Double European champions Greece made a shock exit from the Olympic basketball qualifiers on Friday following a narrow 80-79 defeat against Nigeria.

The seventh-seeded Indian combination got the better of Marcel Felder of Uruguay and Tunisia's Malek Jaziri 6-0, 7-6 (1), 6-2 in their first round match.

India's squabbling tennis players would be eager to prove a point amid a bitter selection row for next month's Olympics when they take the court at the prestigious Wimbledon Championships starting on Monday at the All England Club.

The 25th general to lead the world's second largest army is one of its most decorated serving soldiers today.

Although the Al Qaeda is not present in large numbers, they are lethal and very determined, says Syria's Vice Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. Seema Mustafa reports

Formula One cars took to the track in Bahrain on Friday, while the government, hoping for a successful Grand Prix, squared off against activists determined to mark it with "days of rage" after more than a year of Arab Spring protests.

Formula One cars take to the track in Bahrain on Friday with the government hoping a successful Grand Prix will draw a line under more than a year of Arab Spring protests and activists promising to mark the motor race with 'days of rage'.

Safety fears grew ahead of this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix in Bahrain on Thursday after members of the Force India team were caught up in a petrol bomb incident.

A Force India Formula One team employee has been allowed to return home from Bahrain after expressing safety fears ahead of this weekend's controversial Grand Prix.

The Senate confirmed ambassadors to 16 countries following Obama administrations's concern over the posts lying vacant. The confirmation had been lying pending before the senate for about two months now.

China has earned the dubious distinction of accounting for more executions than the rest of the world put together in 2011, global anti-death penalty group Amensty International has said.

The United States on Friday said that it is not pursuing military option in Syria at the moment, noting that this is not the wise thing to do under current circumstances.

While keeping their options open, the United States and European Union have signaled that talks with Iran over its nuclear programme could resume, for the first time in more than a year, after Tehran dropped its pre-conditions to a dialogue.

Former diplomat MK Bhadrakumar delivered a keynote address -- The Arab spring: The region and India -- at an international seminar held in Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. Here's the complete text

The 'Arab Awakening' will fundamentally alter the notion that Islam is incompatible with democratic capitalism, writes Shahid Javed Burki

Home hopes crumbled for Gabon in the lottery of a penalty shootout at the African Nations Cup on Sunday but Ghana's hopeful search to end a long drought at the finals continued.

Ivory Coast and Zambia ruthlessly crushed African Nations Cup underdogs Equatorial Guinea and Sudan 3-0 respectively on Saturday to end the dreams of opponents who had upset the odds to reach the last eight.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored for the third successive game at the African Nations Cup to give co-hosts Gabon a 1-0 win over Tunisia on Tuesday that ensured they finished top of Group C.

A stunning last-gasp freekick from substitute Bruno Zita Mbanangoye sent co-hosts Gabon into the African Nations Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic 3-2 win over Morocco on Friday.

Ivory Coast's safety first approach paid off as they reached the African Nations Cup quarter-finals on Thursday but similar tactics backfired for Angola in a 2-2 draw with Sudan, who had not scored at the tournament for the previous 36 years.

Gabon fans kept their celebrations in check and resisted the urge to party hard after the co-hosts won their opening African Nations Cup game on Monday.

Didier Drogba's talismanic qualities helped Ivory Coast make a winning, if not impressive, start to the African Nations Cup finals as he scored the only goal against a stubborn Sudan. With Angola, who beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in Sunday's other match in Malabo.

Seeking closer ties with Israel, former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf said the Jewish state is a fait accompli, relations with it can help Islamabad come closer to the strong Jewish lobby in the US and in its conflict against India.

Iran on Friday pitched for a regional solution to the Afghan problem, saying countries like India and Pakistan can help in the reconciliation process in the war-torn nation.

2011, hopefully, will be remembered as the year that marked the beginning of the end of the world's worst dictators.

The year 2011 has been an eventful one, full of surprises. Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India, jots down 10 unexpected economic and political developments in India and across the world this year, some of which changed the course of history.

Qatar's Al Sadd want FIFA to let them field a team of 16 players when they face European kings Barcelona in Thursday's Club World Cup semi-final in Japan.

Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol upset Mexico's Monterrey 4-3 in a penalty shootout on Sunday to set up a Club World Cup semi-final against Brazil's Santos.

Neymar has distanced himself from remarks made by Brazilian great Pele claiming the Santos striker is better than Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi.

Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir is set to become Pakistan's High Commissioner in India as part of the biggest reshuffle of envoys approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, according to a media report on Tuesday.

The results for the opening phase of the first post-Mubarak parliamentary polls, will now be announced on Friday after first being postponed from Wednesday evening until Thursday, the official MENA news agency quoted chief electoral official Abdel Moez Ibrahim as saying.

Lionel Messi and Neymar will take part in a new anti-doping program to trial a biological passport in football, FIFA said.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation chief has pleaded to the United States to "find a way forward" to continue its support to the world body as it will be "impossible" for the organisation to maintain its activities following the US decision to snap funding on Palestine's membership issue.

This month, ECGC -- the government organisation that provides insurance cover to exporters -- reclassified exports to Greece as 'risky' by withdrawing open cover insurance scheme for them.

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted to bring to an end the authorised international military action in Libya on October 31, following the death of Muammar Gaddafi that brought an end to the bloody conflict in the country. The resolution passed on Thursday said that the liberation of the North African country after Gaddafi's death offers better prospects for a "democratic, peaceful and prosperous future".

US financial sector not only dominates the US economy, it also in effect controls the US politics, policies and programmes.

The most surprising part in the whole so-called Arab Spring is that the countries which were relatively more liberal and secular were the ones to see mass uprisings, while the countries that are more inward-looking and theology-driven, such as Saudi Arabia, have yet to see the kind of protests witnessed on Cairo or Tunis streets, says Faisal Kidwai

United States officials have held rare face-to-face talks with representatives of Muammar Gaddafi's government and asked the Libyan leader to step down.

The Gulf region has become a leading market for luxury cars and wealthy individuals are set to buy a record number of vehicles from the likes of BMW's Rolls-Royce, Fiat's Maserati and Porsche SE this year.

Tibetan monks and migrant Chinese workers have both dared to defy Chinese authorities, says B Raman