Toyota reclaims world's top vehicle maker title

Japanese carmaker Toyota has regained its slot as the world's biggest vehicle maker, capping a year of a dramatic turnaround in its fortunes.Toyota said it sold 9.75 million vehicles in 2012, a jump of more than 22% from a year earlier.General Motors, which was the biggest vehicle maker in 2011, sold 9.29 million vehicles in 2012.Toyota's sales in 2011 were hit by natural disasters in Japan and Thailand which hurt production at its factories.However,...

Amia bombing: Argentina and Iran agree truth commission

Argentina and Iran are to jointly set up a commission to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (Amia) Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires.The commission will be made up of five independent judges, none of whom will be from either Argentina or Iran.Argentine courts have blamed Iran for the attack, which killed 85 people. Iran has always denied any involvement.Israel said it was "surprised" by news of the commission.Foreign...

Troops take Timbuktu airport, roads

Ground forces backed by French paratroopers and helicopters have won control of the airport and roads leading to the fabled desert town of Timbuktu in northern Mali.French forces are on the verge of taking control of the historic city as they press their offensive against Islamist rebels, France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius said.The move marked the latest inroad by the two-week-old French mission to oust radical Islamists from the northern half...

Chavez Undergoes New Medical Treatment in Cuba

A Venezuelan government spokesman says President Hugo Chavez has begun a new round of medical treatment in Cuba, after battling complications from cancer surgery performed more than a month ago.Information Minister Ernesto Villegas, speaking Saturday, did not offer details of the newest treatment and did not provide new information on the cancer itself. But he said  Chavez had overcome a respiratory infection, while adding "there still...

Riots over death sentences kill 32 in Egypt

At least 32 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.Armoured vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned tyres in anger that people from their city had been blamed for the deaths of 74 people...

Philippines boats harassed: Aqiuno

Manila - President Benigno Aquino has accused China of harassing two Philippine fishing boats in disputed South China Sea waters, allegedly driving out one that had sheltered from rough seas. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Aquino said the two Scarborough Shoal incidents had led to Manila seeking United Nations arbitration this week over the territorial dispute. Aquino, who did not say when the incidents...

China eyes rich bounty in Afghanistan

Kabul - China, long a bystander to the conflict in Afghanistan, is stepping up its involvement as U.S.-led forces prepare to withdraw, attracted by the country's vast mineral resources but concerned that any post-2014 chaos could embolden Islamist insurgents in its own territory. Cheered on by the U.S. and other Western governments, which see Asia's giant as a potentially stabilizing force, China could prove the ultimate winner in Afghanistan...

World leaders should note that time is fast running out

The world Economic Forum started a couple of days ago and I have to say that, so far, I am not impressed. Every January over the past 12 years, I put on a courageous face and go where I must – not where I like – where the world’s most powerful people are, to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. The week of the WEF feels like the most challenging week of my working life because of the “WEF spirit” conveyed by people at the forum...

China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute

BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Japan sought to cool down tensions over a chafing territorial dispute on Friday, with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping telling an envoy from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he was committed to developing bilateral ties. Xi will consider holding a summit meeting with Abe, Natsuo Yamaguchi, a senior lawmaker and head of the junior partner in Japan's ruling coalition, told reporters after his talks...

North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month. In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration of war against us." The reclusive...

Gay marriages: Government publishes legislation

Legislation to enable same-sex marriages to take place in England and Wales has been published. Culture Secretary Maria Miller told BBC Radio 4: "We feel that marriage is a good thing and we should be supporting more couples to marry." There would be adequate protection for religious freedoms, she said. The bill has divided Conservatives, with former Defence Secretary Liam Fox recently describing it as "ill thought through and...

Armed Drones Could Target President: Former U.S. Intelligence Chief

WASHINGTON -- As the technology for arming drones spreads around the world, terrorists could use the unmanned, missile-firing aircraft to attack and kill the president and other U.S. leaders, the former chief of U.S. intelligence said Tuesday. Retired Adm. Dennis Blair, who served as President Obama's first director of national intelligence, told reporters he was concerned that the proliferation of armed drones -- a potential outgrowth of the...

Commerzbank plans 6,000 job cuts

Germany's second-biggest lender Commerzbank is planning to cut as many as 6,000 jobs, or more than 10% of its workforce.The bank said it wants to cut between 4,000 and 6,000 full-time employees by 2016. Commerzbank currently employs 56,000 staff, of which 49,000 are full-time. The bank said it was planning to invest more than 2bn euros (£1.7bn; $2.7bn) as it overhauls its retail banking. Shares in the bank fell 1.9%. In...

Female smoking death risk 'has soared'

Women smoking nowadays are far more likely to die as a result of their habit than they were in the 1960s, according to a new study. Changing habits such as starting earlier and smoking more cigarettes have been blamed on dramatically increased risks of lung cancer. The trends, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, show death rates in women have caught up with men. The study looked at data from more than two million...

Cameron proposes vote on EU relationship

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Algeria-BP Is One of Many Reasons Why Al-Qaeda Won

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Russia launches a huge naval drill in the Syrian Sea

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German Patriot missile troops arrive in Turkey

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