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LONDON (AFP) - The Royal Bank of Scotland reported Thursday a net loss of 24.1 billion pounds (34 billion dollars, 27 billion euros) in 2008 -- the largest in British corporate history -- because of the credit crunch.

ZURICH (AFP) - Beleaguered Swiss bank UBS on Thursday tapped Oswald Gruebel, a former chief executive of fellow Swiss bank Credit Suisse, to lead its turnaround after its chief executive Marcel Rohner resigned amid the bank's troubles.

PARIS (AFP) - Mystery bidders paid millions of dollars for a pair of ancient Chinese bronzes at the record-smashing Yves Saint Laurent art auction in Paris, sparking angry protests from China on Thursday.

PARIS (AFP) - A worldwide team of scientists said the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was swiftly evolving to avoid the body's immune defences, a phenomenon that adds to the challenge of crafting an AIDS vaccine.

CAIRO (AFP) - Rival Palestinian factions met Thursday for Egyptian-brokered talks aimed at ending their long-running feud and paving the way for a unity government that could work with the international community.

AMSTERDAM (AFP) - Dozens of investigators worked overnight probing the wreckage of the Turkish Airways jet that crashed at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, killing nine and injuring 86, officials said on Thursday.

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladeshi border guards involved in a violent mutiny have resumed laying down their weapons and are returning to barracks, private ATN Bangla television said, quoting the country's home minister.

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai protesters on Wednesday tightened their grip on Bangkok's international airport, where two people were hurt in a blast and thousands of travellers left stranded by anti-government demonstrations.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Investors in Asia reacted cautiously Wednesday to the latest plan by the US Federal Reserve to unblock credit markets, with stock markets in the region showing mixed fortunes.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - A maritime watchdog said Wednesday that the vessel sunk by the Indian navy in the Gulf of Aden was a Thai fishing trawler and not a Somali pirate vessel as was first announced.

BAGHDAD, (AFP) - Iraqi MPs are expected Wednesday to endorse a wide-ranging accord that will allow US troops to remain another three years, despite reservations by Sunnis and fierce opposition by Shiite hardliners.

NUUK, Greenland, (AFP) - Some 39,000 people in Greenland vote on Tuesday in a referendum on self-rule for the Danish territory, a move that could pave the way for total independence for the Arctic island.

BEIJING (AFP) - The World Bank said Tuesday China's economy will grow by just 7.5 percent in 2009, the lowest level in 19 years, as global markets for the nation's once seemingly unstoppable export machine dry up.

SYDNEY (AFP) - The world's biggest miner BHP Billiton announced Tuesday it was dropping its controversial hostile takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto due to the state of the global economy.

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thousands of Thai protesters besieged the prime minister's temporary offices at an abandoned Bangkok airport Tuesday, on the second day of marches aimed at toppling the elected government.

DALLAS, Texas, (AFP) - The leaders of what was once the largest Muslim charity in the United States were found guilty of acting as a front for Palestinian militants in the largest terrorism financing prosecution in American history.

SAINT PETERSBURG, (AFP) - Three people were killed on Tuesday, including a child, when a car blew up in a suspected grenade blast near a metro station in Saint Petersburg, local officials said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The rescue of US banking giant Citigroup and steps by governments to spur economic growth calmed fears of financial turmoil on Tuesday, tempered with caution over the wider scope of the crisis.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street and European stock markets soared Monday as investors cheered a massive bailout for US banking giant Citigroup and the prospect of more government money to ease the pain of recession.