US special force suspends training of Afghans
US special forces in Afghanistan have suspended training for about 1,000 Afghan police recruits to carry out checks on existing members, the military said Sunday, after a surge in insider attacks on NATO. Full storyPhilippine families rebuild amid further quake fears
Families returned to their quake-devastated homes in the central Philippines Sunday, ignoring government warnings to relocate away from danger zones. Men, women and children picked through the debris... Full storyMaldives warns ousted president to halt protests
The Maldives government on Sunday accused former president Mohamed Nasheed of ‘seeking to inflame’ unrest in the island nation and said unruly protests by his supporters would no longer be tolerated. Full storyBack to school for Palestinian, ‘world’s youngest mayor’
Rushed Afghan exit ‘bad for image’: Australia
The Australian foreign minister, Bob Carr, on Sunday acknowledged the nation’s weariness with the Afghan conflict after five more troop deaths but warned of ‘enormous’ damage to its image if it pulled out now. Full storyAustralia rejects Papuan independence
Australia categorically rejected Papuan independence Sunday saying it could not lead to a viable nation and would ‘completely rupture’ ties with Indonesia were Canberra to weigh in. The foreign minister, Bob Carr, said... Full storyTokyo govt surveys disputed isles in row with China
A team of Japanese surveyors Sunday sailed to a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea which the nationalistic governor of Tokyo wants to buy amid a widening diplomatic row with China. Full storyIran, N Korea agree to cooperate in science, technology
Iran and North Korea have signed an agreement to cooperate in science and technology, Iranian media reported on Saturday, and Iran’s supreme leader declared that the two countries had ‘common enemies.’ Full storyJewish settlers leave West Bank outpost
The residents of Migron, the largest and oldest Israeli settlement outpost in the West Bank, evacuated the site voluntarily on Sunday ahead of a court-ordered deadline, the police said. Full storyMuslim cleric arrested in Pakistan blasphemy case
Pakistani authorities have arrested a Muslim cleric on allegations of framing a Christian girl who was arrested under the country’s controversial anti-blasphemy law, a police official said on Sunday. Full storySmartphones to test for AIDS in rural Africa
Researchers are working towards making a smartphone that is capable of carrying out AIDS tests in rural parts of Africa that are the worst hit by the disease, a researcher revealed on Friday. Full storyBlair, Bush should face trial over Iraq war: Tutu
Mali Islamists tighten grip on occupied north
Islamic extremists who control the northern half of Mali on Saturday captured their furthest position south in the town of Douentza, which frontiers government-held territory. Fighters from a group allied to al-Qaeda... Full storyThousands join funeral of Ethiopia leader
