Sri Lankan pro-government activists protested outside the US embassy in Colombo on Thursday as the UN Human Rights Council was set to vote on a resolution pressing for a war crimes probe against Sri Lanka.

Police arrested eight Greenpeace activists Thursday after members of the group chained themselves to a bridge in Jerusalem demanding US President Barack Obama halt exploratory drilling in the Arctic, an official said.

India's top court upheld the death penalty Thursday for a mastermind of a series of bombings which killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993, the deadliest set of attacks in the country's history.

A top Indian opposition politician accused the government of launching a "vendetta" after police raided his home on Thursday, just a day after his party pulled out of the ruling coalition.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard retained the Labor party's top job Thursday after no-one stood against her in a ballot called in response to building pressure over her leadership.

Chinese netizens praised the US Treasury chief for eating a cheap dumpling lunch after meeting new President Xi Jinping, comparing his modest bill to the lavish spending habits of domestic officials.

A bill to avert a US government shutdown has won passage from a divided US Senate after lawmakers cut deals on amendments, setting the stage for the president to sign it this week.

Ten years after the "Black Spring" arrest of 75 Cuban dissidents, some in the opposition perceive signs of greater openness while others see a regime that is merely changing tactics to improve its image.

A high-powered Japanese business delegation headed to Beijing on Thursday, hoping to meet new political leaders and soothe ties ruffled by a territorial spat.

US and Japanese officers are discussing worst-case contingency plans for retaking disputed islands in the East China Sea if China moves to seize them, US officials said.

US President Barack Obama will travel to the West Bank Thursday to meet Palestinian leaders dismayed by his failure to make good on soaring expectations that he could help deliver Middle East peace.

The North Korean army on Thursday threatened a possible strike against US military bases in Japan, in response to the use of nuclear-capable US B-52 bombers in joint military drills with South Korea.

The Australian government plunged into crisis with Prime Minister Julia Gillard caving in to building pressure and calling a leadership ballot of her ruling Labor party for later Thursday.

The body of Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman was flown to Dhaka on Thursday following his death in a Singapore hospital, national airline Biman said.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard caved in to building pressure and called a leadership ballot of parliamentarians in her Labor party for later Thursday.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard caved in to building pressure and called a leadership ballot among parliamentarians in her Labor Party for later Thursday.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto urged his countrymen to give his anti-crime strategy one year to bear fruit as the wave of violence persisted, with gunfights, police killings and terrorized parents pulling kids from school.

The North Korean army on Thursday threatened a possible strike against US military bases in Japan, in response to the use of nuclear-armed US B-52 bombers in joint military drills with South Korea.

A divided US Senate came together Wednesday to approve legislation that avoids a government shutdown, with the compromise stopgap likely headed to the president's desk this week.

Britain will stick firmly to a barrage of austerity measures, finance minister George Osborne insisted in a budget that also slashed economic growth forecasts, while offering plans to boost the weak economy as the eurozone crisis reignites.