Japanese aircraft had conducted routine "surveillance activity" over the East China Sea zone, the top government spokesman said. South Korea had also conducted a flight, its defence ministry said. China says planes transiting the zone, which covers...
He made the announcement at a meeting with President Andris Berzins, Latvian and other media reported. "The country needs a government which is capable of resolving the situation which has emerged," he was quoted as saying by the Baltic news agency...
The protesters, who began their action over the weekend, want the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down. After a huge rally on Sunday, crowds marched on Monday to several different locations in the city. The protests have...
The court said on its official microblog that using "freezing, starving, extreme heat, fire branding or extreme exhaustion" to extract confessions was also illegal. It is the latest in a series of moves aimed at reforming the Chinese police and...
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would not intervene directly in the negotiations, but that he had set "red lines" for Iran's representatives. President Barack Obama meanwhile urged US senators not to impose new sanctions on Iran to allow time for...
There are conflicting reports as to whether the Iranian cultural attache survived the attack or was killed. Iran is a major backer of the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of Bashar...
Bernard Randall, originally from Faversham, Kent, denies a charge of trafficking obscene publications. Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and Mr Randall faces a possible two-year prison sentence if found guilty. The 65-year-old is charged...
In future, families will be allowed two children if one parent is an only child, says the Xinhua news agency. The one-child policy already exempts rural dwellers and ethnic minorities. The move comes after this week's meeting of a key...
At the centre of the inquiry was a Toronto-based firm that allegedly sold DVDs and streamed videos of naked boys in Germany, Romania and Ukraine. Azov Films marketed the footage as "naturist" and claimed they were legal in Canada and the US. The...
At least 10,000 people are feared to have been killed by Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the central Philippines on Friday. The UN says more than 11 million people are believed to have been affected by the storm and some 673,000 displaced. Several...
The problem occurred during a manoeuvre designed to boost the craft's maximum distance from 71,623km to 100,000km. A problem with the liquid fuel thruster caused the 1,350kg vehicle to fall short of the mark. But the head of the Indian Space...
Among the worst hit areas were the eastern island of Leyte and the coastal city of Tacloban, which has seen buildings flattened and trees uprooted. First reports said 100 bodies had been found but the Red Cross later said the figure could be more...
Meteorologists say that if initial estimates based on satellite images are borne out, it could be the most powerful storm ever to make landfall. The storm has forced millions to seek shelter in 20 provinces and at least two people have died,...
Mullah Fazlullah is a particularly hardline commander whose men shot the schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai. Mehsud was killed when missiles struck his vehicle in the North Waziristan region on 1 November. Pakistan's government accused the US of...
More than 150 others, mostly border guards, were given life sentences. Most of the 800 soldiers who packed the civilian court on Tuesday had already been given maximum seven-year sentences by military tribunals. But they also faced charges for...
He and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures face charges of inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012. After Mr Morsi's remarks and his refusal to wear a uniform, the judge adjourned the trial until 8 January. He was...
A spokesman told the BBC all security measures were now being taken. Pakistan media say Mehsud's funeral has taken place at an unknown location in the tribal area of North Waziristan. A Pakistan government minister said the drone strike had...
"If the message is that Mr Snowden wants to give us information then we'll gladly accept that," said German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich. Mr Snowden's lawyer said a meeting could occur in Moscow, but not Germany. The US Secretary of...
The 16-year-old was gang-raped and then thrown in a pit latrine breaking her back. The three men accused of gang-raping her were ordered by police to cut grass as punishment. The petition signed by 1.2 million people calls for the immediate arrest...
Police have described the incident as a "violent terror attack", the Xinhua news agency says, for first time. All three people in the car had names from the Muslim Uighur minority in the restive western region of Xinjiang. Two bystanders died and...