Four Australian men who attacked an Indian-origin doctor in 2008 — and were all sentenced to a combined prison term of 65 years — have now appealed to a court that the punishment was “excessive”.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday made an unannounced visit to the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia to attend the funeral of its leader Sergei Bagapsh, an AFP correspondent said.

Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday denounced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being a caretaker of the oil ministry and sent the report of this "violation" of the constitution to the judiciary, state television website reported.

North Korea said on Wednesday it had rejected a South Korean proposal to hold a series of three summits to ease tensions on the peninsula.

Thirty-seven people were killed in overnight clashes between opposition tribesmen and security forces after a truce, that had ended four days of fighting in the Yemeni capital, collapsed, a medic said on Wednesday

The first ever joint exercise between Russia and Nato fighter aircraft will take place June 6-10, Russian National Anti-terrorism Committee spokesman Nikolai Sintsov said on Wednesday.

Indian Naval aviation has acquired new teeth with induction of nine MiG-29K carrier-borne fighter jets from Russia with an extended range of 3,000 kms and capable of firing air-to-air and air-to-sea missiles.

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis praised his team for a "wonderful job" after they shrugged off the cold to complete a 2-0 one-day international series away to Ireland here at Stormont.

Russia on Tuesday offered to send experts to Libya to check whether leader Muammar Gaddafi's son and grandchildren were killed in a Nato strike or whether the claim was made for "propaganda" reasons.

North Korea said on Monday it would no longer deal with South Korea and threatened to retaliate against any moves by Seoul to wage "psychological warfare".