In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan has introduced a negative interest rate.The benchmark rate of -0.1% means that the central bank will charge commercial banks 0.1% on some of their deposits.It hopes this will encourage banks to lend, and counter the…

French police have arrested a man carrying two guns at an entrance to a hotel at Disneyland Paris.The man, reportedly aged 28 and not known to security services, was also discovered with a copy of the Koran and a box of ammunition, police said.…

Kyodo news agency cites government source saying satellite pictures indicate a launch could be as little as a week awayNorth Korea may be preparing to launch a long-range missile within a week, Japan’s Kyodo news agency has reported, citing an unnamed Japanese government official.…

People on the ground say the aerial campaign remains relentless, often hitting residential areas, and the ground war is growing more desperateWhen the bombs started falling on Sana’a on Wednesday, Hisham al-Omeisy rushed to fetch his children from school. Down in a basement lined…

Sweden may reject the asylum applications of up to 80,000 migrants and should prepare to deport them, the interior minister says.Anders Ygeman said charter aircraft would be used to deport the migrants but it would take several years.Some 163,000 migrants applied for asylum…

As Germany’s dwindling survivors of Nazi death camps mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day Wednesday, they and younger members of the nation’s Jewish community are fearful of a new tide of anti-Semitism driven by old hatred and a new influx of Muslim refugees.Commemoration of the…

When you first fire up an Android gadget and get past the lock screen, you'll find yourself on the home screen. Depending on who manufactured your gadget, it might be sparse with just a few icons, or crammed with icons and widgets.The good thing…

BANGKOK – A large chunk of metal that could be from an aircraft washed ashore in southern Thailand, but Malaysian authorities on Sunday cautioned against speculation of a link to a Malaysia Airlines flight missing almost two years.Flight MH370 lost communications and made a…

Vigils have been held in Peshawar and elsewhere in Pakistan for at least 21 people killed in a university attack.Four suspected attackers also died in Wednesday's assault on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda.Military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa told reporters that major breakthroughs…

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck northwestern China, damaging dozens of houses.No casualties have been reported.The quake hit Menyuan county in northwestern Qinghai province just after 1am local time on Thursday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.The tremor, which occurred at…