Ford recalls almost 1.4 million cars in North America
US automaker Ford Motor issued safety recalls Thursday for nearly 1.4 million cars in North America, mostly in the US, to fix potential steering and other problems.
Teens become first joint US spelling champions in 52 years
Two young American teenagers of South Asian heritage made spelling history Thursday when they became the first co-winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 1962.
Chinese embassy's US street urged renamed for dissident
US lawmakers called Thursday for the street outside China's embassy to be renamed in honor of jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
SpaceX unveils capsule to ferry astronauts to space
A sleek, white gumdrop-shaped space capsule that aims to carry up to seven astronauts to the International Space Station and return to land anywhere on Earth was unveiled Thursday by SpaceX.
World No Tobacco Day: WHO urged not to snuff out e-cig
The e-cigarette was pushed centre stage ahead of World No Tobacco Day, with doctors and policy experts urging the UN's health agency to embrace the gadget as a life saver.
Russian, German and US astronauts dock with ISS
A crew of Russian, German and US astronauts docked with the International Space Station Thursday as space cooperation between Moscow and the West continues despite their worst standoff since the Cold War.
Australia rules out swathe of ocean as MH370 crash zone
Australia on Thursday ruled out a large swathe of Indian Ocean as Flight MH370's final resting place after a lengthy underwater hunt, as a US Navy official queried whether the missing plane ever went there.
Brad Pitt punched in face at movie premiere: police
Actor Brad Pitt was punched in the face Wednesday night while signing autographs at the Hollywood premiere of "Maleficent" starring his partner Angelina Jolie, news reports said.
Snowden says he wants to return to US
Fugitive self-proclaimed spy Edward Snowden said Wednesday he wants to return home, as he defended his massive leak of US intelligence secrets, saying abuses of constitutional rights left him no choice.
Merkel tops Forbes 'powerful women' list
German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped Forbes's list of the world's most powerful women for the fourth consecutive year, followed by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, the magazine said.
Apple buys music star Beats for $3 bn
Apple, seeking to bolster its position in the hotly contested online music sector, said Wednesday it was buying Beats Music and Beats Electronics in a much-hyped deal worth $3 billion.
Amazon.com 'not optimistic' about Hachette book deal
Online commerce titan Amazon.com on Tuesday said it doubted that it would soon bury the hatchet with book publisher Hachette.
Starbucks comes under 7-Eleven control in Australia
The owners of the 7-Eleven chain in Australia have taken control of coffee giant Starbucks' struggling local operations in a bid to turn around its fortunes, the company said.
Release of "The Evil Within" video game delayed
Video game publisher Bethesda Softworks on Tuesday delayed release of eagerly awaited horror action title "The Evil Within" to October.
Drastic change in the world financial system required: Nazarbayev
There is a need to rethink the global financial system, the Kazakhstan president declared at the VII Astana Economic Forum.
Michelle Obama takes on Republicans over school lunches
First lady Michelle Obama made a rare but strident foray into political debate Tuesday, slamming a Republican bid to change US school nutrition standards as "unacceptable."
California college mourns shooting victims
Thousands of students attended a memorial service Tuesday for the victims of a college shooting rampage, as the university declared a day of mourning.
#YesAllWomen campaign hits Twitter after US shooting
A campaign on Twitter denouncing misogyny has gathered thousands of followers after a bloody rampage in California by a 22-year-old virgin who said he was motivated by hatred of women.
'We know where missing girls are': Nigeria's top brass
Nigeria's highest ranking military officer on Monday gave a glimmer of hope to the families of more than 200 schoolgirls held by Boko Haram militants, revealing they had located the missing teenagers.
Obama makes surprise Afghanistan visit
US President Barack Obama promised a decision on post-2014 troop numbers in Afghanistan "fairly shortly", after paying a surprise visit to soldiers fighting the last battles of America's longest war.