A multi-billion dollar aid programme pursued by the Indian government to combat poverty is beset by corruption and incompetence, says a report.

IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn will make a new plea for bail on Thursday morning over sexual assault charges, his lawyer says.

New satellite images show deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest has increased by almost six times in the past year.

A US official says there is no evidence that the Pakistani government knew Osama Bin Laden had been hiding in the country.

China has no intention to match US military power, a top Chinese general says during a visit to Washington.

Egypt still has more work to do to give justice to those killed during the rallies that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Amnesty International says.

Japan, the world's third largest economy, contracts sharply after a tsunami and earthquake caused devastation in March.

An Afghan prisoner at Guantanamo Bay kills himself, US authorities say, the eighth death at the detention centre since 2002.