WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned Thursday that an obscure U.S. Christian pastor's plan to burn the Koran on September 11 could provoke al Qaeda suicide bombings, and Asian countries urged Washington to prevent the act. "This is a recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda," ...

VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia (Reuters) - A suicide bomber set off a powerful blast near a busy market in Russia's restive North Caucasus on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, authorities said. The attacker detonated a bomb packed with metal bars, bolts and ball bearings in a car ...

KABUL (Reuters) - Despite some electoral reforms, detecting graft in Afghanistan's September 18 parliamentary election will be harder than in last year's presidential poll due to the current voting system, a Western observer group said on Thursday. Relatively peaceful areas could also see a spike ...

General Than Shwe dubbed China its most "important neighbor," according to reports on Chinese state media, a designation likely to annoy Thailand and India which are vying for energy resources and other deals in the isolated nation. "Myanmar regards China as its most important ...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's capital is ready for its biggest political event in decades: giant billboards proclaim an event to make the country's "history shine forever," the dress rehearsals are complete and the army is ready. But like all things in secretive North Korea, the event ...

A group of 24 marines, operating within a 25-nation coalition to combat piracy along the east cost of Africa, took control of the ship, Magellan Star, from nine pirates. No casualties or injuries were ...

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A group of exiled Rwandans has warned that the central African nation could descend into conflict unless Tutsi President Paul Kagame shares more power with the majority ethnic Hutu. Four erstwhile Kagame allies called on the international community to exert pressure to end ...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China warned Japan on Thursday that ties would suffer if Tokyo mishandles a dispute over a Chinese boat seized in disputed seas, intensifying a territorial rift that could deepen discord between Asia's top two economies. China said Japan was playing a risky game when it ...

The explosion happened in Palaseen village, about 65 km (40 miles) northeast of the Kurram region's main town, Parachinar. "It was a remote-controlled bomb, which was detonated as soon as a passenger van got there," said Hamid Khan, deputy administrator of the region. All those killed ...

Local residents said a suicide-bomber blew up a car next to an African Union peacekeepers post outside the airport. Gunfire was heard in the area immediately ...