Hawkish Abe to be named Japan's next prime minister Japan's conservative leader Shinzo Abe is to be named as the country's new prime minister Wednesday, after he swept to power on a hawkish platform of getting tough on diplomacy while fixing the economy.
26 December 2012
Russia's brutal early winter claims 123 lives A bitter cold snap in Russia has claimed 123 lives in the past 10 days, an official said Tuesday, with the early freeze testing authorities in a country used to notoriously tough winters.
26 December 2012
World's longest bullet train service begins in China China started service Wednesday on the world's longest high-speed rail route, the latest milestone in the country's rapid and -- sometimes troubled -- super fast rail network.
26 December 2012
Sudan jails 4 for life for killing Chinese: media Four Sudanese have been sentenced to life in prison for killing a Chinese worker in oil-producing South Kordofan, state-linked media reported on Monday.
26 December 2012
US gun sales soar as owners fear new regulations US firearm sales have sky-rocketed since the Newtown school massacre, as debate over gun control rages and enthusiasts fear certain assault weapons and high-capacity magazines could be banned.
Steve Jobs' estate pays to free impounded superyacht Steve Jobs' superyacht Venus was free to leave Amsterdam port Monday after the late Apple co-founder's estate paid a deposit to resolve a dispute with designer Philippe Starck, who had had the yacht impounded.