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Australia complains to Indonesia about treatment of Bali Nine pair
World's oldest person celebrates 117th birthday in Japan - video
Iranian diplomat freed from captors in Yemen
Israeli voters unmoved by Netanyahu speech to US Congress
Buddy Holly plane crash : officials consider reopening 1959 probe
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to be told execution date 'in a few days'
Life seems short, says world's oldest person at 117
US ambassador to South Korea slashed with razor by political extremist
India's Daughter: Delhi gang-rape film airs early on BBC following objections
The women fighting on the frontline in Ukraine
Will #SisiLeaks be Egypt's Watergate for Abdel Fatah al-Sisi?
Hillary Clinton urges US State department to release all her emails
UK minister asks foreign governments to clarify rights of gay people
New Zealand spying on Pacific allies for 'Five Eyes' and NSA, Snowden files show
Two Germans are jailed and face caning in Singapore for spraying graffiti
Letter from Tehran: out for a jog
Indigenous recognition 'a perverse sort of racism', says David Leyonhjelm
Robocops being used as traffic police in Democratic Republic of Congo
China lowers growth target to 7% as it fights 'deep-seated' economic problems
Police wrestle man after US ambassador to South Korea slashed with razor - video

Australia complains to Indonesia about treatment of Bali Nine pair

Posted: 05 Mar 2015 01:12 AM PST

Canberra to lodge official complaint after photographs emerge showing police official posing with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran during transfer

World's oldest person celebrates 117th birthday in Japan - video

Posted: 05 Mar 2015 01:02 AM PST

Misao Okawa, the world's oldest person, celebrates her 117th birthday at her nursing home in Osaka, western Japan. Okawa, born in 1898, is said to be in remarkably good health and says she is 'very happy' to be 117. Okawa has previously attributed her longevity to plenty of sleep and a varied diet, but this week admits she really has 'no idea' why she's lived so long Continue reading...

Iranian diplomat freed from captors in Yemen

Posted: 05 Mar 2015 12:57 AM PST

Noor Ahmad Nikbakht, abducted in Sana'a in July 2013, returns to Tehran after rescue in intelligence operation

Israeli voters unmoved by Netanyahu speech to US Congress

Posted: 05 Mar 2015 12:37 AM PST

Polls show prime minister and his Likud party level pegging with, or marginally behind, the Zionist Union party led by Yitzhak Herzog

Buddy Holly plane crash : officials consider reopening 1959 probe

Posted: 05 Mar 2015 12:29 AM PST

US transportation safety board reviewing a request to reopen the inquiry into 1959 crash that killed Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and pilot Roger Peterson

In the 56 years since the day Buddy Holly died, there has been no shortage of rumours, conspiracy theories, books, not to mention that song, about the plane crash that robbed rock'n'roll of one of its most promising stars one frigid February morning.

The official explanation for the crash on 3 February 1959 – that a relatively inexperienced pilot made mistakes in difficult, snowy conditions – has always seemed too mundane for many people to accept. That such a huge musical force, aged just 22, should have been silenced before he had barely started, together with Ritchie Valens, 17, of La Bamba fame, and JP Richardson, aka the Big Bopper, 28, surely demanded a more dramatic narrative than mere pilot error.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to be told execution date 'in a few days'

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 11:57 PM PST

Indonesian attorney general's comment comes after Julie Bishop confirmed floating prisoner swap in 'tense call' with Indonesian counterpart

Life seems short, says world's oldest person at 117

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 11:56 PM PST

Misao Okawa, born in 1898, is said to be in remarkably good health and says she is 'very happy' to be 117

US ambassador to South Korea slashed with razor by political extremist

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 11:35 PM PST

Man carrying blade and wearing traditional clothing lunged at envoy while shouting slogans about Korean reunification and joint military drills

The US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, has been slashed by a political extremist armed with a razor at a function in Seoul where he was to give a lecture.

Lippert, who became Washington's envoy in the South Korean capital in October 2014, was taken to hospital with cuts to his hand and face after the attack on Thursday morning. Officials said his injuries were not life-threatening.

