USA

Among those punched was Stavros Niarchos, the Greek shipping scion and former boyfriend of hotel heiress Paris Hilton, according to a criminal complaint.

United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Sunday threw Washington's support behind the new austerity measures agreed by Greece and said the US backed the idea of a new International Monetary Fund loan for Athens.

A top U.S. intelligence official says Iran would respond if attacked for its nuclear activities, but is unlikely to initiate or intentionally provoke a conflict.

The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, close to the coast of Iran, for the second time in recent weeks.

The man likely to become China's next leader, Vice-President Xi Jinping, begins a closely-watched visit to the United States.

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered stricter sanctions on Iran's government and central bank, citing “deceptive practices” by Iranian banks to conceal transactions.

The US is working closely with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, President Barack Obama has said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described as a "travesty" Russia and China's veto of a UN resolution condemning Syria's crackdown against anti-government protesters.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Friday that Iran will retaliate against Western-backed oil sanctions and threats of attack, as media reports say U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta fears Israel could strike Iran in the next few months.

The number of methamphetamine “super labs” seized by Mexican authorities has rocketed in the last five years but shipments of the drug across the border have also continued to grow.