United Nations
Fighting breaks out in DR Congo before UN visit
Goma: Rebels from the M23 movement and soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo army are fighting north of Goma, just days before United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon is due to visit the...
Myanmar violence trials one-sided, say Muslims
Lindsay Murdoch Seven Muslims were sentenced to long jail for their roles in Mynamar's religious violence as President Thein Sein pledged in Washington to end racial and religious discrimination in his country.
Russia defiant over missile sales to Syria
Tom Parfitt Russia has defiantly rejected criticism of its arms supplies to Syria after it was reported that Moscow was supplying improved ''ship-killing'' missiles to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Assad crushes talk of peace
Anne Barnard President Bashar Assad of Syria, in a rare interview with a foreign newspaper, appeared to dismiss the possibility of serious progress arising from peace talks planned for next month, and to back...
North Korea fires sixth missile in three days
Sangwon Yoon and Sungwoo Park North Korea fired its sixth missile in three days on Monday, demonstrating its military capabilities in defiance of global sanctions and diplomatic efforts to convince the totalitarian state to...
Secret trove of files on N Korean rights abuses
Philip Dorling US and South Korean intelligence agencies are sitting on a huge archive recording torture, starvation and gross human rights abuses in North Korea.
Taiwan, Philippines row escalates
Tim Culpan Taiwan President Ma Ying-Jeou threatened to recall his representative to the Philippines and freeze work applications should its neighbour fail to respond within 72 hours to requests for an apology...
US cyber hack linked to Iranians
Chris Strohm A previously unknown hacking group, believed to be based in Iran, has started cyber attacks inside the US, according to Mandiant, a security company that has linked China's army to similar activity.
Cyclone puts 8 million at risk in Bangladesh, Myanmar
Sittwe, Myanmar: Hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh and Myanmar have been evacuated as a cyclone bears down on coastal areas home to flood-prone refugee camps for victims of sectarian...
High stakes, hidden foes in Israel's intervention
Ruth Pollard It is just under seven years since the skies over Lebanon roared with the sound of Israeli fighter jets and missiles rained down on both sides in a furious 34-day war.
US citizen gets 15-year labour sentence in NKorea
Choe Sang-Hun North Korea said on Thursday that its Supreme Court had sentenced a US citizen to 15 years of hard labour for committing hostile acts against its government.
Top tribal chief killed in Sudan
Khartoum, Sudan: Tension and anger gripped the Abyei region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan following the killing of a top tribal chief and an Ethiopian peacekeeper, residents said, as the UN...
Israeli, Palestinian leaders visit China
Chris Buckley The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, arrived in Beijing on Sunday seeking support from Chinese leaders, days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his own...
US sticks to cautious line on Syria
The US is insisting it will not be thrown off its cautious approach to Syria, despite Israeli military strikes near Damascus and new questions about the use of chemical weapons in the civil war.
Michael Kirby to investigate N Korea abuses
The UN Human Rights Council has named the former Australian judge Michael Kirby to steer a landmark investigation of abuses in North Korea, which refuses to co-operate with the world body’s...
Four UN peacekeepers seized in Golan Heights
An armed group has abducted four UN peacekeepers from the Philippines in the Golan Heights, which has been hit by mounting spillover from the Syrian civil war, the United Nations says.
Diplomat details fatal Libya night when consulate burned
Scott Shane A veteran US diplomat has given a riveting minute-by-minute account of the lethal terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, last September 11 and described its contentious aftermath in nearly five hours...
Dozens dead in Turkey car bombings
Two explosive-laden cars have blown up in a small Turkish town near the border with Syria, killing at least 40 people and wounding 100 in one of the deadliest recent attacks in the volatile area.
Jailing of US citizen ratchets up N Korea tension
Sangwon Yoon The US has called for the immediate release of an American citizen after North Korea sentenced the man, Pae Jun Ho, to 15 years' hard labour for unidentified "hostile acts".
'Callous confidence trick': Brit made $75m from selling fake bomb detectors
A British businessman was on Thursday sentenced to 10 years in jail for selling fake bomb detectors to the Iraqi government and other countries, by a judge who told him he had blood on his hands.
