Two Italian marines charged in India with killing two fishermen while on anti-piracy duty will not return there from a home visit granted to allow them to vote in February’s election, the Italian fore

Vatican workers hoisted a chimney onto the roof of the Sistine Chapel on Saturday in readiness for the conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals that will elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI. The conclave begins on Tuesday, with the sequestered cardinals using the chimney to tell the outside world whether or not they have chosen a new leader — black smoke signifying no decision and white smoke announcing a new pontiff.

World shares hit their highest level since June 2008 and the dollar touched a fresh 3-1/2-year high against the yen on Friday. China also gave markets a boost as official data showed February exports grew 21.8 per cent versus a year ago, more than double the expected rise.

Russian scientists believe they have discovered new life forms sealed off for millions of years in a subglacial lake deep under the Antarctic ice, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday. After more than a decade of stop-and-go drilling, Russia pierced through Antarctica’s frozen crust last year and took back samples of water from a vast lake that has lain untouched for at least 14 million year.

Russian scientists believe they have discovered new life forms sealed off for millions of years in a subglacial lake deep under the Antarctic ice, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday.

North Korea threatened the United States on Thursday with a pre-emptive nuclear strike, raising the level of rhetoric.

Wall Street resumed its climb into uncharted territory on Wednesday, with the Dow setting another intraday record as hiring by companies rose strongly last month.

Higashi-Matsushima: The tsunami that engulfed north-eastern Japan in 2011 has left some survivors believing they are seeing ghosts.

British actor Richard Burton finally received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to that of his two-time wife, Elizabeth Taylor, on Friday, nearly 30 years after his death.

Britain’s government is selling vintage French wine at around £5,000 a bottle in a bid to make its wine cellar self-funding as part of a national austerity drive and clamp-down on extravagant expenditure.