SWAN QUARTER, N.C. _ Around Hyde County, North Carolina's sparsely populated coastal tip with more water than dry land, the towns are buzzing about alligators _ meat-eating reptiles that can grow 14 feet long.

It is the time of the year when international schools in Thailand start recruiting teachers.­ Kris Wya, an African-American teacher with qualifications beyond the requirements, found getting a job in the country difficult. She said it was because of her skin colour and some "smart" schools wanted her photo­graphs to…

Forty-two dead as capital hit with highest temperatures in more than a century