Typhoon Haiyan: the aftermath
Brendan Esposito 1:33am ‘‘We’re OK. We’re used to this. Our country faces adversity all the time.’’
Top world stories
Crackdown on dissent deepens crisis in Egypt
RUTH POLLARD 7:19pm In the wave of bombings and targeted assassinations that has swept Egypt since August, Thursday’s bomb blast on a busy street in Nasr City, east of Cairo, caused only a modest amount of damage.
Holiday rush at Mexico City's hangover prison
11:52pm On the way home from a pre-Christmas fiesta, Mauricio Rodriguez, after "two tequilas," felt clear-headed and focused, "not dizzy or anything."
Billie Jean King heads US Sochi delegation
NICK O'MALLEY 1:46pm The slights from the White House to the Russian hosts of the Winter Olympics could not be more pointed. Obama will stay home and the delegation is loaded with prominent gay athletes.
Utah to force justices to revisit same-sex marriage
Activist could be home by New Year's Eve
Turkey's PM under pressure from probe
Latest world news
Syria critic among six Beirut blast victims
7:56am A huge car bomb blast in central Beirut has killed six people, including an influential member of a coalition opposed to the Syrian regime.
Mass phone tapping legal: US judge
7:06am Conflict ignited after US judge rules that National Security Agency's mass surveillance of telephone calls is legal.
Python kills man near Bali luxury hotel
6:43am A security guard has been killed by a python near a luxury hotel on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, a hotel employee said.
Dozens die as Thailand bus plunges off bridge
6:35am At least 29 people have died in a bus that plunged off one of Thailand's highest bridges.
Three killed, 265 held in Egypt crackdown
6:12am Three people have been killed and 265 arrested in a crackdown on demonstrations in favour of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been declared a terrorist group.
Judi Dench chats with spy chief who inspired her role in James Bond
Hannah Furness London Real-life James Bonds were more likely to drive a Ford Escort than an Aston Martin, the former head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, claimed, as she interviewed Dame Judi Dench about the award-winning film role she inspired.
UN calls on Thailand to drop defamation charges against Australian editor
The United Nations has urged Thailand to drop defamation charges against an Australian and a Thai journalist for a report alleging military involvement in people-smuggling, warning of a ''chilling effect'' on press freedom.
McDonald's shuts down employee website
10:56pm McDonald's is removing a resources website for employees, after critics pummeled the burger maker for such tips as breaking food into small pieces to feel more full.
Colin Russell: Greenpeace activist can't wait to get home
11:26pm An Australian activist detained in Russia for three months says he can't wait to return to normal life – including mowing the lawn and sleeping on his own pillow.
Beirut blast kills former minister and four others
9:33pm Former Lebanese Minister Mohamad Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and four other people were killed in a massive bomb blast that targeted his car in Beirut on Friday, security sources said.
Beirut rocked by strong explosion kills adviser to former prime minister
7:45pm A car bomb ripped through the Beirut city centre on Friday killing an adviser to former anti-Syria coalition prime ministers Saad Hariri and Fuad Siniora, the state news agency said.
Okinawa OKs US base relocation
5:35pm TOKYO, Dec 27 AFP - Okinawan officials have approved the relocation of a US military base, Japan's defence ministry says, in a breakthrough that looks set to remove a decades-long source of friction between the two countries.
Egypt's military gambles with repression
RUTH POLLARD 6:28am As a vote on the new constitution nears, the government risks increasing the violence it is trying to stop.
British doctor who died in Syria is buried
2:27pm A British doctor who died while being held in custody in Syria has been buried, with his brother describing him as "our star".
Israeli jets strike Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks
Jodi Rudoren 7:42pm For the second time in three days, the Israeli Air Force struck the Gaza Strip on Thursday night in response to rockets fired earlier from Gaza into Israel, continuing a new wave of violence that has complicated peace talks.
Debt threat to Detroit's art collection forces city to get creative
NICK O'MALLEY 11:41am Standing in a sun-filled glass covered atrium in the heart of the Detroit Institute of the Arts, one of America’s great public galleries, a guide gazed up at one of the famous Diego Rivera murals and said to a visitor: “These ones are safe.”
China slams Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's visit to Yasukuni war shrine
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman denounced Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit Thursday to the Yasukuni Shrine.
American Al-Qaeda hostage Warren Weinstein asks Obama to intervene
Salman Masood An American development consultant abducted by al-Qaida in Pakistan more than two years ago has urged President Barack Obama to help secure his freedom in an impassioned video message released by the group.
Greenpeace activists start leaving Russia
Olga Maltseva A first Greenpeace activist is on a train out of Russia, more than three months after he was arrested along with 29 other crew members of a ship that staged a protest against Arctic oil drilling.
South Sudan rebels seize oil wells
Carl Odera and Aaron Maasho Rebels in South Sudan have seized some oil wells and may damage them, the petroleum ministry said, as African leaders met President Salva Kiir to try to mediate an end to nearly two weeks of fighting in the world's newest state.
70 hurt in piranha attack in Argentina
An attack by a school of carnivorous fish has injured 70 people bathing in an Argentine river, including seven children who lost parts of their fingers or toes.
Forbidden grog a sweet treat
BEN DOHERTY India's dry states drive me to drink. Manipur, restive with insurgency for decades, is one of only four remaining states in this country where it's illegal to sell or consume alcohol.
No joke as sinister clowns roam streets scaring people
Clowns in Britain are up in arms about impostors who are tarnishing their name by scaring people in public places.
First Greenpeace activist gets exit visa
Russia has started issuing visas to foreign crew members of a Greenpeace protest ship and dropped the criminal case against the last member of the team of 30.
