Rebels capture largest airbase in north Syria
Rebel fighters on Friday overran Taftanaz airbase, the largest in northern Syria, after several days of fierce combat but immediately came under fire from regime warplanes, a watchdog said. Full storyPalestinian activists set up ‘outpost’ near Jerusalem
Palestinian activists on Friday began setting up an ‘outpost’ in E1, a strip of West Bank land east of Jerusalem where Israel said it would build thousands of new settler homes. ‘We have set up 20 tents, and have... Full storyVenezuelans swear loyalty to Chavez
China landslide kills 22, dozens more missing
A landslide in southwestern China on Friday killed at least 22 people, including seven from one family, with some two dozen others trapped, local authorities said. The landslide buried 16 homes in the village of Gaopo... Full storySri Lanka judges urged to boycott new chief
Sri Lankan lawyers Friday urged judges to refuse to accept the appointment of a new chief justice ahead of a vote that is expected to see the incumbent impeached by lawmakers. Full storyRoad mishaps cost S Africa 10th of GDP
Fatal road crashes cost South Africa’s economy 309 billion rand ($35.0 billion) each year or the equivalent of 10 per cent of gross domestic product, the Transport Minister has revealed. Full story3 Americans, S Korean dead in Philippine fire
Three Americans and a South Korean man were among six people who died on Friday when a fire razed a small hotel near a former US naval base in the Philippines, police said. Full storyUS school averts another deadly shooting
A high school student in California walked into class on Thursday armed with a shotgun, shot one classmate and missed another before staff ‘heroics’ helped prevent further bloodshed. Full storyAustrian neo-Nazi convicted
An Austrian court has sentenced a leading figure in the country’s far-right scene and two others to jail terms for propagating Nazi ideology on the Internet. Gottfried Kuessel, former leader of the now-banned... Full storyFiji’s military ruler drops draft charter
Fiji’s military government has announced it will dump a draft constitution prepared by an academic panel and prepare its own version, a move New Zealand labelled a ‘backward step’ for the Pacific nation. Full storyC African rivals agree unity govt
Warring parties in the Central African Republic agreed Friday to call a ceasefire and form a government of national unity under President Francois Bozize, with elections planned in a year. Full storyIran denies behind cyber attacks on US banks
Iran has denied US media reports it carried out cyber attacks on US banks, the official IRNA news agency said Friday, quoting a statement from Tehran’s UN mission. ‘The Islamic republic of Iran categorically denies... Full storyMalian army launches drive to retake key town
