Fighting rages in Syria

A Syrian family, who evacuated their home due to shelling by regime forces, gather inside a cave where they have taken refuge in Ain al-Zarka northeast of Syria on Monday. — AFP photo

Fighting raged in several Syrian flashpoints on Wednesday as key Damascus ally Moscow lashed out the Syrian opposition for its ‘obsession’ with toppling president Bashar al-Assad. In a related development, Russian president Vladimir... Full story

New UN sanctions spark N Korean fury

The UN Security Council ordered expanded sanctions Tuesday against North Korea for a banned rocket launch, triggering a defiant pledge by Pyongyang to bolster its nuclear deterrent. The Security Council added North Korea’s... Full story

Bar boycotts Lanka’s new chief justice

Sri Lanka’s top lawyers Wednesday boycotted a ceremony to welcome the new chief justice as international jurists said his predecessor’s sacking had brought the country close to authoritarian rule. Full story

Netanyahu leads Israel vote but centrists win big

The Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, stumbled out of a bruising election Wednesday with a reduced majority, faced with having to curb his hawkish Palestinian policy to woo emergent centrist kingmaker Yair Lapid. In results that defied expectations... Full story

Indian panel likely to recommend tougher rape law

A government commission tasked with looking at India’s sex crime laws after the gang-rape of a student on a New Delhi bus is expected to recommend tougher sentences as it reports its findings Wednesday. Full story

Rajnath Singh elected BJP president unopposed

Rajnath Singh was unanimously elected president of BJP on Wednesday, capping last minute dramatic turn of events which saw Nitin Gadkari being forced out of the race for the second term., reports Press Trust India. Full story

Jordanians vote in election snubbed by Islamists

Jordanians on Wednesday voted in a parliamentary poll snubbed by Islamists who have staged strident pro-reform protests and have already slammed as illegitimate what is expected to be an opposition-free body. Full story

Nepal introduces transgender category on ID cards

Transgender citizens in Nepal will no longer have to describe themselves as male or female on their national identity cards under a new government regulation, an official said on Wednesday. Full story

Pro-govt Pak tribesmen shot dead

Four tribesmen from a militia which supports the Pakistani government against militants were shot dead Wednesday on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said. The incident happened in the village of... Full story

Shooting on Texas campus injures three

Three people were shot after a fight at a Texas college erupted in gunfire Tuesday. The fight broke out just after noon at a building which houses a cafeteria and a library at Lone Star College near Houston, police said. Full story

Six dead as floods hit Philippines disaster zone

Six people have died and four others are missing in floods that swept through a southern Philippine region still reeling from a deadly typhoon disaster, authorities said Wednesday. Days of heavy rains on Mindanao island left... Full story

Japan researchers grow kidney tissue from stem cells

Researchers in Japan said Wednesday they have succeeded in growing human kidney tissue from stem cells for the first time in a potential breakthrough for millions with damaged organs who are dependent on dialysis. Full story