World bishops gather to counter decline of faith Catholic bishops from around the world are convening for a synod starting on Sunday to debate how to counter rising secularism on the 50th anniversary of the historic but controversial Second Vatican Council.
04 October 2012
Protest, scuffles with police in Iran over currency crisis Scuffles broke out in central Tehran in the first sign of unrest over Iran's plunging currency, which has lost more than half its value since last week in a crisis Washington said is of its own making.
Guessing game starts as Nobel season nears Early October means it's time for the annual Nobel Prize announcements and frenzied guessing over possible winners, with 231 Peace Prize nominees.
Australia hits out at Japan at whale research launchAustralian Environment Minister Tony Burke Thursday hit out at Japan's "alleged" scientific whaling as researchers hailed the testing of new acoustic tracking technology for the endangered blue whale.
04 October 2012
Apple smartphones gaining on Samsung in US Apple narrowed the gap with Samsung smartphones in the precious US market in the months before the release of the hot-selling iPhone 5 model.
04 October 2012
Nigeria student massacre leaves 26 dead Gunmen massacred at least 26 people in a student housing area of northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, calling victims out by name before shooting them or slitting their throats.
04 October 2012
Bond fans set to mark 50 years of big-screen style A series of events are to be held on Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films, the iconic spy saga that helped define half-a-century of cultural, political and technological upheaval.
04 October 2012
Maghreb becoming a 'terrorist' hub: Tunisia president Jihadists pose a "great danger" to the Maghreb region, which is turning into a "terrorist" hub, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki warned in an interview with Arabic daily Al-Hayat published Tuesday.
04 October 2012
Gold mine evicts workers as S.African strikes spread A leading gold mine in South Africa started evicting thousands of its striking workers from company dormitories on Tuesday as work stoppages spread to more gold and platinum mines.
04 October 2012
Zimbabwe vote body seeks $104 mn for referendum Cash-strapped Zimbabwe's electoral commission needs $104 million to organise a referendum on a new constitution that would pave way for a vote on a successor to the country's shaky coalition government.
04 October 2012
Questions mount over Benghazi attackThree weeks after a deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi little is known about how and why the assault happened or who was behind it, amid mounting concern over possible security lapses.
04 October 2012
Honeybees, with a sting, at McQueen show in Paris Honeycomb dresses, insect-like visors and caramel corsets cinching their waists, designer Sarah Burton sent a procession of queen bees buzzing into Paris at the Alexander McQueen spring-summer show.
04 October 2012
Ai Weiwei gets first big US show, shaped by his plight The first US survey of the work of Ai Weiwei opens this weekend in Washington, shaped -- in the words of the dissident artist himself -- by his ongoing struggle with the powers that be in Beijing.