Jijo Jacob

South Korea conducts live-fire military drills in disputed area despite warnings from Pyongyang of 'premeditated military provocation'.

Iran would not wait for the European Union oil embargo to start on July 1. In a stern retaliatory move, Tehran announced on Sunday it will stop selling crude to French and British oil companies.

Gas prices in the U.S. have gone past $3.50 a gallon, the highest price this time of the year, ticking panic among people who have begun to see the price rises as oppressive.

A group of young, semi-clad Ukrainian women gate crashed into the Indian embassy in Ukraine's capital Kiev last month, tore down the Indian flag and threw it on the ground.

In an interesting turn of events, will the entry of al-Qaeda comically twist the balance as it will be naturally pitted against the Hezbollah, the feared Shia militia actively supported and patronized by Iran? Assad's promise of a regional conflict could come true then!

A federal immigration agent died and another was injured in a shootout that followed a confrontation between the U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) officers in Long Beach, California, the latest reports said.

Iranian State television said a new generation of faster and more efficient uranium enrichment centrifuges will be unveiled on Wednesday, signaling that Tehran cares little for the international sanctions and that the country would go ahead with its nuclear plans defying all odds.

The life of Wu Ying, a 31-year-old ex-rich list woman now on death row, is in balance. Wu, a secondary school dropout who stitched together a 4-billion yuan business empire before she turned 27, was accused of engaging in illegal fund-raising and sentenced to death in 2009.

The hunt for elusive drug cartel leader Joaquin Guzman, known as El Chapo, got a shot in the arm Tuesday with the arrest of infamous meth producer Jaime Herrera in Mexico's Pacific coast state of Sinaloa.

Straws in the wind indicate that a non-war option does not hold much water in the current situation. Obviously there are two non-war options, but both look disappointingly implausible. They are: 1) Iran should retreat from its nuclear enrichment process and activities the West alleges are intended to make an N-bomb and 2) Israel, the West and Iran's pathological foes in the Arabian Gulf should live with a nuclear Iran. Both of these options are impractical.

The long-simmering tension is reaching the boiling point as angry and frustrated Tibetans are preparing to observe their New Year on Feb.22. Monks and nuns are killing themselves in protest across Tibet in alarming frequency even as the government security forces flood the streets around monasteries and nunneries and local people are intimidated with the use of lethal force.

Former U.S. senator Rick Santorum rejuvenated his presidential hopes on Tuesday with a shocking sweep of the three nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, dealing a blow to wounded front-runner Mitt Romney.

Syrian forces bombarded Homs on Monday, killing 50 people in a sustained assault on several districts of the city which has become a centre of armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian National Council opposition group said.

Florida's Republican voters go to the polls on Tuesday in a high-stakes presidential primary election that could determine the direction of the race.

Mitt Romney was desperate for a strong debate performance in Florida's Republican debate Monday night to restore momentum for his campaign, and delivered repeated sharp attacks on rising rival Newt Gingrich.

Humbled by a stunning loss in South Carolina, Mitt Romney said on Sunday he would release this week the tax returns demanded by rivals as he bids to regain the upper hand in the volatile Republican presidential race.

Republican presidential hopefuls attacked Mitt Romney's record in business and government on Monday and challenged him to release his tax returns, but the front-runner emerged largely unscathed from a South Carolina debate.

Chinese exports and imports registered weaker growth in December than in November, signaling economic growth in the world's second largest economy is losing steam on account of sluggish demand and a thaw in the real estate market. Data

Edgy Iran heightened rhetoric on Sunday saying it will never stop uranium enrichment even as local media reported that an underground uranium enrichment facility in central Iran will soon start enriching uranium at a purity level far higher than what is needed for energy production.

The Asian political canvas looks challenging in 2012, with government changes in key countries likely to surprise investors and businesses. The highlights are a once-in-a-decade leadership change in China, chances of an early general election in India, worsening uncertainty in Pakistani politics and general elections in South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia.

A brewing crisis in the Middle East is causing an almost daily uptick in oil prices but early signs of a rebound in the U.S. economy is indeed offering substantial tailwind to crude too.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, angry over his poor performance in the Iowa caucuses, may have a new and unlikely partner in his quest to tarnish rival Mitt Romney: President Barack Obama.

Crude prices started their jolly ride to the top in February last year when simmering discontent in the Middle East erupted into several violent anti-government protests.

The Middle East saber-rattling heightened Friday as Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired salvos at the West and claimed the United States could not frighten them out of blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

A shift in the global military balance is one of the inalienable fallouts of the economic winter experienced by the Western world. While military spending in the U.S., the reigning super power, is increasingly coming under a scanner, the extended defense holiday in Europe signals that the continent’s global influence is on irreversible decline.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which was under fire after two elderly travelers accused it of strip searches, has announced a “hotline” assistance to the passengers in need.

Newt Gingrich, the Republican front runner for 2012 U.S. presidential election, is indeed emerging as a colorful personality. After initial campaign setbacks he faced due to his personal history, Gingrich surged to the top of the contenders’ list. But his emergence as a serious contender also raises interesting questions.

Republican presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman are getting ready for their 'in-depth' debate.

Researchers has announced a breakthrough in their research on reducing bad cholesterol in the body. The new findings by the team is considered as a major advance towards developing drugs to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) popularly called as 'bad' cholesterol.