A worker cleans the scene where a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber struck.Nirlias / Reuters

Several killed in Sri Lanka blast

COLOMBO // At least 10 people have been killed and 35 wounded, including the telecommunications minister, in a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide blast at a parade in southern Sri Lanka today, officials said. The blast happened in Godapitiya in Matara district, about 160km south of the capital Colombo, during a national festival to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Mohammed. "Six ministers were there and terrorists used this opportunity to target us. Only one minister, Mahinda Wijesekara, got injured. Seven bodies have been found at the spot," the oil resources minister AHM Fowzie said. Mr Wijesekara is minister for post and telecommunications. *Reuters/AP

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EDITOR'S PICKS

America's hidden agenda in Syria's war

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Exclusive: Influential Syrian rebel commander claims US intelligence officers are trying to enlist rebels to fight their fellow insurgents, the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Al Nusra, instead of helping them overthrow Bashar Al Assad. Phil Sands reports America's hidden agenda in Syria's war

Egypt's pursuit of Mubarak's cronies falters

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Muslim Brotherhood opens direct link to rebels in Damascus

Members of the Free Syrian Army walk with their weapons in Al Izaa district in Aleppo February 16, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) *** Local Caption *** SYR09_SYRIA-CRISIS-_0216_11.JPG

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Regional violence batters Algerian tourism industry

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Wildly, naturally beautiful, with hundreds of miles of Mediterranean coastline, mountains that look like Swiss Alps and endless desert, Algeria was a drawcard for tourists to North Africa. But not anymore. Alice Fordham reports from Beni Isguen Regional violence batters Algerian tourism industry

Cypriots draw on spirit of '74 to see them through euro crisis

Caption:Greek Cypriots refugees wait for their departure to the South of the island, under control of Greek Cypriots authorities, after Turkish authorities give the authorisation, Nicosia, on November 14, 1974. During Atilla II, second stage of Turkish operation on August 14, 1974, more than 30 per cent of the land (in the North) came under Turkish occupation, and in the process, many Greek Cypriots who made up 82 per cent of the population in the north became refugees behind the ceasefire line, called the

Cypriots rekindle courage from Turkish invasion, saying they have endured far worse than the current economic slump, even as harrowing tales emerge daily of poverty and hunger. Michael Theodoulou reports from Nicosia Cypriots draw on spirit of '74 to see them through euro crisis