China's pollution blamed for Japan's dying trees

Martin Fackler The threat to forests of airborne pollutants crossing the East China sea is starting to be taken seriously in Yakushima.

Obama visits the Church of the Nativity

Ruth Pollard As a fierce sandstorm blew into Bethlehem from the Negev Desert in the south, President Barack Obama made his final stop on his three-day visit to Israel and Palestine before he flies to neighbouring...

Obama to visit Jesus's birthplace

US President Barack Obama will visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, when he visits the region next week.

US ship 'ignored warnings' before reef crash

A Philippines official has accused a US Navy minesweeper of ignoring warnings to stay away before it became stuck on a World Heritage-listed coral reef.

Rebels leave Timbuktu a 'ghost town'

Islamist militants have abandoned the legendary desert city, leaving its inhabitants without electricity or drinking water as French troops approach.

Thousands flock to Bethlehem for Christmas

Thousands of Palestinians and tourists are flocking to the West Bank city of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas at the site where many believe Jesus Christ was born.

Marchers want better deal for Basque prisoners

BILBAO: Thousands of Spaniards have marched demanding enhanced rights for imprisoned members of the terrorist Basque separatist organisation ETA.

The benefits and risks of Abbas's historic moment

WASHINGTON: The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, returns to the United Nations to seek an upgrade in status in the 193-member General Assembly to ''observer state'', a move...

UN rebuffs Israel to recognise Palestinians

Paul McGeough NEW YORK: Despite US and Israeli opposition, the United Nations on Thursday implicitly recognised Palestine as a state, voting overwhelmingly to designate it a "non-member observer state" – the same...

Jack Carlson

As it flexes its muscles, the world's wonders come to China

Chinese tourists may be flocking to Europe in record numbers, but now they can see some of the continent's top historical attractions without ever leaving the People's Republic.

Defiant Abbas expected to win UN vote

Ruth Pollard RAMALLAH: Openly defying the US President, Barack Obama, and facing down Israeli threats to abandon the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, will submit a bid to the United Nations...

Inside al-Qaeda's new home

Anthony Ham The hardline Islamists have created a de facto state in Africa to export terror. Anthony Ham reports.

Victorian women injured in Italian rockfall

Megan Levy Two Victorian women have been seriously hurt in a rockfall while on a coastal walk in north-west Italy.

Historic 13th century Syrian mosque damaged

Clashes between Syrian troops and rebel fighters inside and outside the Umayyad Mosque in second city Aleppo have damaged the 13th century landmark, an AFP correspondent has reported.

Syria fighting damages landmark mosque

Aleppo Clashes between Syrian troops and rebel fighters in and around the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo have damaged the 13th-century landmark.

Russian gas giant gets go-ahead for Europe's tallest tower

Natural gas giant Gazprom's long-delayed and controversial ambitions of building Europe's tallest skyscraper in Russia's heritage-proud cultural capital of Saint Petersburg have been revived.

Holy site a source of geopolitical tension

Harriet Sherwood The Church of the Nativity is at the eye of a political storm. Harriet Sherwood reports from Bethlehem.

Timbuktu's tombs destroyed by militants

Islamist militants, swinging pick-axes and shouting God's praise, have destroyed ancient tombs of Muslim saints in Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu, sparking international condemnation.

Timbuktu's tombs ruined by militants

Bamako UNESCO watches in horror as Mali Islamic fundamentalists ravage fabled Timbuktu shrines it had listed as endangered sites just days before.