Gary Ridgway, one of the most prolific serial killers in US history, is charged with a 49th murder, of a woman who went missing in 1982.

Investigators in Italy are to examine claims that the mafia dominates the distribution of Sicily's famed Pachino tomatoes.

Ivorian security forces loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo clash with supporters of his rival, Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan, witnesses and officials say.

A New York man who founded a Muslim-interest television network faces life in prison after being convicted of beheading his wife.

A British journalist who reported on Wikileaks cables containing criticism of Russia's leadership says he has been expelled from the country.

One of Russia's most wanted men, Chechen warlord Doku Umarov, says he ordered last month's bomb attack which left 36 dead at a Moscow airport.

Haiti says it has issued former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide with a passport, paving the way for his return to the country after seven years in exile.

Officials from North and South Korea hold their first meeting since the North shelled a Southern island last November, killing four people.