WORLD

Iranian blogger and hunger striker Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, has written a letter to Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei fallowing the authorities' refusal to grant him medical leave despite his rapidly failing health.

New 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy, near the city of Modena, leaving 10 people dead.

Brian Parkin writing for Bloomberg on 24 May 2012, highlighted how Germany's sharp fall in jobless figures over the past few years is not only saving the nation a fortune but enhancing Chancellor Angela Merkel's reputation as a very safe pair of hands. He could have added "and defender of Germany's interests in an increasingly hostile European Union."

Protesters storm campaign headquarters of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq and try to burn it down amid rising tensions on back of official results.

An international team of archeologists find that hereditary inequality or social inequality began over 7,000 years ago in the early Neolithic era.

Most victims of Villaggio mall daycare centre blaze expatriates, trapped by lack of obvious escape routes and safety procedures.

Scientists find that x-chromosome - one of two chromosomes that determine gender - is involved in cancer.

The UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan scheduled to meet President Bashar al-Assad following Houla massacre.

North Dakota woman tells chat show host Anderson Cooper marriage choice 'all about self-empowerment'

Stray dog befriends group of cyclists on 1,100-mile race across China - all the way from Kangding, Sichuan province, to Lhasa in Tibet.

Explosion that wounded dozens in central Nairobi was fault of terrorists as earlier speculation of electrical fault discarded.

Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi to face former prime minister under Mubarak's regime Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off for Egypt's presidential elections

Bahraini prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been released on bail while opposition activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja ends his 110-day long hunger strike

Two villages in Holy land's small Christian community are teaching Aramaic - the language the Jesus spoke - in bid to keep ancient tongue alive.

Illegal trade in kidneys is increasing, following a rise in diabetes and other diseases, making the organ trafficking industry even more lucrative business.

Back-up dancer James Blackston and a musician have been arrested in connection with the death, after attending Nicki Minaj concert, of Nicola Furlong, a 21 year old Irish foreign exchange student in Tokyo, Japan.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood calls for foreign intervention in Syria, while Russia and China blame both sides in conflict for massacre in Houla.

Separtist movement Uamsho denies involvement in confrontations.

Preliminary results point to a run-off between Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and former military man Ahmed Shafiq.

Ethiopian government's Liyu police paramilitary force summarily executed 10 men in tit-for-tat rampage.

UN special envoy Kofi Annan to meet Syrian President Bashar-al Assad in attempt to salvage peace plan after 49 children and 34 women left dead in Houla carnage.

Cocaine psychosis blamed for drug-induced assault in which Miami officers were dorced to shoot a naked man after he refused to stop chewing the face of homeless man he had attacked.

Wives are divorced for posting their pictures on Facebook without the husband's permission.

William Hague going to Moscow seeking concrete action against Syrian government to end bloodshed.

As London, Washington and Paris condemn the mass killings, Moscow prefers to toe a cautious line.

University of South Carolina say the T-shirt can charge mobile phones faster than other methods.

The coming together of the secular Tuareg and the Islamist Ansar Dine is worrisome as they reportedly have links with the al-Qaida.

Simian Foamy Virus could spread like HIV, say scientists from Ape Action Africa.

In a separate incident, a British soldier was among four Nato troops reportedly killed in a bomb attack.