Voter drive shuts schools, angers parents in Nigeria
LAGOS: Simple spelling lessons and multiplication tables still appear on the chalkboards in empty classrooms across Africa's most populous nation as officials take over the country's schools to conduct voter…
Leaked documents reveal Mideast talks’ human side
RAMALLAH: Leaked documents from years of Mideast peace talks reveal a rarely seen human side of high-level diplomacy, showing Israeli and Palestinian negotiators joking, teasing, losing their tempers and even…
Tunisian veteran Mestiri seeks leadership role
TUNIS: Veteran Tunisian politician Ahmed Mestiri said on Wednesday he hoped to head a "council of wise men" which would be established to guide Tunisia to democracy from the authoritarian…
Ivory Coast crisis, revolts to dominate African summit
ADDIS ABABA: African leaders will try to bridge their divide over the crisis in Ivory Coast and thrash out the wider implications of popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt as…
Orangutan DNA boosts survival chances, says study
PARIS: Orangutans are far more genetically diverse than thought, a finding that could help their survival, say scientists delivering their first full DNA analysis of the critically-endangered ape. The study,…
UN shark conservation plan has failed, says report
PARIS: A headline-making UN scheme to preserve the world's sharks has been a resounding failure, according to a report on Thursday that pins the blame on Indonesia, India, Spain and…
Downloading Mac software, made simple
NEW YORK: By now, many of you are familiar with the App Store on iTunes — the portal through which Apple Inc. sells mobile applications, or "apps," for its family…
Sony to release new PlayStation Portable this year
TOKYO – Sony said the successor to its PlayStation Portable machine will go on sale late this year, offering the quality of a home console in an on-the-go machine boasting…
Astronomers claim earliest galaxy yet from Hubble
WASHINGTON: An international team of astronomers say they've glimpsed the earliest galaxy yet, a smudge of light from nearly 13.2 billion years ago — a time when the cosmos was…
Rabbits under threat as ‘their’ year begins
By Denis D. Gray/ AP BANGKOK – Many Asians believe the Year of the Rabbit means good luck for those born under that zodiac sign, but conservationists warn that the…