Talks to end the fighting in South Sudan have opened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Government and rebel negotiators have been speaking to mediators but have not yet met…

Rescuers in Antarctica have safely transferred all 52 passengers stranded on the ice-bound research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy. The Australian rescue operators said the scientists and tourists were now all aboard…

Former motor racing champion Michael Schumacher’s condition has improved slightly after an operation to relieve pressure on his brain, his doctors have said. A new scan taken overnight showed signs…

At least 10 people have been killed and more than 20 others hurt in a suspected suicide bombing on a trolleybus in the Russian city of Volgograd. The blast comes…

An explosion at a train station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd has killed at least 13 people, reports say. A female suicide bomber was thought to be responsible…

Iraqi forces have arrested an MP, killing his brother and at least three of his guards during a raid on his home in the western city of Ramadi. Ahmed al-Awlani,…

The former Lebanese Finance Minister Mohamad Chatah has been assassinated in a big bomb blast in central Beirut. Four others were killed and at least 50 hurt in the suspected…

Japan’s prime minister has infuriated China and South Korea by visiting a shrine that honours Japan’s war dead, including some convicted war criminals. Shinzo Abe said his visit to Yasukuni…

Both jailed members of Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot have been freed early from prison under an amnesty law. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova walked free from a prison hospital in Siberia,…

Thailand’s main opposition Democrat Party has announced it will boycott snap elections set for 2 February. Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told a news conference it would not be fielding candidates,…