THE WEEK Feb 10: Halftime hazards

Get ready for a sweet Valentine's Day

Asia-Pacific

Romantic underwater performance

Asians most discriminated against in NZ

A survey has found for the 10th consecutive year that people perceive Asian New Zealanders as the most discriminated against ethnic group.
India test-fires interceptor missile

India Friday successfully test- fired a home-made supersonic interceptor missile off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha.
India ministers quit over sex video

Three Indian politicians from a morally conservative party, including a women's affairs minister, resigned.

Michelle Obama performs dance

Argentina, Britain spat over disputed islets

Senior diplomats from Argentina and Britain on Friday traded accusations over the contested Malvinas Islands at separate press conferences held at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Obama compromises on birth control rule

Obama announced a compromise aimed at soothing the concerns of some religious organizations over a new rule requiring most religious-affiliated employers to provide free birth control coverage.
Facebook defriending led to murders

A Tennessee couple who "defriended" a woman on Facebook were murdered in their home.

Eurozone defers decision on bailout

Greek govt concludes debt deal

Greek coalition party leaders concluded a deal on austerity measures to secure a new bailout package by EU and IMF creditors on time to stave off a Greek financial meltdown next month.
Russian Navy to update nuclear fleet

The Russian Navy will receive at least 10 new Borey class strategic nuclear submarines by 2020, Kommersant Daily said Tuesday.
French flights partly disrupted by strike

More than 10 percent flights were disrupted as French aviation workers on Monday staged a nationwide four-day strike.

Yemen's Saleh signs deal to quit

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a deal on Wednesday under which he will step down after 33 years in power and 10 months of protests against his rule that brought the country to the brink of civil war.

World population hits 7 billion

Afghanistan:
A decade of war

Afghanistan marks 10 years since the start of the US-led war against the Taliban Friday amid heightened security and questions over what the next decade will hold.

Apple's Jobs dead at 56

Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56.

First Boeing Dreamliner

All Nippon Airways' first Boeing 787 Dreamliner touched down in Tokyo early on Wednesday with hundreds of aviation fans welcoming the carbon-composite plane.

9/11 ten years on

What to do on last day of Earth?

Zhu Yuan

The importance of people-first principle

Chen Weihua

Revealing tale of two Washingtons

Op Rana

There is more to Iran than meets the eye

Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Whitney Houston has died aged 48, a family spokesman said on Saturday. Key facts about Whitney Houston
Reactions to the death of Whitney Houston

Opposition rally against new govt

Supporters of former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed protested in the capital city of Male Saturday night when the new president collecting parties to form a coalition government.

Mitt Romney wins Maine caucuses

The Republican Party in US state of Maine announced Saturday that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney had won the state's caucuses.

Tunisia, Libya ambassadors expeled

Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Saturday that Damascus has given the ambassadors of Libya and Tunisia 72 hours to leave Syria.

Middle East

Clinton, Israeli FM discuss Iran, peace talks

Arabs ask UN to form joint force for Syria

The Arab League Sunday called on the United Nations to form a joint UN-AL peacekeeping force for Syria, according to a resolution adopted by Arab foreign ministers in Cairo.
Iran not to yield to pressures over nuke issue

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Iran will not give in to any threat by the Western countries over its nuclear program.
Security official killed in Yemen

A senior Yemeni security official was shot dead Thursday evening in Yemen's restive province.

Abducted Chinese workers released in Sudan

Cape Town becomes S Africa's drug capital

With an awful lot of drugs available, Cape Town has become "the drug capital of South Africa".
7 killed in S Africa bus collision

A minibus collided with a car in the central South African province of Free State.
Kidnapped Chinese workers safe

Twenty-nine Chinese nationals abducted by local rebels in Sudan last month arrived Tuesday afternoon at the Wilson Airport in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Romantic underwater performance

A survey has found for the 10th consecutive year that people perceive Asian New Zealanders as the most discriminated against ethnic group.

India Friday successfully test- fired a home-made supersonic interceptor missile off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha.

Three Indian politicians from a morally conservative party, including a women's affairs minister, resigned.

Michelle Obama performs dance

Senior diplomats from Argentina and Britain on Friday traded accusations over the contested Malvinas Islands at separate press conferences held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Obama announced a compromise aimed at soothing the concerns of some religious organizations over a new rule requiring most religious-affiliated employers to provide free birth control coverage.

A Tennessee couple who "defriended" a woman on Facebook were murdered in their home.

Eurozone defers decision on bailout

Greek coalition party leaders concluded a deal on austerity measures to secure a new bailout package by EU and IMF creditors on time to stave off a Greek financial meltdown next month.

The Russian Navy will receive at least 10 new Borey class strategic nuclear submarines by 2020, Kommersant Daily said Tuesday.

More than 10 percent flights were disrupted as French aviation workers on Monday staged a nationwide four-day strike.

Columnists

Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Whitney Houston has died aged 48, a family spokesman said on Saturday. Key facts about Whitney Houston Reactions to the death of Whitney Houston

Clinton, Israeli FM discuss Iran, peace talks

The Arab League Sunday called on the United Nations to form a joint UN-AL peacekeeping force for Syria, according to a resolution adopted by Arab foreign ministers in Cairo.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Iran will not give in to any threat by the Western countries over its nuclear program.

A senior Yemeni security official was shot dead Thursday evening in Yemen's restive province.

Abducted Chinese workers released in Sudan

With an awful lot of drugs available, Cape Town has become "the drug capital of South Africa".

A minibus collided with a car in the central South African province of Free State.

Twenty-nine Chinese nationals abducted by local rebels in Sudan last month arrived Tuesday afternoon at the Wilson Airport in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Kaleidoscope

Newsmakers

Newspaper

Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Whitney Houston has died aged 48, a family spokesman said on Saturday. Key facts about Whitney Houston
Reactions to the death of Whitney Houston