War and other crises drove one person from their home every 4.1 seconds in 2012, the UN's refugee agency said Wednesday, pushing the number of people forcibly displaced to a two-decade high of 45.2 million.

The United States and the Taliban cleared the decks for peace talks Tuesday even as a deadly attack on US troops underlined the still furious nature of their decade-long war.

The world's largest fully solar-powered boat, "Turanor PlanetSolar," docked in New York on Tuesday during a mission to study the effects of climate change on the Gulf Stream current.

NASA announced a Grand Challenge on Tuesday to enlist government agencies, industry, academics and citizen astronomers in the hunt for asteroids that could cause massive destruction.

The Shaolin Temple, known as the cradle of Chinese kung fu, is preparing to stage its first cultural festival in the United States as part of efforts to expand its global clout, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Indonesia defied popular anger Tuesday by pressing ahead with its first fuel price hike since 2008, a day after police fought running battles with thousands outside parliament.

Torrential rains have triggered flash floods and landslides in northern India, leaving at least 60 people feared dead and thousands stranded after the monsoon covered the country ahead of schedule, officials said Tuesday.

This month somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa the one millionth baby will be born without HIV to a mother who suffers from the disease, thanks in large part to a decade-old US aid program.

US President Barack Obama said that China has understood his "blunt" warnings against cyber-hacking as he credited new leader Xi Jinping with accepting more global responsibility for Beijing.

Smog from forest fires in Indonesia stayed at unhealthy levels in Singapore on Tuesday as the two neighbours blamed each other for the seasonal problem.