As MERS cases surge, experts at loss to explain spike
As the number of reported cases of the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome surged this week, public health experts are struggling to understand where it originated, how it is spread and why there has been a sudden spike in infections.
Top world stories
Everest climbers leave amid Sherpa tensions
Climbers who had hoped to reach the summit of Mount Everest have instead begun the long journey home: a teenager with epilepsy; a banker who quit his job; a builder who was carrying the ashes of his younger brother.
Coca-Cola defends 'pomegranate' label
Not long after a lawyer for Coca-Cola started to defend its label for a blended fruit juice at a US Supreme Court this week, Justice Anthony Kennedy subjected her to a series of unusually harsh questions.
Court fight over India's running of the bulls
Amrit Dhillon An ancient tradition of running with a ferocious bull, grabbing its horns and hanging on for dear life to win a prize is to be preserved, if the Indian government has its way.
Russia launches military drills along border
Ukrainian forces have moved against pro-Russian forces, killing and wounding a still undetermined number of people and prompting Russia to launch military exercises along the Ukrainian border.
Web
Putin calls internet a 'CIA project'
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the internet a "CIA project" and has warned Russians against making Google searches.
Israel halts peace talks with Palestinians
The Israel government decided to suspend American-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians because of the reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.
Relatives of ferry victims attack official
Furious relatives of missing victims from South Korea's ferry disaster attacked a top coastguard official on Thursday, accusing him of lying about efforts to retrieve bodies still trapped in the submerged vessel.
Police make Syria plea to Muslim women
British police are asking Muslim women to dissuade young people in their communities from going to fight in Syria, the latest tactic by a government worried about the security risk posed by youths radicalised by war.
Second case of potential child abuse emerges
US rancher on blacks: 'better off as slaves?'
Forumla One boss Ecclestone denies bribery
Chilling audio as homeowner shoots two teens
FBI informant 'led attacks on foreign websites'
Latest world news
Iraq attacks leave 15 dead as elections loom
5:27am BAGHDAD, April 26 AFP - Attacks in Iraq have left 15 people dead in the run-up to next week's first parliamentary election since US troops withdrew.
Boy murders girl who turned down prom date
Doug Stanglin 3:41am A 16-year-old Connecticut honors student was stabbed to death in a school stairwell Friday allegedly by a fellow student after she turned down his invitation to tonight's junior prom, according to local media reports.
Best of the world - April 27, 2014
The Herald's picture editors showcase the best images from around the globe.
Five NATO troops killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash
2:51am LONDON, April 26 AFP - Five troops have been killed in a British military helicopter crash in Afghanistan, with the cause of the incident under investigation.
South Korea ferry disaster: All crew in custody
1:25am All surviving crew members of a sunken South Korean ferry are in custody, as bad weather prevents the recovery of any of the more-than 100 bodies still missing.
Australia likely to widen search for MH370 debris
12:51am The Australian authorities are likely to widen the underwater search for wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Ronald McDonald gets a makeover, loses jumpsuit, takes on Twitter
Tiffany Hsu 6:35pm Same clown, new clothes: Is that the main takeaway of McDonald's newest makeover of its brand ambassador Ronald McDonald?
Hijack alert puts scrutiny on airline
Michael Bachelard, Indonesia Correspondent, Cameron Atfield, Amilia Rosa 6:38pm Serious questions are being asked of Virgin Blue's pilot and copilot after they enacted full hijack alerts to deal with an unruly passenger on board a flight to Bali on Friday.
US village honours Australian army captain
Peter Mitchell 2:34pm The small upstate New York village of Saranac Lake has honoured Australian soldier Captain Paul McKay, who died in sub-zero conditions on a mountain in January.
Dozens killed in Baghdad election rally blasts
1:42pm Three bombs at an election rally in Baghdad for a Shiite political party have killed at least 31 people, just days before nationwide parliamentary elections.
Russia violated Ukraine airspace: Pentagon
Karen DeYoung and Michael Birnbaum 11:45am The Pentagon said late Friday that Russian aircraft had entered Ukrainian airspace "on several occasions in the last 24 hours" and called on Moscow to take "immediate steps" to ease rising tensions.
Russia violated Ukraine's airspace, says Pentagon, as US weighs further sanctions
Karen DeYoung and Michael Birnbaum 12:42pm The Pentagon said late on Friday that Russian aircraft had entered Ukrainian airspace "on several occasions in the last 24 hours" and called on Moscow to take "immediate steps" to de-escalate rising tensions.
