Aung San Suu Kyi's party welcomed a US decision to ease Myanmar sanctions Thursday, but the opposition leader demanded more "transparency" as foreign firms hungrily eye the country's energy sector.

John Terry was left facing an anxious wait to discover if he will be found guilty of racially abusing an opponent after a judge heard closing arguments in the case on Thursday.

US President Barack Obama's campaign launched a fierce attack on Mitt Romney on Thursday, accusing the White House hopeful of lying about how long he remained head of his firm Bain Capital.

A US State Department official will arrive in Jordan this week to meet with Syrians who have fled the violence in their country, Washington's embassy said on Thursday.

Seven people were killed Thursday when a military plane crashed during takeoff in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, an army source told AFP.

Eurozone industrial production rose a sharp 0.6 percent in May after contracting 1.1 percent the previous month, official figures showed Thursday, but analysts were sceptical of an upturn in growth.

Italy raised 7.5 billion euros ($9.2 billion) in one-year bonds on Thursday at a sharply lower rate than in the last similar sale, the Bank of Italy said, indicating improved investor confidence.

Spanish unions have announced a national day of protest as workers rain down criticism on a new 65-billion-euro ($80-billion) austerity package.

First-quarter employment across the 34-nation OECD area stood at 64.9 percent of working age people, the organisation said Thursday, or 1.6 percentage points lower than before the 2008 economic crisis.

Michael Phelps will put the finishing touches on his glittering Olympic career in London, where the swimming superstar says he has nothing left to prove -- but plenty to achieve.

Trucks carrying supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan crossed the Pakistani border on Thursday for only the second time since Islamabad agreed to lift a seven-month blockade, officials said.

Zara Phillips, who missed out on competing at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games when her star horse Toytown limped out with injury, is counting on no similar ill-luck befalling her at London 2012.

Sri Lanka won their first Test series in three years after the third and final match against Pakistan ended in a thrilling draw in Pallekele on Thursday.

The Philippines' foreign minister on Thursday denounced Chinese "duplicity" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea, souring the mood at a regional gathering designed to soothe tensions.

Congolese mutineers said Thursday they had no plans to attack Goma after the UN, which accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels, deployed tanks around the regional capital and called for dialogue.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi pledged Thursday to work more closely together after talks designed to smooth their countries' often spiky relations.

The home secretary defended the handling of Olympic security Thursday after the government said it would deploy an extra 3,500 troops after a private security firm failed to provide enough guards.

South Korea's top liquor maker said Thursday it has started labelling bottles with warnings against drunken violence, in a country which is one of the world's heaviest alcohol consumers.

The army will deploy an extra 3,500 troops at the Olympics after a private security firm said it could not provide sufficient guards, the defence secretary confirmed Thursday.

New claims for US unemployment benefits fell for a third consecutive week, to their lowest level since March 2008, official data showed Thursday as the economy struggles with feeble job growth.

China's bank lending rose 16 percent in June from the previous month, central bank figures showed Thursday, in a sign government efforts to spur the country's slowing economy may be working.

The Rolling Stones launch a photographic exhibition Thursday marking 50 years since their first gig, as guitarist Keith Richards said the veteran British rock band had been rehearsing again.

US swimming sensation Missy Franklin is embracing her historic Olympic debut as only a teenager can.

North Korea insisted Thursday it needs atomic weaponry to deter a US nuclear threat, and vowed never to give up its right to launch rockets as part of what it called a peaceful space programme.

US authorities seized 70 websites suspected of selling counterfeit goods using luxury brand names such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany or Burberry and sports logos like NFL and MLB, officials said Thursday.

A Nepalese court has jailed a man for a record 170 years for trafficking teenage girls to work as prostitutes in India, a public prosecutor said on Thursday.

Two female athletes from Saudi Arabia will compete at the London Games this summer in a historic first for the country, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday.

At least 95 people who went to scoop up oil from an overturned oil tanker were killed after the vehicle caught fire, a road safety official in southern Nigeria's Rivers state told AFP.

Ukraine's high court on Thursday postponed the appeal of jailed ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko against her seven-year sentence for abuse of power for a third time at the request of the prosecution.

Russia's football bosses on Thursday held talks with ex-England manager Fabio Capello in the hope of luring one of the sport's biggest names to revive the flagging fortunes of the national team.

Britain's spy agencies have been placed under "unprecedented pressure" by preparations for the Olympics, leaving the country at risk from other threats, a parliamentary committee said Thursday.

Nottingham Forest's new owners have sacked manager Steve Cotterill, just two days after completing a takeover of the two-time European Champions, the Midlands club announced Thursday.

Aung San Suu Kyi's party welcomed a US decision to ease Myanmar sanctions Thursday, but the opposition leader demanded more "transparency" as foreign firms hungrily eye the country's energy sector.

Gunmen shot dead nine Pakistani police prison staff on Thursday as they slept, the second attack on security forces in the country's political heartland since Islamabad reopened a NATO supply corridor.

Syrian ambassador to Iraq Nawaf Fares, who announced his defection to the opposition, is now in Qatar, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Thursday.

At least 50 people have died after a Nigerian petrol tanker caught fire, a local leader told AFP on Thursday.

Anti-foie gras activists paraded a cartoon duck outside the US embassy in Paris on Thursday in a spoof bid to claim asylum for the bird in the wake of California's ban on the controversial delicacy.

Sri Lanka won their first Test series in three years after the final Test against Pakistan ended in a thrilling draw in Pallekele on Thursday.

European equities sank Thursday and the euro hit a new two-year dollar low, as sentiment was jarred by spiking Spanish bond yields, eurozone debt fears and receding hopes of fresh Fed stimulus measures.

Tottenham Hotspur confirmed Thursday they had completed the signing of Jan Vertonghen from Dutch giants Ajax after the centre-half passed his medical.

An avalanche swept over a group of foreign climbers in the French Alps on Thursday, killing at least nine people -- with the dead believed to include three Britons -- in the deadliest such disaster in the region in a decade.

Japanese advertising company Dentsu snapped up British-based media group Aegis for £3.16 billion ($4.89 billion, 4.0 billion euros) on Thursday, sending Aegis shares rocketing.

Pakistani former leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has filed an appeal against his life ban imposed by the English cricket board for spot-fixing, his lawyer said Thursday.

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara pulled out of the Tour de France before the 11th stage here Thursday to be with his expectant wife, his RadioShack team announced.

Airbus unveiled orders worth a potential $6.35 billion on Thursday but its success was set to be dwarfed later in the day by a huge United Airlines deal for Boeing aircraft.

Intrigue mounted Thursday over the identity of Russia's new manager amid reports that Fabio Capello was already in Moscow to negotiate terms for a contract to revive the squad's fortunes.

Tonga's crown prince married his cousin at a ceremony Thursday attended by 2,500 people in the Pacific island nation's capital Nuku'alofa.

Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog said Thursday it had arrested a minister for allegedly abusing his housing allowances, plunging the new government into scandal.

Britain will deploy an extra 3,500 troops at the London Olympics after a private security firm said it could not provide sufficient guards, the defence minister confirmed Thursday.

A Qatari investment group has agreed to buy Italian fashion house Valentino for an undisclosed amount, private equity firm Permira said on Thursday.