Irish newspapers gloated on Friday after France was left on the verge of World Cup defeat, seven months after a disputed Thierry Henry handball dashed Ireland’s hopes of going to South Africa.

France, the 1998 world champions and 2006 runners-up, were left teetering on the brink of World Cup first round elimination on Thursday when they slumped to a 0-2 defeat against Mexico.

Nobel literature prize winner Jose Saramago, who left his native Portugal after arguing with his country’s government, has died at the age of 87, his Spanish publisher said on Friday.

Taliban militants have handed over the bodies of six Pakistani soldiers killed in an attack near the Afghan border but the hunt is still on for 34 who remain missing, officials said on Friday.

Russian troops will be deployed to guard some strategic sites in Kyrgyzstan, the Central Asian country’s interim leader Roza Otunbayeva said on national radio on Friday.

An Australian man was jailed for 30 days for blowing a bubble in court, reports said on Friday.

The West Asia envoy Tony Blair said on Thursday he believes Israel would consider an international presence along the Gaza Strip’s borders to allow the entry of goods other than weapons into the terri

Privacy activists called on Facebook on Wednesday to give users of the booming social network more control over the use of their personal data.

Rescue workers were scrambling to provide aid to tens of thousands left homeless in western Burma and neighbouring Bangladesh on Thursday after floods and landslides killed more than 100 people.

Greece beat ten-man Nigeria 2-1 in a thrilling encounter on Thursday to record their first ever victory at a World Cup finals. It also kept their World Cup dreams alive in a match that hinged on a first half red card for the African team.