Display reveals spy gadgets

Lipstick pistols, poison pens, explosive rats - a new Paris exhibit reveals real-life spy gadgets and tells the story of how secret agents around the world were recruited, trained and equipped during clandestine missions from World War I to the end of the Cold War.

Abe, Putin discuss islands row

Being on a different wavelength with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may find it impossible to settle the territorial dispute between the two countries during Putin's visit that began at a hot springs resort in Abe's ancestral hometown of Nagato, Yamaguchi prefecture, on Thursday.

Evacuation convoy starts leaving Aleppo

Residents in eastern Aleppo started to board buses and ambulances as the long-awaited pullout from the last rebel enclave in the embattled Syrian city got underway on Thursday.

Yahoo suffers world's biggest hack

Yahoo has discovered a 3-year-old security breach that enabled a hacker to compromise more than 1 billion user accounts, breaking the company's own humiliating record for the biggest security breach in history.

Emperor Qianlong's dragon seal sells for $22m

An 18th-century Chinese imperial seal sold for a record $22 million in Paris on Wednesday - more than 20 times its estimate, the Drouot auction house said, a world record for this kind of bids.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

2016: The beginning of the end of a rock era

The year began with David Bowie releasing one of the most acclaimed albums of his vast career, a sign of new creative energy from the rock legend. Two days later, he was dead after a battle with cancer.

Job ad may give emoji experts reason to employ the happy face

A London translation agency said on Tuesday that it is advertising for its first "emoji translator" to help meet the "challenges posed by the world's fastest-growing language".

Da Vinci drawing discovered among doctor's papers

A lost drawing by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered in the papers of a French provincial doctor, a Paris auction house said on Tuesday.

Crowdfunded train service takes on giant of the railway

With a single 1970s train in orange livery and a little crowdfunding help, a plucky Berlin startup is challenging the might of Germany's state rail operator, Deutsche Bahn.

Mixed results in game craze study

It has been hailed as a revolutionary way to get people moving, using smartphones to pursue cartoon creatures through city parks and streets on foot, instead of taking the car or metro.

Evacuation deal on hold amid clashes

Clashes erupted in Syria's Aleppo on Wednesday and a deal for the evacuation of rebel areas was on hold, leaving thousands of cold and hungry civilians uncertain of their future.