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A day after raising the possibility of further nuclear tests, North Korea has engaged in provocative live-fire exercises near the South Korean maritime border, leading to an exchange of fire between the neighbors. The semiofficial South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Monday that the North had begun the drill just after noon. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that some North Korean ordnance landed in South Korean waters and that the South responded with fire. North Korea fired about 500 artillery shells into waters north of the Yellow Sea's so-called Northern Limit Line over a roughly three-hour period Monday afternoon,

Potential leads on the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 keep coming. So do the setbacks and frustrations. Monday's search ended without finding anything significant, Australian officials said. Four orange objects spotted by search aircraft and earlier described as promising turned out be nothing more than old fishing gear, they said. Underscoring the difficulty of the search, U.S. Navy officials loaded underwater locating gear aboard an Australian naval support vessel and set out to sea Monday evening,

Could four orange objects search teams spotted over the weekend be the key to solving the mystery of where Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went? Officials say it's a promising lead, but they're not sure yet. The find was one of several developments over the weekend after more than three weeks of searching for the missing Boeing 777. Here's a cheat sheet to help you get up to speed on the latest twists in an investigation that has transfixed the world and baffled authorities: What's the latest on what searchers have spotted?

Dozens of anguished Chinese relatives on Sunday demanded that Malaysia provide them with evidence on the fate of their loved ones aboard the missing Flight 370. The family members arrived in Kuala Lumpur and held a news conference at their hotel, imploring officials to be more transparent. "We want evidence, we want truth and we want our family," said Jiang Hui, the families' designated representative.

Officials said that the attack was not politically motivated. Six persons were shot dead in Turkey on Wednesday after a recently fired employee returned to his office and took several hostages, local officials said. The officials said that the man subsequently turned the gun on himself and committed suicide at the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) in the north-eastern city of Kars. It added that the employee, who had been employed as a sociologist at TUIK, was undergoing psychological treatment. Officials said that the attack was not politically motivated. The police cordoned off the area while investigations were carried out. Report said the TUIK is a government agency responsible for key data and economic indicators.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on some Russian officials. Moscow will respond in kind to U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian officials over the Crimea dispute; and is considering other steps if Washington escalates tensions. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, made the statement against the background of on Monday’s U.S. and EU imposition of sanctions on some officials from Russia and Ukraine. The Russian and Ukrainian officials were accused of involvement in Moscow’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea region, most of whose two million residents are ethnic Russians.

Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to join Russia. The U.S. has warned Moscow it was on a “dark path’’ to isolation as Russian troops seized two Ukrainian naval bases, including a headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol where they raised their flag. The seizure came as Russia and the West dug in for a long confrontation over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, with the U.S. and Europe groping for ways to increase pressure on a defiant Russian President Vladimir Putin. “As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation,’’ said U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, referring to reports of armed attacks against Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea.

Nine of the convicts were Saudi nationals. A Saudi court has sentenced 13 men to 14 years in prison for backing militants, aiding terrorism and helping young men go to Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan to fight. The 13 sentenced were nine Saudi citizens, two Jordanians, an Egyptian and a Syrian. The court said the men were convicted for owning material that glorified al Qaeda, money laundering, involvement in weapons training in militant camps and financing militants in Iraq. Saudi government said on Thursday in Riyadh that it had sentenced thousands of its citizens to prison terms for similar offences over the past decade since al Qaeda waged a campaign of attacks from 2003 to 2006 inside the country, killing hundreds of people.

Boko Haram members The military said it also captured a foreign Boko Haram fighter, The Nigerian military on Thursday said it had launched an attack on some terrorists near the Cameroonian border. The Director of Defence Information, Chris Olukolade, in a statement said the terrorists, who were cornered while trying to escape to Cameroon through Taraba and Adamawa states, came under fire from troops on patrol of the area in the ongoing counter-terrorism campaign. Mr. Olukolade said some of the Boko Haram terrorists had come out of hiding when they “could no longer bear the hunger in their make shift camps in the forest.” Those apprehended, he said, led troops to other hideouts where fierce fighting ensued.

Joint Admission and Matriculation Board “This year, the examination will be taking place in 153 centres with 600,000 candidates across the nation.” The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan has endorsed the recently introduced Computer Based Testing, CBT, for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. This is contained in a statement by Fabian Benjamin, Head of Public Relations of JAMB on Thursday in Bwari, Abuja. The statement said that Mr. Jonathan endorsed the CBT while addressing officials of the Netherlands examination body also known as CITO in Holland. “The introduction of the CBT marks a new examination regime that will revolutionise the education sector,” the statement quotes the president as saying. The statement said that the president reiterated his administration’s commitment to provision of qualitative education and to make the sector a model.

