Syria troops enter Al-Haffe as rebels quit

Regime troops and rebels clashed across Syria on Wednesday, monitors said, as rebel fighters withdrew from the besieged town of Al-Haffe after eight days of intense shelling. Activists said gunfire was reported... Full story

Afghan war victimises 5 children a day

Child casualties in the conflict in Afghanistan rose by more than a quarter last year, the UN said on Wednesday, with an average of nearly five youngsters killed or injured every day in 2011. A UN report on children... Full story

NATO still hopes to reopen Pak supply routes

NATO still hopes to reopen transport supply routes to Afghanistan through neighbouring Pakistan despite securing new transit deals with three Central Asian states, NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh... Full story

Suu Kyi departs on landmark European tour

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi left Myanmar Wednesday on her first trip to Europe since 1988 to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize that thrust her into the global limelight two decades ago. Full story

Obama’s popularity is slipping in China, Muslim nations

The US president, Barack Obama, would cruise to re-election in November if Europeans and Japanese could vote, but his popularity is slipping in China and Muslim nations, according to a poll out Wednesday. Full story

Ben Ali gets 20-year jail

A military court in Tunisia sentenced ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali to 20 years imprisonment in absentia on Wednesday on various charges including incitement to murder, the TAP news agency reported. Full story

Hollande caught in storm over partner’s tweet

The French president Francois Hollande faced his first political storm Wednesday as his rightwing opponents looked to exploit an incendiary tweet by his partner just days ahead of a parliamentary election. Full story

Early release of ICC lawyer unlikely

Foreign minister Bob Carr said on Wednesday an Australian lawyer and three others held in Libya were entitled to immunity, but admitted the chances of their early release appeared slim. Full story

7 Filipinos die in storms

Heavy storms in the Philippines killed at least seven people and left more than a dozen others feared missing at sea, rescuers said on Wednesday. Five of the confirmed fatalities occurred when a wooden-hulled... Full story

German cos want compensation for nuclear exit

German power suppliers are suing the government for 15 billion euros in damages over the decision to abandon nuclear power, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Wednesday. Full story

Racially abused man gets $25m

A US jury has awarded $25 million in damages to an employee of a Luxembourg-based steel company who for years endured racial harassment at his workplace, the BuffaloNews.Com reported on Wednesday. Full story

Quake-hit Afghan village could become mass grave

An Afghan village where more than 70 people are believed to have been buried in an earthquake-triggered landslide could be declared a mass grave, an official said Wednesday. Two shallow tremors less than half... Full story

Falklands to hold referendum on political status in 2013

The Falkland Islands will hold a referendum on its political status in 2013 in a bid to end the bitter territorial dispute between Britain and Argentina, the archipelago’s government said Tuesday. Full story

Al-Qaeda releases new Libi video

A new video featuring al-Qaeda’s number two Abu Yahya al-Libi, who the United States said was killed last week after a drone strike in Pakistan, was posted online Tuesday, monitoring services said. Full story