Global carbon dioxide emissions rose 3 percent to 34 billion tonnes in 2011, according to a new EU report, undermining a U.N. goal to limit the rise in global average temperatures to 2C above industrial levels by 2050.

Egypt's former vice president Omar Suleiman, long-time spy chief to deposed president Hosni Mubarak, died on Thursday in the United States aged 77, the official MENA news agency reported.

The drought scouring the farming heartlands of the United States is the worst for 25 years, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Wednesday, after briefing President Barack Obama.

The United States has issued a fresh travel advisory on overseas travel to its citizens, including India which "continues to experience terrorist and insurgent activities."

Six people were killed in a bomb attack on a bus carrying Israeli tourists at a Bulgarian airport on Wednesday and Israel accused Tehran of carrying out the attack, promising a strong response to 'Iranian terror'.

Mystery surrounded the whereabouts of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, a day after a bomber killed and wounded his security chiefs and rebels closed in on the centre of Damascus, vowing to 'liberate' the capital.

Flagship Australian airline Qantas said Thursday it was ditching BlackBerry for Apple's iPhone and rolling out in-flight iPad entertainment streaming, dealing a blow to the US firm's rivals.

Central bankers and regulators will hold talks in September on whether the troubled global Libor interest rate can be reformed or whether it is so damaged that the benchmark of borrowing costs should be scrapped.

Ricky Ponting could break Steve Waugh's record as Australia's most-capped Test cricketer in front of his home fans at Hobart after the international summer schedule was announced on Thursday.

Yahoo! announced Monday it had named 37-year-old Marissa Mayer, a key Google team member, as its chief executive, making her among the most prominent women in technology and corporate America.