CULTURE AND SPORT

EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger is preparing legislation to force oil-drilling companies to pay for pollution, a source said.

Samsung said it would take counter-action against Apple after the US firm filed suit alleging that the South Korean giant copied its smartphones and tablet computers.

Seventeen people, including two children, have been killed in a helicopter crash in India's north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

US Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview published Tuesday that NATO can handle Libya without US help.

Vietnam won the championship title at the first Asian Pencak Silat Championship that ended in Bedok Sports Hall, Singapore on April 18.

A rebel official in Libya's Misrata City pleaded desperately for Britain and France to send troops to help fight strongman Moamer Kadhafi's forces.

Syrian security forces opened fire before dawn on hundreds of anti-government protesters staging a sit-in, shooting live ammunition and tear gas.

Fallout from Chernobyl remains a poorly-investigated hazard for the environment a quarter of a century after the disaster, say experts.

The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant has begun pumping highly radioactive water from one reactor's turbine building to a makeshift storage area.

A ferry rescued almost 1,000 people from Misrata and Britain said it plans to pick up 5,000 more after Moamer Kadhafi's government guaranteed "safe passage".

President Barack Obama offered federal assistance on Monday to stricken southern US states after powerful tornadoes killed 44 people.

Secretary general of OPEC Abdullah El-Badri said that oil producers are "concerned" at high crude prices.

Regime forces bombarded rebels west of Ajdabiya, forcing hundreds of residents and some fighters to flee the key crossroads town.

The worst tornadoes to hit parts of the United States in decades have left 44 people dead.

Recent years have seen an increasing number of Vietnamese films entering the world film market, with the establishment of private film studios.

At least 45 people were dead after a powerful storm whipped up tornadoes in seven southern US states, media reported Sunday. 

The acclaimed Philadelphia Orchestra said it would file for bankruptcy, the first major US performance ensemble to do so during the nation's current economic turmoil.

The economic reform policy will be the focus of discussion at the 6th National Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC), which is taking place in Havana. 

General Motors received more clean energy patents in the past year than any other company, a study released Friday said.