WARSAW (AP):Poland has introduced a ban on smoking in public places, like stadiums and restaurants, with fines foreseen for people who persist in lighting up.
SHANGHAI (AP): Fire engulfed a high-rise apartment building under renovation in China's business centre of Shanghai yesterday, killing 42 people and sending residents scrambling down scaffolding to escape, city...
Sofia (AP):Prosecutors in Bulgaria have indicted a former labour minister for alleged embezzlement and abuse of power during her tenure in the previous government.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP):Health officials say Brazil is at risk of an even deadlier outbreak of dengue fever as the South American nation enters its long, wet summer, when standing water turns into breeding ponds...
Leaders of the G20 group of major economies have agreed to avoid competitive devaluation of currencies after talks concluded in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
The National Union of Journalists in Britain has called off a 48-hour strike at the BBC planned for next Monday and Tuesday, over proposed pension scheme changes.
Nairobi, Kenya (AP):A hostage ordeal ended for 17 Chinese sailors who returned home after four months in pirate captivity, even as pirates overran a chemical tanker near India yesterday, capturing the vessel and 31 crew members.The...
Mount Merapi, Indonesia (AP):Indonesia's deadly volcano spit out towering clouds of ash but with clear skies over the capital, hundreds of miles (kilometres) to the west, international airlines resumed flights yesterday.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AP):Muslim-majority Malaysia's first gay romance movie opens with playful scenes of a bare-chested male couple massaging each other on a beach at night, but their euphoria soon evaporates...
Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (AP):International aid groups said yesterday they're launching a mass polio immunisation campaign in three Central African nations in response to a polio outbreak suspected...
Juba, Sudan (AP):An outbreak of a parasitic tropical disease has killed more than 300 people in Southern Sudan and the worst of the health crisis is yet to come, officials say.
Seoul, South Korea (AP): The office of South Korea's president says he and his Chinese counterpart have agreed to cooperate closely in seeking North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
