As the carnage in Syria worsened, Russia signaled a new-found willingness Monday to consider international intervention while the world’s nations planned a United Nations vote aimed at exposing the inaction of the great powers. Syrian guns pounded anti-government strongholds in the opposition stronghold of Homs and the Arab League called for UN blue helmets to “to supervise implementation of a ...Read More

Israel is unlikely to act in retaliation to the coordinated attacks on its embassies in India and Georgia, military sources state, despite laying the blame squarely on the shoulders of Iran and its militant allies Hizbollah. The Israeli leaderships has used strong language to condemn the attacks, which Avigdor Lieberman Israel's foreign minister vows "will not be ...Read More

BANGKOK, Thailand — A wounded Iranian fleeing an unintended explosion at a house threw a grenade at Bangkok police that instead blew off one of his legs in a series of blasts Tuesday that Israel's defence minister called an "attempted terrorist attack" by Iran. The violence came a day after Israel blamed Tehran for targeting its diplomats with bombs in India and Georgia....Read More

Barack Obama: "It is absolutely vital that we have a strong relationship with China" China's leader-in-waiting, Xi Jinping, has defended his country's human rights record, during a visit to Washington. At a State Department lunch, the Chinese vice-president admitted that there was "room for improvement" on human rights. Separately, Mr Xi and US President Barack Obama discussed trade and currency issues, as well as China's stance on Syria, ...Read More

WASHINGTON: Actor Al Pacino and country singer Mel Tillis were among 17 poets, historians, organizations and others honored at the White House on Monday for their contributions to the arts or to the humanities. Saying they had "left an indelible mark on American culture," President Barack Obama awarded the honorees the 2011 National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal ...Read More

ISLAMABAD — Seven men allegedly held by Pakistan's feared intelligence services appeared in court on Monday, an unprecedented development following orders from the country's highest court. The case challenges perceptions that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence operates above the law. The ISI is accused in the West of still maintaining links to the Taliban and Islamist militants, whom it historically sponsored. The seven men appeared frail, weak, unable to ...Read More

NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said on Monday they had mistakenly killed a group of children in an air strike that has enraged the government, and said their deaths may have been linked to an anti-insurgent operation in the area. The air strike took place last Wednesday near the village of Giawa, in eastern Kapisa province, and followed similar bombings that ...Read More

London: Rupert Murdoch will face hostile and angry staff when he arrives in Britain this week seeking to face down a growing rebellion within his newspaper business and end the talk that his flagship Sun could close following a string of arrests. Those close to the media mogul expect the 80-year-old to show far more composure and calculation when he addresses ...Read More

Osama bin Laden told his children "not to follow him down the road to jihad", as the first photographs emerged of his children being held under house arrest in Islamabad. Three wives and nine children were with the al-Qaeda leader when he was shot dead on May 2 last year. In an interview published on Sunday, his brother-in-law said they were being held in a three-bedroom ...Read More

This is the story of an outsider turned insider, from anti-apartheid militant to sell-out. Sorry, I meant very important cabinet minister in the Labour government. And if you've totally forgotten what I achieved, you won't be the only one. "Ah, Peter, return of the prodigal son!" Nelson Mandela beamed, welcoming me to his Johannesburg home in February 2000. "Thank God you've come back. All South Africa ...Read More