Apple made record profits and revenues in the run-up to Christmas, but the company's statement makes no mention of boss Steve Jobs' health problems

Chile's government reaches a deal to end a week of protests over gas prices in the far south that trapped hundreds of tourists.

Sargent Shriver, the first US Peace Corps director, Democratic vice-presidential candidate and brother-in-law to President John F Kennedy, dies aged 95.

Arab nations formally submit a resolution to the UN Security Council condemning Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Bolivia launches a diplomatic campaign to try to end the international ban on chewing coca leaf, which is a deep cultural tradition in the Andes.

The UN Security Council welcomes the mostly peaceful and orderly referendum in Southern Sudan that is widely expected to result in secession.

President Barack Obama received hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from world leaders in 2009, the US Department of State reveals.

An army commander in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been accused of leading the recent mass rape of at least 50 women.