India's finance minister pledged in his budget to cut a gaping fiscal deficit in a bid to avert a damaging credit ratings downgrade, but economists remain skeptical he can meet his goal.

Thailand may have secured talks aimed at ending nine years of conflict in its Muslim-majority south, but analysts say the real battle lies ahead — overcoming mistrust and winning over young rebels.

Chinese Catholics pack Beijing's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for Sunday Mass, praying and singing hymns beneath stained glass windows much like their brethren around the world.

The United States may be stepping deeper into the Syrian war by agreeing to give the rebels direct aid for the first time, but some analysts fear it is likely too little, too late.

Iran and world powers have concluded a surprisingly cordial summit in Kazakhstan that appears to have given a gentle nudge to the decadelong nuclear stalemate, experts say.

Clashes that flared in the West Bank after a Palestinian died in Israeli custody are unlikely to turn into a third intifada, but each side will use them when U.S. President Barack Obama visits, commentators say.

Egypt's ancient temple city of Luxor faces a crippling blow to its tourism industry, already reeling from unrest following the country's uprising, after a horrific hot-air balloon crash that killed 19 tourists.

For the first time in the history of Paris, the battle for the mayor's office — viewed as a springboard to higher office — is shaping up to be an all-female affair in a watershed step forward for women.

A huge banner of a smiling Hugo Chavez covers the top of the military hospital where the ailing president is recuperating, but Venezuelans await for the man himself to finally appear in the flesh.

Experts differ about the scale and immediacy of the military threat posed by North Korea's latest nuclear test, but there is little disagreement about the alarming proliferation risks it presents.