Haitian President Rene Preval has urged the UN to establish a special force to coordinate humanitarian operations and international response in disaster-hit areas.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 00:09 GMT

Thai police are investigating the “extremely mysterious death” of a Russian businessman, whose naked body had been found in a hotel room in a popular Thai resort.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 01:13 GMT

Some 1.5 million liters of crude oil were released into the environment on Sunday after a tanker collided with two other vessels near Port Arthur, Texas.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 02:11 GMT

A rescue vessel is expected to reach a refrigerator ship in distress off Sakhalin in the next few hours.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 02:51 GMT

Sergei Bobyshev and his pet leopard Cleopatra are set to defend their home in the disputed Moscow rural settlement from being demolished.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 04:07 GMT

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti last week exceeded 112,000.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 04:54 GMT

Five children aged 1–8 years and their mother died in a fire that broke out in a residential building in the Oryol Region in central Russia, the regional emergencies service said on Sunday.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 06:13 GMT

At least 20 passengers on board a Russian-made Iranian airliner were injured after the plane caught fire while trying to land in northeastern Iran, state television reported on Sunday.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 06:31 GMT

North Korea on Sunday lashed out at the South's remark earlier this month that it could launch a preemptive strike against Pyongyang's nuclear facilities, calling the comment 'a declaration of war."

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 07:39 GMT

At least 46 passengers on board a Russian-made Iranian airliner were injured after the plane caught fire while trying to land in northeastern Iran, state television reported on Sunday.

// Jan. 24, 2010 - 08:22 GMT