Govts aim to prevent future of killer robots

Armies of Terminator-like warriors fan out across the battlefield, destroying everything in their path, as swarms of fellow robots rain fire from the skies.

French plan to remap nation vexes regions

France's administrative regions - Normandy, Alsace, Burgundy, etc - have long been part of the identity of citizens of this diverse country. Now, merging some of them is seen as a logical way to save money on bureaucracy, and the French support it - as long as it's someone else's turf.

Ex-Israeli PM gets six years in prison

Israel's former prime minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in jail on Tuesday for taking bribes in a massive real estate deal, a crime the judge said was akin to treason.

US manned aircraft search for girls

Manned US aircraft were flying over Nigeria on Tuesday, searching for more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram Islamists after Abuja dismissed a prisoner-swap offer from the militants.

Boko Haram video shows kidnapped students

Looking sad and frightened, dozens of barefoot girls sat huddled together wearing gray Muslim veils as they chanted Quranic verses in Arabic. Some Christians among them said they had converted to Islam. In the video released on Monday, the Boko Haram terrorists offered the first public glimpse of what it claimed were some of the nearly 300 girls kidnapped from a Nigerian school.

S. Sudan cease-fire broken as rebels and army battle

Fighting between South Sudanese rebels and government troops raged on Monday, just days after a fresh cease-fire deal, dashing hopes to a swift end to five months of civil war.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Israel's 5 entries at Cannes festival eagerly awaited

Bigger budgets, higher quality drive new run of cinematic success

Breast cancer linked to 17 ordinary chemicals, US researchers say

Certain chemicals that are common in everyday life have been shown to cause breast cancer in lab rats and are likely to do the same in women, US researchers said on Monday.

Scientists: Antarctic Ocean has strongest winds in 1,000 years

Winds in the wild Antarctic Ocean are blowing their strongest in a millennia as climate change shifts weather patterns, leaving Antarctica colder and Australia facing more droughts, a study showed on Monday.

Russia urges dialogue after Ukraine vote

Poll results show strong support for sovereignty of Donetsk, Luhansk

Violence plagues ballot day

Sunday's voting in eastern Ukraine appeared mostly peaceful, although isolated violence flared in some areas, including one attack on civilians by alleged pro-Kiev gunmen. A group of armed men was seen firing into a crowd of pro-Russian activists in Krasnoarmeisk, about 30 km west from Donetsk.