Emergency plans will help Iran boost gasoline output sharply by early 2012, an official said in comments published on Sunday, after the US Congress approved a bill to penalise firms supplying the Islamic state with the fuel.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez described Israel on Saturday as a genocidal state that acted as an assassin for the US, predicting the West Asian nation would one day be “put in its place.” The socialist Chavez is a harsh critic of both Israel and the United States and cut relations with Israel after accusing it of “holocaust” for its 2009 offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Britain plans to put a temporary limit on the number of non-European Union migrants to prevent a surge of foreign workers arriving before a permanent cap is introduced next April.

Stressed-out city executives looking to get away from it all have the chance to buy their own rural village in New Zealand, complete with a pub and population of 40.

US legislators finalised a historic overhaul of financial regulations as dawn broke over Capitol Hill on Friday, handing President Barack Obama a major domestic victory on the eve of a global summit d

Japan will start talks with India over a civil nuclear energy deal, foreign minister Katsuya Okada said on Friday, a move that would give Japanese firms access to the rapidly growing market amid rising global competition.

A Spanish precious metals trading firm bought the world’s largest gold coin for 3.27 million euros ($4.02 million), its exact material worth, from the estate of an insolvent investment firm at a rare auction in Vienna on Friday.

Queen Elizabeth returned to Wimbledon on Thursday for the first time in 33 years with bookmakers offering odds of 12-1 that she would be confronted by a streaker on Centre Court.

Australia appointed its first woman Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who vowed on Thursday to end division over a controversial mining tax, resurrect a carbon trade scheme and call elections within mont

Afghanistan expressed regret on Thursday at the removal of the US commander credited with reducing civilian casualties in the war against the Taliban but said it did not expect the shake-up to bring s