(BBC) Australian officials fear about 20 people have died as temperatures of over 40C (104F) hit the south-east of the country.
(BBC) With Sri Lanka's rebels in retreat, resolve deepens
(BBC) A court in hears testimony from a man who says he trained child soldiers in DR Congo for warlord Thomas Lubanga.
(BBC) President Obama calls the recession a 'continuing disaster' for the US people, as latest figures bring further gloom.
(BBC) Israel has concealed key data detailing illegal settlement-building activity, reports Haaretz newspaper.
(BBC) Marine ecosystems risk being severely damaged by ocean acidification unless there are dramatic cuts in CO2 levels, warn scientists.
(BBC) The Tamil Tigers say civilians in the conflict zone in north-east Sri Lanka want to stay to be protected by the rebels.
(BBC) Unemployment across the nations that share the euro rises to its highest level in more than two years, as more firms lay off staff.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia said Friday it was battling its worst ever outbreak of dengue fever, with 14 deaths and some 5,062 cases of the mosquito-borne disease so far this year.
(BBC) Why polls in the city of Najaf could shape Iraq's future
(BBC) The US military says 128 soldier killed themselves in 2008, a record level for the second year in a row.
The Zimbabwean government says local people and businesses can use foreign currencies, in a bid to halt runaway inflation.
(BBC) Real change in US policy in the Middle East will enable Iran to co-operate with Washington, Iran's foreign minister has said.
PARIS (AFP) - Signs of global economic distress multiplied on Thursday, with more companies worldwide cutting profits and jobs, and protesters swarming the streets of France in anger at the worsening crisis.
(BBC) Every home should have access to broadband within three years, the government pledges.
INDIA: The Indian government is lowering interest rates on housing loans in the face of a real estate slump.
(BBC) Tibet's leaders-in-exile appeal for international intervention in a Chinese security crackdown in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - US envoy George Mitchell called for a durable truce in Gaza on Thursday as spiralling violence threatened to shatter ceasefires that ended Israel's war on the Hamas-run enclave.
TOKYO (AFP) - Researchers in Japan said Thursday they had developed a flu vaccine that works against multiple viruses and could prevent a deadly pandemic of bird flu mutations.
(BBC) Children aged under 15 should never be given alcohol, even in small quantities, England's chief medical officer is to say.
SYDNEY : Australia's Asian population is growing rapidly as more regional immigrants pour into a country once despised for its racially exclusive policies, official statistics showed Thursday.
Unions in France lead big protests against the handling of the economic crisis, causing disruption to rail and air services.
(BBC) Four death-row prisoners are hanged in Japan, the first executions to be carried out in the country this year.
(BBC) George Mitchell, Barack Obama's new Mid-East envoy, is to hold talks with Mahmoud Abbas amid continued Gaza violence.
(BBC) Colombia's main leftist rebel group, the Farc, plans to release several top hostages on Sunday, a prominent politician says.
(BBC) Pakistan's army chief pledges to regain control of the Swat valley, where troops have battled a Taleban insurgency since 2007.
(BBC) A new law which calls time on 30,000 drinking dens in South Africa will reduce crime, a local official tells the BBC.
(BBC) China's Premier Wen Jiabao says although the global downturn has had an impact, his country can deal with it.
(BBC) The European Commission wants to build a global carbon trading market as part of a plan to tackle climate change.
(BBC) Complex politics could hamper reconstruction
(BBC) The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has now passed the 3,000 mark, says the UN's World Health Organization.
(BBC) The Indian government seeks assurances that civilians trapped by the fighting in Sri Lanka will be protected.
(BBC) The UN mission to DR Congo says it will provide support to the Congo-Rwanda operation against Hutu rebels in the country.
(BBC) Desperate mothers in Tajikistan sell babies for $100
(BBC) More than 20 charred bodies are found in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo amid continuing unrest.
AMMAN, 27 January 2009 (IRIN) - The Jordanian parliament has endorsed legislation to combat human trafficking in light of international complaints
(BBC) US President Barack Obama talks of friendship with the Muslim world, as his new envoy travels to the Middle East for talks.
(BBC) Nomura reports heavy losses for the final three months of 2008 as it struggles to cope with the impact of global financial crisis.
(BBC) Liberia's president declares a state of emergency in response to a plague of crop-destroying army worms.
Fiji's military rulers are given until the end of the year to hold an election or face sanctions from the Pacific Islands Forum.
COLOMBO : Sri Lanka's warring parties came under more international pressure Tuesday to protect thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire as the United Nations reported more than 30 deaths during ongoing fighting.
SYDNEY : Australia rejects an international compromise that would allow Japan to kill more whales near its shores in exchange for limiting its Antarctic hunts, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said Tuesday.
(BBC) A team of environmental researchers in the US warns many effects of climate change are irreversible.
(BBC) Zimbabwe teacher sells on streets as salary is worthless
(BBC) A mathematical model based on fading sea ice and the population growth of emperor penguins suggests their likely demise.
(BBC) Obama's US wants allies to do their bit in Afghanistan
(BBC) US President Barack Obama calls for US energy independence, saying global warming and relying on foreign oil posed threats.
NEW YORK (AFP) - At least 85,000 new job cuts were announced in a single day Monday as the rampant financial crisis hit more workers across the globe and brought down Iceland's government.
A proposal to change the way online encyclopedia Wikipedia is edited has sparked a row among its many contributors.
(BBC) Witchdoctors in Tanzania defy a ban intended to tackle a sharp rise in the killings of people with albinism for ritual medicine.
(BBC) A militia leader pleads not guilty to using child soldiers in DR Congo, in the first case before a permanent war crimes court.
BANGKOK : The United Nations refugee agency said Monday it was concerned about the fate of 126 boat people from Myanmar who were detained in Thailand, as authorities refused to reveal their location.
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will form a government after Monday's regional summit in South Africa with or without a deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, a minister said.
(BBC) Just one brain cell is capable of holding fleeting memories vital for our everyday life, according to US scientists.
COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankan troops on Sunday fought their way into Mullaittivu, the last town held by Tamil Tiger rebels who are holed up in the northeast of the island, military sources said.
