Afghan president welcomes third child at 56

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has become a father again at the age of 56 after his wife gave birth to their third child in India, according to an embassy statement sent to AFP on Friday.

Tourist survives grueling walkabout on diet of insects

Stranded by floods and lost, a German backpacker survived for about two weeks in Australia's inhospitable Outback on a diet of insects, police said on Friday.

Scotland split could 'risk' its pensions

Scottish pensions would be in danger if voters decide to split from Britain this year, a senior British minister will say on Friday in the government's latest attempt to persuade Scots to reject independence.

Iran calls nuclear talks with powers 'substantive and useful'

Despite progress, both sides say big differences still lie ahead

Gadhafi's son extradited to Libya

One of Muammar Gadhafi's sons, al-Saadi, was extradited on Thursday to Libya from Niger, where he had taken refuge as his father's government crumbled in 2011, bringing cheers from Libyans as the government prepares to prosecute him for his alleged role in trying to suppress the uprising against the elder Gadhafi's rule.

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Crimea welcome, Moscow signals

Top Russian lawmakers on Friday welcomed the prospect of Crimea joining the country, despite the threat of Western sanctions.

Ukraine declares vote illegal

Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Alexandr Turchynov signed a decree on Friday vetoing the Crimean parliament's decision to hold a referendum on joining Russia, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Crimea to vote on joining Russia

Lawmakers in Crimea called a March 16 referendum on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia instead as Crimea's parliament voted to do so on Thursday.

Russian lawmaker says EU doesn't care about democracy

A Russian legislator said a recently disclosed telephone call between Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton proves the EU's claim of caring about democracy in Ukraine is "fake".

China raises concerns over DPRK projectile 'near miss'

The Chinese passenger plane that reportedly flew through the trajectory of a projectile that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had launched several minutes earlier on Tuesday "did not find anything special" during its flight, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Iran to get 2nd tranche of oil payment

Iran will soon receive a second installment of previously frozen assets that are being returned under an interim nuclear agreement with world powers, the official IRNA News Agency quoted Iran's central bank chief as saying.