India's Daughter: Delhi gang-rape film airs early on BBC following objections

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 11:33 PM PST

Transmission date brought forward after Indian government protested lack of input it was allowed into the film's approval for release

The women fighting on the frontline in Ukraine

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 11:00 PM PST

Six female volunteers in the struggle against pro-Russian separatists talk about the decision to go to battle for their country – and their hopes for life after war

Will #SisiLeaks be Egypt's Watergate for Abdel Fatah al-Sisi?

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 11:00 PM PST

Recordings allegedly implicate Egypt's president in judicial interference, secret bank transfers from other countries and a conspiracy against Mohamed Morsi

Hillary Clinton urges US State department to release all her emails

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 10:00 PM PST

The former secretary of state tweeted to confirm she wanted the correspondence to be made public

Hillary Clinton broke her silence over a budding controversy involving her use of personal email for work when she was secretary of state, saying she wanted the US State Department to release her correspondence swiftly.

"I want the public to see my email," the potential 2016 presidential candidate said in a tweet. "I asked State to release them. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible."

UK minister asks foreign governments to clarify rights of gay people

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 10:00 PM PST

Countries urged to say whether they recognise British civil partnerships and marriages, and to outline the rights of expat workers and travellers

New Zealand spying on Pacific allies for 'Five Eyes' and NSA, Snowden files show

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 09:43 PM PST

Secret papers show NZ spy agency GCSB is collecting calls and internet traffic in bulk and sending it to the US National Security Agency

New Zealand is spying indiscriminately on its allies in the Pacific region and sharing the information with the US and the other "Five Eyes" alliance states, according to documents from the whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The secret papers, published by the New Zealand Herald, show that the New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) collects phone calls and internet communications in bulk in the region at its Waihopai Station intercept facility in the South Island.

Two Germans are jailed and face caning in Singapore for spraying graffiti

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 09:34 PM PST

Andreas Von Knorre, 22, and Elton Hinz, 21, were caught after fleeing the country following a graffiti spraying session on a passenger train

A Singapore court jailed two Germans for nine months and three strokes of the cane on Thursday after they pleaded guilty to spray-painting graffiti on a train.

Andreas Von Knorre, 22, and Elton Hinz, 21, both expressed remorse in court.
"This is the darkest episode of my entire life," said Von Knorre. "I am very angry with myself."

Letter from Tehran: out for a jog

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 09:00 PM PST

'If my American friend, the runner, who visits our foul city regularly for work, can jog every morning in this poisonous air, so can I'

Indigenous recognition 'a perverse sort of racism', says David Leyonhjelm

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 08:29 PM PST

The Liberal Democrat senator says it is 'conjecture' to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first on the continent

Robocops being used as traffic police in Democratic Republic of Congo

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 08:23 PM PST

Solar-powered aluminium robots direct traffic and are equipped with surveillance cameras in a project which authorities hope will reduce road deaths

In the teeming capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, where drivers often flout traffic rules, five chunky, arm-waving robots equipped with cameras and lights have been set up to watch over the roads.

The solar-powered aluminium robots are huge, towering over the jammed streets of Kinshasa, as cars and motorcyles jostle for road room, their horns blasting.

China lowers growth target to 7% as it fights 'deep-seated' economic problems

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 07:38 PM PST

Premier Li Keqiang says downward pressure is 'intensifying' and energy intensity will fall 3.1% as battle against smog continues

China is targeting slower economic growth as tackles "deep-seated" economic problems and reduces its reliance on polluting fuels such as coal, premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday.

The world's second largest economy will target growth this year of around 7%, the lowest expansion for a quarter of a century, Li told the opening of China's annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing.

Police wrestle man after US ambassador to South Korea slashed with razor - video

Posted: 04 Mar 2015 07:31 PM PST

Police wrestle a man to the ground after he reportedly slashed the US ambassador to South Korea across the face. Mark Lippert had been a breakfast forum when police allege a man attacked with a razor blade while screaming that the two Koreas should be united as one Continue reading...