MORE VIOLENCE: The blast, which left six people dead, occurred just hours after a bomber targeted an Afghan army bus, killing one civilian and wounding four others
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan, killing a deputy provincial governor and five other worshippers in the latest assassination of a senior official in Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government, officials said.

[ FULL STORY ]

Many of the millions of Chinese hit hardest by a run of severe weather are venting their anger at what they see as an inept government response that was too little, too late.

[ FULL STORY ]

The boy chosen by Beijing as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure, met with China's top legislator and expressed support for the Communist Party, state media reported.

[ FULL STORY ]

Scientists in New Zealand and Japan have created a "tear-free" onion using biotechnology to switch off the gene behind the enzyme that makes us cry, one of the leading researchers said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

A suicide blast by a man on a bicycle killed four people in Sri Lanka's restive north on Thursday and air force jets bombed and destroyed a training base for Tamil Tiger rebel suicide bombers, the military said.

[ FULL STORY ]

'NEGOTIATIONS OR WAR': Observers fear groups of rebels could stage an attack on N'djamena before European forces are properly deployed to the country next month
Government troops led by Chadian President Idriss Beby Itno rushed back to defend N'Djamena after rebel leaders said they had advanced to the gates of the capital, a military source said, as France prepared to boost its forces in Chad.

[ FULL STORY ]

The Orthodox Church joined Russia's tabloids on Thursday to rally around a boxer who beat to death an alleged pedophile in a case that has captured the nation's attention.

[ FULL STORY ]

RUSSIAN THREATS: The Polish prime minister compared the situation to a neighborly spat about a satellite dish, but acknowledged the country should take Russia seriously
Poland's foreign minister said Russian threats have to be considered as his country weighs a proposal from the US to install missile defense interceptors on Polish territory.

[ FULL STORY ]

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Mauritania yesterday, causing several injuries, witnesses said, in an attack condemned by Israel as an "act of terrorism."

[ FULL STORY ]

Britain's defense ministry said on Thursday it had agreed to pay a total of £3 million (US$6 million) in compensation to 360 military veterans who took part in secret chemical weapons tests during the Cold War.

[ FULL STORY ]

BOMB OUTRAGES: The second attack on a pet market in months left dozens dead after officials had reported that civilian deaths in Iraq had fallen to a 23-month low
A pair of female suicide bombers blew themselves up yesterday in two Baghdad pet bazaars, killing at least 64 people and wounding dozens, police said.

[ FULL STORY ]

The death of Mormon church President Gordon Hinckley renews attention on Mitt Romney's little-known religion -- yet rather than being reticent to discuss it, he's making a public embrace that shows some shifting political attitudes.

[ FULL STORY ]

A former cellmate of a woman accused of killing her month-old baby by burning the girl in a microwave testified that the woman confessed to the crime, saying the baby "fit right in" the oven.

[ FULL STORY ]

A Rio de Janeiro judge on Thursday banned a float depicting Holocaust victims and an Adolf Hitler costume from taking part in this weekend's carnival parade, saying they trivialized Nazi atrocities.

[ FULL STORY ]

DIRTY CASH: Authorities want the ex-Panamanian leader to stand trial on allegations that he deposited drug money in French bank accounts
A US federal judge on Thursday blocked the extradition of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France, saying that he had not exhausted his possible appeals.

[ FULL STORY ]

■ MALAYSIA