Taiwan ex-president's prison term extended
Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian, jailed for corruption in 2009, has had his prison term extended by 18 months to 20 years due to a further bribery conviction.
The steamy art of Latvia's ritual saunas
Lying face down in deep snow, naked, in bone chilling sub-zero weather is enough to make anyone think twice.
Versace goes wild with dominatrix punk in Milan
Italian fashion icon Donatella Versace brought her own spin to punk on Friday, unveiling a collection dominated by fierce outfits in shiny black, white, or lipstick red vinyls and deadly accessories.
Germany returns lost ancient artifacts to Kosovo
Kosovo's culture minister on Friday said Germany had returned seven millennia-old artefacts that were smuggled out during the 1998-1999 war with Serbia and were unexpectedly found in a German police raid.
Judge blocks Apple shareholder vote in lawsuit
A US federal judge blocked Friday an Apple shareholder vote in response to a hedge fund lawsuit that claimed the tech giant was improperly bundling questions on a ballot.
Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman to present Oscars
Multiple Oscar-winning Hollywood legends Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman were added Friday to the presenting line-up at this weekend's 85th Academy Awards.
Japan eyes ADB chief to head central bank: reports
Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda is seen as the leading candidate to become Japan's next central bank governor.
N. Korea leader inspects military as tensions high
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has overseen a military drill, state media said Saturday, his third such inspection in as many days as tensions run high following Pyongyang's third nuclear test.
France tops US in women on corporate boards: study
France has overtaken the United States in placing women on the boards of the world's 200 largest companies.
Syria army using missiles to advance on Aleppo: NGO
The Syrian army's use of surface-to-surface missiles on Aleppo is part of a bid to advance on the northern city, swathes of which have fallen into rebel hands since mid-2012.
Japan PM wants 'good relationship' with S. Korea
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he wanted a strong relationship with South Korea, which responded angrily over a rally in Japan against Seoul's control of a set of islands.
Chef Wolfgang Puck: 19 years of feeding Oscars' hungry
Hollywood's biggest stars, after weeks of dieting for the Red Carpet, finally get to pick up their cocktail forks again at the glittering banquet the follows Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony.
Football/Olympics: Sex motels revamp for World Cup, Olympics
A shortage of hotel rooms has led Rio authorities to invest millions of dollars to convert raunchy motels to accommodate the legions of tourists expected for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympics.
Obama asks Supreme Court to overturn gay marriage ban
The Barack Obama administration on Friday formally asked the US Supreme Court to strike down a 1996 law defining marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman.
'Amour' triumphs at French Cesars
Michael Haneke's Oscar-nominated film "Amour" about a man and his dying wife on Friday scooped the top prizes at France's annual film awards, the Cesars.
China reports year's second fatal case of bird flu
A man in southwestern China has died of bird flu, health authorities said Saturday, becoming the second fatality from the H5N1 virus this year.
Microsoft added to hacker hit list
Microsoft joined Facebook and Apple on Friday on the list of US technology titans targeted in recent cyberattacks.
Obama, Japan PM firm on N.Korea, measured on China
US President Barack Obama on Friday pledged with Japan's new leader to take a firm line on a defiant North Korea but the two sides also tried to calm rising tensions between Tokyo and China.
Britain loses AAA rating in Moody's downgrade
Moody's stripped Britain of its triple-A debt rating Friday, saying government debt was still mounting and that growth was too weak to reverse the trend before 2016.
Japan identifies cause of Dreamliner fuel leak
Japanese engineers probing problems with Boeing's Dreamliners have identified the cause of fuel leaks but are still investigating more serious issues with the aircraft's batteries.
