A massive tornado spanning a half-mile (800 meters) and clocking winds up to 200 mph (320 kph) devastated a town outside Oklahoma City, killing at least 24 people, including at least seven children, the state medical examiner's office said Monday. Rescuers continued to search the rubble for survivors.

Taiwan's top fishery official yesterday published the record of a Taiwanese fishing boat's voyage to refute claims that it was operating in the Philippines' territorial waters when it was attacked by a Philippine government vessel.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a US$1.8 billion military upgrade to help defend his country's maritime territory against "bullies," amid an ever-worsening dispute with China.

Taiwan welcomes reported remarks from the Philippine president that his government is open to discussing a possible fishery agreement to cover overlapping waters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.

Israeli troops shot at a target across the Syrian frontier on Tuesday in response to gunfire that struck its forces in the Golan Heights.

The government is moving toward abolishing Taiwan's southern boundary for fishery protection, an act which would extend the formal operational area of the Navy, the Coast Guard and local fishermen further south within Taiwan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) toward the Philippines.

Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵) and Chen Chien-an (陳建安) will each receive NT$900,000 (US$30,033.56) from Taiwan's government in recognition of their historic win of the men's doubles title at the World Table Tennis Championships early Monday.

North Korea fired a sixth short-range missile into the Sea of Japan on Monday, defying warnings from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and South Korea after a flurry of similar tests at the weekend.

Yahoo is buying online blogging forum Tumblr for US$1.1 billion as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to rejuvenate an Internet icon that had fallen behind the times.

The Philippines said Monday that it would make "coordinated efforts" with Taiwan to look into the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman but stopped short of a joint investigation.

Venezuela's recent designation of an acting head of its diplomatic mission in the United States shows the OPEC nation's desire to restore full diplomatic relations, the foreign minister said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement.

Pope Francis warned the Catholic Church to not close in on itself at a Mass to mark Pentecost Sunday attended by more than 200,000 people, urging the faithful to be open and present in a new and changing world.