BEIRUT, Lebanon — A large bomb exploded in the heart of Beirut’s Christian section on Friday, and Civil Defense officials said at least eight people were killed. The blast injured many others, shattered windows for blocks and spread panic in a city where memories of sectarian violence from Lebanon’s long civil war have been resurrected by the conflict in neighboring ...

UNITED NATIONS — Five countries have won two-year terms on the 15-member U.N. Security Council, including one potentially controversial country – Rwanda. Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, Rwanda and South Korea won non-permanent seats in the vote by the U.N. General Assembly. They will replace outgoing members Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa. Eight countries competed for the five open seats, ...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Rwanda was among five nations elected to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, amid an ongoing investigation by a U.N. panel of its role in neighboring Congo’s rebellion. The election of Rwanda was likely to renew questions about the image of the council, as it tries to overcome division and find a way to end the ...

Syrian activists and medical officials say a series of government air strikes on rebel areas in the country's north has killed at least 43 people, including many children. The activists said the strikes happened late Wednesday and early Thursday and hit five areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, including the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan which is strategically located along ...

A leading Turkish pianist and composer appeared in court yesterday accused of offending Muslims and insulting Islam in comments he made on Twitter. Fazil Say, who has played with the New York…

NEW YORK — A new Gallup survey, touted as the largest of its kind, estimates that 3.4 percent of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The findings, released Thursday, were based on interviews with more than 121,000 people. Gallup said it is the largest study ever aimed at calculating the nation’s LGBT population. The report’s lead author, ...

“Earlier this morning RR Donnelley, the financial printer, informed us that they had filed our draft 8K earnings statement without authorization,” explained Google, in an email to TheStreet. “We have ceased trading on NASDAQ while we work to finalize the…

BAMAKO (Reuters) – Heavily armed Islamists bulldozed the tombs of three local Sufi saints near Mali’s desert city of Timbuktu on Thursday, residents said, the latest in a series of attacks in the rebel-held north that critics say threaten its cultural heritage. “They arrived aboard six or seven vehicles, heavily…

Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, who starred in the 1974 erotic French film Emmanuelle, has died aged 60. "She died during the night during her sleep," her agent Marieke Verharen told the AFP news agency. The…

BEIJING (AP) — China’s economic growth tumbled to the lowest in more than three years in the latest quarter but retail sales and investment improved in a possible sign a painful slump might be stabilizing. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors The world’s second-largest economy grew 7.4 percent ...