Media giant News Corporation sees its net profits rise 65% in the three months to the end of December 2011 compared to 2010.

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon says the Arab League plans to revive its mission to Syria and accuses Damascus of stepping up "war on its own people".

A building that collapsed during last year's Christchurch earthquake, killing 115 people, did not meet industry standards, an official report finds.

The mystery over a top Chinese police chief deepens as the US confirms he visited its consulate - but China says it was "resolved smoothly".

A zebra's unmistakeable stripes may have evolved to make the animals unattractive to blood-sucking flies, say scientists.

A Tibetan is reported to have set himself on fire in south-west China, the 20th such case in a year, amid unrest among ethnic Tibetan communities.

Scientists say a common heart disease which kills thousands each year is passed genetically from father to son.

The number of people who have died in the Indian state of Orissa after drinking toxic illegal alcohol rises to 31, officials say.