As war came to Jerusalem in May 1948, Palestinian Omar Saleh Barghouti fled his home, leaving behind hundreds of his books, including years worth of his diaries. He would never see them again.

Three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the New England Patriots, according to a report in Sports Illustrated.

Otis "Damon" Harris, who as first tenor of the Motown ensemble The Temptations sang on such 1970s hits as "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," has died at the age of 62, US news media reported Monday.

Israel said on Monday it carried a successful test of the latest generation Arrow missile system, the Arrow 3, that can intercept missiles from Iran, taking a further step in bolstering its defence plans.

Disgraced IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is taking legal steps to stop a controversial new book by Argentinian-born Marcela Iacub detailing their liaison, his lawyers said on Monday.

Anne Hathaway won an Oscar on her second nomination Sunday, confirming her status as one of Hollywood's brightest acting talents -- and an astonishingly powerful singer who "Dreamed a Dream."

Cardinals suspected of having protected predator priests should be allowed to take part in next month's papal conclave, the Vatican's former prosecutor on child sex abuse cases said Monday.

British publisher Pearson, owner of the Financial Times newspaper, said on Monday that its annual net profits slumped 66 percent in 2012 as its print business came under pressure from fast-growing digital media.

Coronation Street star Samia Ghadie became the latest celebrity to be kicked off the Dancing on Ice show after failing to impress the judges with her Props Night routine.

Italian bloggers have found imaginative ways to dodge a ban on publishing opinion polls ahead of elections -- from referring to candidates as cardinals to commenting the vote like a horse race.

Three topless feminists lunged at Italy's Silvio Berlusconi as he arrived at a polling station in Milan to vote in a general election on Sunday, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Calls mounted Sunday for stiffer US action against Beijing for cyber spying and massive theft of US industrial secrets, allegedly by the Chinese military.

Citizen journalists in Syria do much to give the world a picture of the death and destruction in their country, but some wonder whether guns might not trump cameras in the end.

Islamists demanding the execution of bloggers they accuse of blasphemy clashed with police in Bangladesh for a third straight day Sunday, and at least four protesters were killed when police opened fire.

Germany will accept a higher-than-permitted public deficit in France for this year if Paris can credibly show it will stick to European Union rules in 2014, the Spiegel newsweekly reported on Sunday.

Bangladesh police fired live rounds on Sunday in clashes with Islamists demanding the execution of bloggers they accuse of blasphemy, killing at least three protesters and injuring dozens.

The man responsible for designing the Daleks, the robotic enemy of Doctor Who in the long-running television series, has died aged 84, his family said Saturday.

A video clip of First Lady Michelle Obama grooving with a dressed-in-drag Jimmy Fallon on his late-night comedy talk show has gone viral on YouTube.

Nigeria has suspended the broadcasting license of a radio station that repeated conspiracy theories about polio vaccines days before deadly attacks on polio clinics, a statement said Saturday.

Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda is seen as the leading candidate to become Japan's next central bank governor, local media reported on Saturday.