The resolution, in the 193-member UN General Assembly, was supported by 100 countries; 11 countries voted against with 58 abstentions. Nigeria on Thursday in New York backed a UN General Assembly resolution which declared Russian annexation of Crimea illegal and affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The resolution, in the 193-member UN General Assembly, was supported by 100 countries; 11 countries voted against with 58 abstentions. It called on countries and international organisations not to recognise any alteration of the status of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol based on the March 16 referendum. It also urged states “to refrain from any action or dealings that might be interpreted as recognising any such altered status’’. Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Joy Ogwu, said “Nigeria voted in favour of the resolution solely on the basis of principle’’. A copy of her statement was emailed to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

What had promised to be a gripping morning in the North Gauteng High Court on Friday fizzled out when Oscar Pistorius's trial was postponed to April 7. The public gallery was packed, as the media had anticipated Pistorius testifying in his own defence. He is accused of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria house on 14 February last year. Judge Thokozile Masipa, however, walked into court followed by only one of her two assessors, Themba Mazibuko. "We cannot proceed this morning. One of my assessors is not well so this court is not properly constituted," Masipa said. The ill assessor was Janette Henzen du Toit.

The representative of retired policemen in the ongoing National Conference in Abuja , Hamma Misau, 67 is dead, reports Premium Times Misau who representing the Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria, ARPON, died of an undisclosed ailment at the National Hospital in Abuja. Misau, a retired assistant inspector-general of police, died a few days after a picture of him taking a nap during plenary sessions circulated online. Read More at Premium Times

Stefano Chuka Okaka continued his goalscoring exploits for Sampdoria as they registered a 2-1 win at Sassuolo in Serie A. Gianluca Sansone gave Sampdoria a first-minute lead on Wednesday with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box. Okaka then forced two saves from Gianluca Pegolo in the ninth and 11th minute respectively before blasting a pass from Gianluca Sassone wide of the post soon after. However, Alessandro Longhi equalised for Saassulo in the 16th minute when his right-footed strike inside the area found the bottom left corner of the goal. Okaka, though, scored the winner in the 66th minute as he drilled the ball into the bottom right corner, with Eder providing the assist in the box eight minutes after stepping off the bench. Okaka, who was born in Italy to Nigerian parents,

The Acting Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Sarah Alade, has urged African countries to show more commitment toward regional single currency convergence. Alade made the call at the caucus meeting of African Central Bank Governor's at the ongoing 7th joint annual meeting of African union and Finance Ministers of Economy in Abuja. “Most African central banks recorded relative success in keeping inflation within a tolerable threshold which could be attributed to effective and proactive monetary policy stance. “However, there is still room for improvement, especially in the achievement of the primary convergence criteria for sub-regional integration." Alade said the caucus meeting would

Two Islamic courts have secretly released on bail seven men on trial for allegedly breaking the law on homosexuality, a prison official and a court clerk said on Friday. The seven were among a dozen men formally charged by the Bauchi State Sharia Commission on January 6 with belonging to a gay club and having received funding from the United States for an apparent membership drive. Four others were convicted on March 6, fined 20 000 naira each and given 15 lashes with a horse whip as what the judge termed a discretionary "correctional punishment". A Christian suspect is having his case heard before a secular court.

Basel must play their UEFA Europa League quarter-final home leg with Valencia behind closed doors after crowd trouble in the previous round. UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body announced the ruling on Wednesday after the club had been charged with two offences following their round-of-16 tie at Red Bull Salzburg. The incidents in question occurred during the first half of their second-leg match in Austria, with referee Manuel Grafe having to stop the game after fans threw missiles onto the pitch at the Red Bull Arena.

07:52Relatives of passengers in Beijing clashed with police outside Malaysia's embassy. Here are some pictures from the protest.07:48Many relatives of passengers want more proof that the plane ended up in the Indian Ocean. "People are using the terms 'we are absolutely certain that the plane crashed' and yet when you go to ask questions they don't have any wreckage," Tom Wood, brother of missing US passenger Philip Wood, told the BBC. "How can you [be] 100% certain if you don't have anything recovered?"07:38

Key points *. Malaysia says it must be assumed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 crashed in to the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors *. Australia says the search for the plane has been suspended for 24 hours because of bad weather and rough seas *. China has demanded to see the satellite data that led Malaysia to conclude that the plane crashed *. The Kuala Lumpur-Beijing airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on 8 March *. All times GMT

WHAT IS FRIENDSHIP? As someone one’s said, ‘friendship is the cement that holds the world together. ‘It’s a great responsibility and not an opportunity but here are some strange facts you didn’t know about friendship.   1. Friendship is good for one’s heart and soul. According to studies, friendship helps foster good health, longevity and alleviatesstress. When faced with major illnesses like cancer or heart attacks, people with a great social network are in a better position to

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