Nearly a dozen wildfires driven by powerful Santa Ana winds spread across Southern California on Sunday, killing one person near San Diego, destroying several homes and a church in celebrity-laden Malibu, and forcing an entire community to evacuate.
Chinese President Hu Jintao was on Monday named as head of the ruling Communist Party for a second term, an endorsement for him to lead the country for five more years.
A former Russian UN official who has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison in the U.S. for money laundering said his lawyers have launched an appeal against the sentence.
Russia signed an agreement with the World Bank and the World Health Organization on Friday night on the allocation of 20 million dollars for fighting malaria in Africa.
Italy`s advertising watchdog said Friday it has banned an image by controversial photographer Oliviero Toscani for a clothing company which showed a naked anorexic woman.
"The Vietnamese government will foster economic, trade and investment cooperation with Russia , benefiting both countries", Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said.
The events taking place now in Ukraine, are not treated seriously by Russians - they are taken as fun of local elites, political analyst Vadim Karasev announced at a round-table discussion "What the Kremlin thinks of the relations with Ukraine".
Russia said Friday that it wants to resolve a dispute with Japan over the Kuril islands, which has prevented them signing a treaty to end World War II.
The world`s top finance leaders said Friday order was returning to financial markets but warned of lingering instability likely to dampen economic growth as they turned up the heat on China to ease its currency restrictions.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gained assurances that Israel`s security is a key element in Russia`s Mideast policy during his short visit to Moscow, his press service said on Friday.
Vladimir Putin is to attend a EU-Russia summit on October 26 in Mafra, Portugal, during an official two-day visit to the country, a presidential spokesman said on Friday.
Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said hosting a U.S anti-missile shield could help protect Poland from possible threats from Russia. Following this statement, Russia`s Foreign Ministry has warned Poland not to provoke further political conflict between the two countries.
Canada`s Sex Party, which advocates a "sex-positive culture," has taken the national postal service to court after letter carriers refused to deliver its sexually explicit pamphlets.
Russia intends to take part, as equal, in a conference of G-8 finance ministers in Washington on Friday, Russia`s Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin reiterated at a reception in the U.S. capital on Thursday evening.
Cooperation between Russia and Japan should not suffer from the unresolved territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
President Vladimir Putin warned the United States on Thursday that Russia could take retaliatory measures if Washington failed to take heed of its concerns over a missile defense shield in Europe.
A suicide bombing in a crowd welcoming former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto killed up to 126 people Thursday night, shattering her celebratory procession through Pakistan`s biggest city after eight years in exile.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Cecilia have divorced, the president`s office said on Thursday, ending rampant speculation about the state of their 11-year old marriage.
The European Union on Friday said it was disappointed with South Korea`s offer in talks on a free-trade agreement and called on Seoul to do more.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised on Thursday new nuclear weapons as part of Moscow`s military build-up, saying the experience of Iraq showed the need for resource-rich countries to keep strong defenses.
With 15 months to go in office, President George W. Bush wants the U.S. Congress to know he has no plans to fade quietly away.
Russia on Thursday carried out a successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Paris` subways slowed to a halt and rail lines were disrupted Thursday during a massive strike in France that was expected to give President Nicolas Sarkozy his first real test after five months in office.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought support from Egypt Tuesday in her quest to nudge Israelis and Palestinians closer together before a Mideast peace conference.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Tuesday and implicitly warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran. He also said nations shouldn`t pursue oil pipeline projects in the area if they weren`t backed by regional powers.