Student stabbed to death at Connecticut high school
David Owens 11:54am A 16-year-old Connecticut high school student was stabbed to death on Friday morning, and police are investigating whether the 16-year-old male who is suspected of killing her had wanted to take her to the prom, which was scheduled for Friday night.
Nepal halts Everest climbs for a year after fresh avalanches
Dean Nelson 10:48am Climbers and their local guides continued to descend from Everest base camp on Friday as officials said a Sherpa boycott and fresh avalanches had ended hopes of any group reaching the summit this year from the more popular Nepal side.
Kerry puts Mid-East peace effort on hold
Terry Atlas 3:45pm US Secretary of State John Kerry has put his nine-month quest for an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord on indefinite hold, though his spokeswoman denied that his effort has been a failure.
North Korea says it has detained a US tourist
Choe Sang-hun 12:06pm A US tourist who said he was seeking "shelter" in North Korea has been detained there for more than two weeks and is being held on charges of a ''gross violation of its legal order'', the country's official Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday.
Six-year-old killed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chlorine gas offensive
Ruth Sherlock 9:47pm The Syrian army is filling barrel bombs with chlorine gas and dropping them on towns and villages in an attempt to crush a renewed opposition offensive in the civil war.
Two popes canonised, but how miraculous should saints be?
Anthony Faiola 12:04am Catholic saints are said to be the stuff of miracles, celestial servants who bend God's ear to aid the desperately ill. But Pope Francis may be sending a new message to the globe's one billion Catholics.
Racism taints US rancher at scene of Nevada ranch standoff, where 'citizen soldiers' stand guard
John Glionna, Richard Simon and Michael Thurston 7:32am Bunkerville, Nevada: The first thing you see on the drive to Cliven Bundy's ranch are the American flags — tied to roadside guardrails, flapping in a hard desert wind.
Prom invite possible motive for student's murder at Connecticut high school
Hilda Munoz and Savannah Mul MILFORD, Conn. - A 16-year-old Jonathan Law High School student was stabbed to death Friday morning, and police are investigating whether the 16-year-old male who is suspected of killing her had wanted to take her to the prom.
Empire of the sands
Jennifer Byrne Set up and funded by Qatari royalty, Al Jazeera has proven to be a ground-breaking news network - but its reporting has not come without some compromises.
Will Shakespeare's dictionary prove to be, or not to be, authentic - that is the question
Mark Tewfik Either way, the discovery of a dictionary from 1580 is an amazing literary find.
Avatar Sweetie exposes sex predators
Kristen Schweizer Sweetie looks much like other unfortunate young Filipinas. Just 10 years old, her user profile shows she spends her days online fielding requests from men who offer her money to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam. When she logs on, invitations pour in - ''Are you a working girl?'' or ''I'm into girls your age'' - from strangers keen to get her into a private show via Skype or Yahoo Messenger.
Royal couple thwart Australian republic movement
Damien Murphy So many photo opportunities, so many dresses. At times the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit seemed a variation on Paul Hogan's tourist pitch: ''Throw another royal on the barbie''.
First double pope canonisation since Middle Ages to honour John Paul II and John XXIII
Andrew Frye ROME - Pope John Paul II, on the cusp of the fastest canonization in recent history, will be honored in a double ceremony this weekend in Rome along with a pope whose death 51 years ago spurred the first modern instant-sainthood campaign.
Over 100 dead, thousands left homeless by flash floods in Afghanistan
KABUL, April 25 (Reuters) - More than 100 people have been killed and thousands left homeless by flash floods in north and west Afghanistan, officials said on Friday, prompting desperate pleas for help from the impoverished provincial authorities.
MH370 search: Malaysia Airlines staff detained by hundreds of angry relatives of passengers
LINDSAY MURDOCH Tension boils over in a Beijing hotel as 10 staff are held by more than 300 family members of passengers and an airline security supervisor is attacked.
Ukraine crisis: Kiev says 'Russia wants to start a third world war'
Marc Burleigh and Anna Smolchenko Kiev has accused Moscow of seeking to trigger a "third world war" as military tensions soared in eastern Ukraine and US President Barack Obama led a diplomatic charge against Russia.
Coulson and Brooks affair ran until he quit paper, UK hacking trial hears
LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - The affair between Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, former Rupert Murdoch editors who are on trial accused of phone-hacking offences at the News of the World newspaper, lasted until he quit the tabloid, a London court was told on Friday.
Malaysia vows transparency on MH370
Dan Martin Malaysia's premier has pledged to release a report on flight MH370's disappearance as passengers' families protested outside the country's embassy in Beijing.
