News
China starts to thaw out as weather crisis recedes
The thunder of firecrackers ushered in the Year of the Rat on Thursday, but millions of Chinese spent a cold holiday as repair teams fought to restore power knocked out by the worst winter weather in a century.
Madonna and Gucci aid Malawi orphans amid controversy
Pop star Madonna hosted a celebrity-studded event on Wednesday on the lawns of the United Nations to aid Malawi orphans, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and - controversially - to inaugurate a new Gucci store.
Tornadoes in U.S. South kill at least 55
Tornadoes and thunderstorms shattered lives and levelled buildings across the U.S. South on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 55 people and injuring more than 150 in the deadliest such storms in nine years.
Israel kills five Hamas gunmen in Gaza
Israeli troops backed by tanks and warplanes launched a raid into the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing five Hamas gunmen and a schoolteacher, the ruling Palestinian Islamist faction and hospital officials said.
Kenya artist paints peace messages in Nairobi slum
It's a long, thick stroke. The white paint is still wet. Solomon Muhandi dips his brush again into a small cup, his hands dotted with irregular white spots.
Egypt multi-vehicle road crash kills 24
At least 24 people were killed and 16 others injured in a multi-vehicle road crash on a highway outside the Egyptian capital on Thursday, and fog was the probable cause, security sources said.
Gates says Afghan row may make NATO two-tiered alliance
NATO risks a split between countries that are willing to fight and those that are not because some European states refuse to send more troops to Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.
Russia says will move AIDS prisoner to hospital
Russia's prison service bowed to international pressure on Thursday by announcing it would transfer Vasily Alexanian, an inmate gravely ill with AIDS, to a specialist clinic.
Chad's Deby says 'in control' after rebel attack
Chad's President Idriss Deby said on Wednesday his government was in total control of the country after beating back a rebel offensive in fighting which killed at least 100 civilians at the weekend.
Thousands of Chadian refugees flee to Nigeria
Thousands of refugees who fled weekend fighting in the Chadian capital have arrived in Nigeria after a gruelling journey through Cameroon and are camping in the open in remote border towns.
HIV can be passed to babies in pre-chewed food
The AIDS virus can be passed from an infected mother to her baby if she pre-chews the child's food as sometimes occurs in developing countries, U.S. government scientists said on Wednesday.
Ecuador volcano spurts molten rock, hundreds flee
Ecuador's "Throat of Fire" volcano roared on Wednesday, spurting molten rock and huge plumes of smoke that showered villages with ash and prompted the evacuation of about 1,200 people.
Wading though rivers to count dead bodies
To count the dead they ride motorbikes, charter planes and wade through snake-infested rivers.
Come back to Kenya, government urges foreigners
Information Minister Samuel Poghisio said on Thursday the violence in Kenya was diminishing and that most of the country was unaffected, so investors and tourists should not take fright.
White-painted bride honours Bulgarian Muslim rite
Fikrie Sabrieva, 17, will marry with her eyes closed and her face painted white, dotted with bright sequins. She lives 'at the end of the world', tending a hardy Muslim culture in largely Christian Bulgaria.
Minority Christians yearn for equality in Pakistan
In an overwhelmingly Muslim country, Christians in Pakistan have long yearned for equality.