail for underestimating the risks of a 2009 earthquake.
Chinese, US, Russian firms to set up ratings agency Chinese ratings agency Dagong said Tuesday it was tying up with US and Russian partners to form a new "independent" group to rival US-based agencies it claims have "proven inadequate".
Shangri-La chef named France's best Philippe Labbe, the executive chef at the Shangri-La hotel in Paris, has been named France's chef of the year by the influential Gault Millau restaurant guide.
23 October 2012
Japan's radiation monitoring unreliable: Greenpeace Government radiation monitoring in areas near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is unreliable, Greenpeace charged on Tuesday, with heavily populated areas exposed to 13 times the legal limit.
23 October 2012
US, Iran deny deal for bilateral nuclear talks Iran and the United States both denied any deal had been reached for one-on-one nuclear talks, as The New York Times reported -- even though the White House said it was open to such a dialogue.
23 October 2012
Fidel Castro appears in public after health rumors Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has reappeared in public, meeting at a Havana hotel with a Venezuelan politician -- quashing swirling rumors that the former leader was on his death bed.
Kazakhstan gains 7 notches in the WB’s Doing Business – 2013 Poland was the global top improver in the past year. Kazakhstan is among the other nine economies recognized as having the most improved ease of doing business across several areas of regulation as measured by the report.
23 October 2012
Merkel to open Berlin Holocaust memorial for RomaGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel will inaugurate a memorial to murdered Roma and Sinti victims of the Nazis on Wednesday, as Europe's largest minority grapples with ongoing discrimination.
23 October 2012
Foreign jihadists pour into northern Mali Hundreds of jihadist fighters poured into Mali over the weekend to support the Islamists who have controlled the north for seven months ahead of a threatened regional intervention.