CULTURE AND SPORT

Norway topped the 2010 United Nations' Human Development Index, while Asia has made the biggest strides in recent decades.

The death toll from Indonesia's fiery volcano has nearly doubled to 79 after a blistering gas cloud ripped through a mountainside village.

Haitian leaders urged many displaced in tent cities to evacuate as a deadly storm bore down on the quake-hit Caribbean nation.

A Greek judge charged two men with terrorism as police announced that a 14th parcel bomb had been dealt with after delivery at the French embassy in Athens.

The Vienna Charity Ball will be held for the first time in Vietnam on November 12 and all donations will be sent to the Friendship Village in Hanoi.

Australia's Qantas Airways grounded its fleet of Airbus A380 superjumbos Thursday after an engine failure forced a dramatic emergency landing in Singapore.

Physicists in Scotland said they had devised a flexible material that manipulates light, marking a small step towards "invisibility" clothing beloved of science fiction writers.

Hospital officials say the death toll from Indonesia's most volatile volcano has climbed by two to 40.

A five-year agreement calls for the social network's virtual currency to be the exclusive payment method for EA games.

Republicans have retaken the House of Representatives as US voters rebuke President Barack Obama.

Vietnam’s tourism and sport authorities are joining hands with the World Match Racing Tour to consider whether Ha Long City is fit for an international yacht competition.

South Korea said it expects China to cooperate on easing global economic imbalances and other contentious issues at next week's G20 summit in Seoul.

Governments and industry were urged to rapidly develop effective equipment such as oversized X-ray machines to screen the cargo containers that carry most airborne freight.

Yemeni prosecutors Tuesday accused radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi of links to Al-Qaeda and incitement to kill foreigners.

The trial is set to open Tuesday of the former head of leading Indian outsourcing firm Satyam.

Supermodel Vietnam 2010 Ngoc Thach will compete at the Miss Model of The World 2010, which takes place in China from October 31st to November 25th.

Natural gas will become more "desirable" than other energy sources including renewables, nuclear and fossil fuels.

Iraqi security forces stormed a Baghdad church where militants had taken an entire congregation hostage for four hours, leaving at least 52 people dead.

An international climb began in Sa Pa, Lao Cai province, on November 1 to plant a flag marking Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday on the peak of Fansipan Mountain.