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Blast hits Damascus as Turkey sends troops to border

Rebel forces attacked Syria’s main court in central Damascus on Thursday, state television said, while Turkey deployed troops and anti-aircraft rocket launchers to the Syrian border, building pressure on... Full story

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Indian walks free after 30 years in Pakistan jail

An Indian man freed after spending three decades in a Pakistani prison for spying walked across the border Thursday into India where he was met by family and hordes of reporters. ‘I met my children after 30 years... Full story

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Huge win for Obama as health care reforms stand

The Supreme Court upheld Barack Obama’s health care reforms to insure another 32 million Americans on Thursday in a major victory for the president in the heat of a tight re-election contest. Full story

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Another race for Nepal PM’s post sidelines constitution

Nepal’s caretaker prime minister Baburam Bhattarai flummoxed everyone this Monday by refusing to resign till fresh elections. The statement temporarily evaporated any chances of consensus among parties... Full story

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Iceland’s president seeks fifth straight term

Iceland votes in a presidential election on Saturday pitting veteran Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who is seeking a fifth straight term, against a television presenter with no political experience. Full story

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Australian senate rejcets bill on asylum seekers

The Australian Senate on Thursday rejected a bill to send boatpeople offshore for processing, leaving the divisive issue of asylum-seekers at a stalemate following a spate of deadly incidents. Full story

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40 missing after China mudslide

Torrential rains in mountainous southwest China triggered a mudslide that left about 40 workers building a hydroelectric dam missing on Thursday, state media reported. The mudslide occurred overnight... Full story

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Hillary notches 100th country

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton touched down in Latvia Thursday, the 100th country she has visited since becoming the US top diplomat less than four years ago. The State Department said Clinton has embarked... Full story

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Pranab files nomination for president

India’s former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee filed his nomination papers Thursday to contest next month’s presidential election. The 77-year-old politician was selected last month as the ruling coalition’s... Full story

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US wildfire evacuees fear for homes

Virginia Caldwell was at a baby shower when a neighbor called to tell her that Colorado’s Waldo Canyon Fire had burst into her neighborhood and possibly swallowed her home. ‘I’ve been evacuated... Full story

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Egypt’s army, Islamists tussle over Mursi’s oath

Egypt’s presidency planned to reveal on Thursday how Islamist president-elect Mohamed Mursi would be sworn in at the weekend in a ceremony whose symbolism the Muslim Brotherhood and interim military... Full story

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China vows to oppose military provocation

China said Thursday it would resolutely oppose any military provocation in its territorial waters, remarks which appeared to be directed at the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines. Full story

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AI slams arms imports fuelling S Sudan conflict

Both South Sudan’s army and rebel groups are using weapons imported from China, Ukraine and neighbouring Sudan in fighting that has claimed dozens of civilian lives, Amnesty International said Thursday. Full story

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‘Rape-law’ triggers fury in Jordan

The ordeal of a 14-year-old girl who was kidnapped and raped repeatedly for three days has infuriated Jordanians, especially when her attacker agreed to marry her to avoid going to jail. Full story

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Egypt ex-minister jailed 15 years over Israel gas deal

A criminal court on Thursday jailed for 15 years each a former Mubarak-era cabinet minister and a businessman for selling Israel natural gas below market value, a judicial source said. Full story

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Israel gives Ivorian migrants 2 weeks to leave

Israel on Thursday gave illegal immigrants from the Ivory Coast two weeks to leave the country, the latest step in its crackdown on Africans who have entered the country unlawfully. Full story

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20 dead as north Mali factions clash

Al Qaeda-linked Islamists militants seized control of the headquarters of the local separatist rebels in the north Mali town of Gao on Wednesday after a bloody battle that killed at least 20, residents said. Full story

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Iraq attacks kill 14

A series of attacks in the Iraqi capital and to its north killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 50 others on Thursday, security and medical officials said. A car bomb in a popular Baghdad market killed... Full story

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Mongolians go to polls hoping for mining wealth

Resource-rich Mongolia headed to the polls Thursday to elect a new parliament, with both major parties telling frustrated voters they would deliver better shares of a stunning but divisive mining boom. Full story

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Photographer of comfort women pleased by Japan court

A South Korean photographer whose Tokyo exhibition on Japanese wartime sex slaves only went ahead after a court injunction said Thursday it was important to display the work to inform the public. Full story

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South Korea, Japan to sign landmark military pact today

South Korea and Japan will sign a landmark military agreement Friday, officials said, despite controversy over what would be the first such accord since Tokyo’s colonial rule ended in 1945. Full story

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