Long-held detainee returns to Kuwait

One of the longest-held prisoners at the United States detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Kuwaiti Fawzi al-Odah, arrived back in his homeland on Thursday, according to Kuwaiti political science professor Ghanim al-Najjar, who closely follows the issue of Kuwaiti detainees at Guantanamo.

Australian health minister defends Ebola ban

Australian Health Minister Peter Dutton has defended Australia's restriction on migration from Ebola-affected countries after the World Health Organization demanded justification for the move.

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Sand offers Netherlands new bulwark against sea

The Netherlands, a country with only half its land exceeding 1 meter above sea level, will strengthen weak links along its northwestern coastal area by 2016 with an innovative "sand solution".

Mexican police detain 'imperial couple' over 43 missing students

The end of the road for the fugitive "imperial couple" who owned jewelry stores and ruled a southern Mexican city came in a scruffy working-class neighborhood of the nation's capital.

College entrance test cheaters jailed in Cuba

A Cuban court sentenced six teachers and an employee of the Ministry of Higher Education to prison terms ranging from 18 months to eight years for stealing and selling university entrance exam papers, the official newspaper Granma reported on Tuesday.

Tasmanian devil pays for climate change

Climate change, not disease or hunting, could be the main cause of a decline in the numbers of Tasmanian devils, according to researchers in Australia.

Australia remembers, pays tribute to reformer Whitlam

Australia's reformist Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam was commemorated on Wednesday at a packed state memorial service at Sydney Town Hall.

Mongolian PM kicked out by MPs

Mongolian lawmakers voted on Wednesday to remove Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag amid concerns about a serious economic downturn as a result of the falling prices of gold, copper and coal, and a slump in foreign direct investment.

Fight against Ebola 'needs more workers'

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Wednesday reported mixed progress in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa, pointing to encouraging signs in Liberia and a more worrisome trend in neighboring Sierra Leone.

Three relatives of S. Korean ferry owner convicted

A South Korean court has convicted three relatives of the sunken ferry's owner for corruption, about four months after the fugitive tycoon was found dead.

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A bus packed with teenagers on their way to school collided with an oil tanker truck in northern Egypt on Wednesday, killing 16 people, police and medics said. The crash, near the Nile Delta city of Damanhur, injured another 18 people.