AFP - South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan on Saturday offered to resign over the controversial hiring of his daughter, a spokesman for the ministry said.

Reuters - Chinese officials have ordered state companies to meet investment bankers to explore ways to block BHP Billiton's $39 billion bid for Potash Corp, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

AP - A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake damaged buildings, cut power and knocked fleeing residents off their feet on New Zealand's South Island early Saturday, but there were so far no deaths and only two injuries reported.

AFP - Pakistan's scandal-hit cricket team sought to focus Saturday on the next stage of its England tour after British police questioned three of its star players over an alleged betting scam.

AP - A suicide bombing claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed at least 43 Shiite Muslims at a procession in southwest Pakistan. The assault sharply drove up the toll of sectarian assaults in a country battered by massive flooding.

Time.com - No one really thinks much will come out of the direct talks with the Palestinians but, when the issue is Bibi, up come visions of Gorbachev -- and Nixon in China

Vets at Cairo's Giza Zoo are experimenting with the human birth control pill in an attempt to slow their rapidly expanding population of lions.

Two Russian pilots are kidnapped in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, state media reports, as a US aid worker held for more than 100 days is freed.

The South African government begins talks with striking workers after President Jacob Zuma tells ministers to find a solution.

African Champions Egypt use failure to qualify for the World Cup to motivate the team ahead of the Nations Cup qualifiers.

Four African Union peacekeepers are killed as a mortar hits Somalia's presidential palace, officials say.

There is controversy in Nigeria about the identity of a man police rescued from kidnappers believing he was the son of the country’s first prime minister.

Inspectors say no pollution has leaked from a Gulf of Mexico oil platform that exploded in flames and sent 13 workers escaping into the sea.

A fire that damaged construction equipment at the site of a Tennessee Islamic centre was arson, investigators say.

Six recruiters are accused of luring 400 Thai workers to the US with promises of farm jobs, confiscating their passports and demanding high fees.

A cargo aircraft belonging to the US courier UPS crashes on a major highway in Dubai, setting some cars on fire.

BP removes the blowout preventer that failed to stem the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well and says it has paid $8bn (£5.2bn) in damage costs.

The US secretary of state warns the current round of Mid-East peace talks may be "the last chance for a very long time".

The French market for halal food is expanding rapidly, giving rise to a number of issues - not least, how do we know it is halal?

EU gets lesson on rural poverty from China

Six Portuguese men have been jailed after they were found guilty of sexual abuse at a state-run children's home.

HSBC may quit its London headquarters if the UK government decides to break up big banks, a senior executive says.

Six Portuguese men are sentenced to up to 18 years in jail after being found guilty of multiple charges of sexual abuse at a state-run children's home.

Judges to deliver verdict more than five years after trial began

Reading Arabic 'hard for brain'

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair tells the BBC that radical Islam is the greatest threat facing the world.

Newspapers in Egypt are banned from reporting on a poster campaign promoting the chief of intelligence as a possible future president, the BBC learns.

A UPS cargo plane crashes at an air force base shortly after take-off from Dubai airport, killing two crew members on board.

The US secretary of state warns the current round of Mid-East peace talks may be "the last chance for a very long time".

Dublin delays a deal to allow transfers of EU citizens' data to Israel, which is accused of forging passports.

Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir is being questioned at a north London police station over allegations of corruption.

A bomb kills at least 50 people at a Shia Muslim rally in the south-western city of Quetta, the second attack on Pakistan's religious minority in days.

Officials in northern Bangladesh battle to contain an anthrax outbreak that has infected more than 250 people.

A key witness at the commission set up to examine the last years of Sri Lanka's civil war complains his testimony was not properly interpreted.

Communist supporters in India's West Bengal have taken control of a key village that they were driven out of by Maoist rebels a year ago.

Maoist rebels in the Indian state of Bihar say they have killed one of four policemen they had been holding hostage.

Police question the three Pakistan players accused of corruption, while the ICC says that trio implicated have a disciplinary case to answer.

A poll commissioned by Ed Miliband's leadership campaign finds voters are less likely to vote Labour if there is not a shift from New Labour policies.

The most famous comic you've never heard of

Some 77% of Britons think taxpayers should not help pay for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Scotland and England, a survey suggests.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair tells the BBC that radical Islam is the greatest threat facing the world.

Banks are accused of leaving some customers in "dire poverty" after taking money out of their accounts without permission.

China gives EU lesson on rural poverty

A state of emergency is declared in Christchurch after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes New Zealand's South Island, injuring two people seriously.

Six recruiters are accused of luring 400 Thai workers to the US with promises of farm jobs, confiscating their passports and demanding high fees.

An Australian head teacher is under fire after removing the word gay from the famous song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.

More than 10,000 vehicles are stuck in a 120km (75-mile) traffic jam on China's Beijing to Tibet motorway.

Japanese prosecutors charge an alleged member of the Pink Panther gang of international jewel thieves with stealing a tiara and other jewellery worth £2.2m in Tokyo in 2007.