Death, hunger stalk workers as tea estates close in India

Death arrived soon after the Bundapani tea estate closed last year.

Advanced sonar joins MH370 hunt

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 enters a new underwater phase this week with two specialist ships joining to locate the jetliner almost seven months after it disappeared.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Outrage as security is tightened in Washington

The possibility that more of the US capital city could be closed off after a lone intruder got into the White House has set off a debate in Washington, where public spaces have been eroded over time by barricades and bollards.

Clooney marries human rights lawyer in Venice extravaganza

The world's most famous bachelor, George Clooney, broke a vow to remain single on Saturday and married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin during a weekend of lavish celebrations in Venice.

Italy fights Mafia with a new strategy: banishing sons

First Italy fought its Mafia mobsters by confiscating their wealth. Now judges are taking away something more precious: their sons.

Trials of cancer drug show potential

A new breast cancer drug from Roche has shown "unprecedented" survival benefits in a clinical trial, boosting prospects for its widespread use in women with an aggressive form of the disease.

31 feared dead after Japan volcano erupts

The first deaths were confirmed on Sunday among more than 30 hikers feared killed near the peak of a Japanese volcano that erupted without warning, spewing ash, rocks and steam.

Afghanistan to inaugurate new leaders amid tension

Afghanistan is due to hold its presidential inauguration on Monday, with Ashraf Ghani, a noted academic, taking power as NATO troops end their 13-year intervention that failed to stop an ongoing Taliban insurgency.

India reaches Red Planet, but red tape stymies space firms at home

As India celebrated becoming the first Asian nation to reach Mars, S.M. Vaidya, head of business at conglomerate Godrej's aerospace division - which made the spacecraft's engine and thruster components - sounded surprisingly downbeat.

Muslim rebels start to hand over weapons

The difficult process of disarming Philippine Muslim rebels after a decadeslong insurgency has started, negotiators said on Sunday, with the decommissioning of a first batch of firearms expected before year-end.

Al-Qaida stays defiant as US hits jihadists in Syria

The al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syrian offshoot, has threatened reprisals against nations participating in airstrikes against the Islamic State group, denouncing them as "a war against Islam".