Oil giant BP is taking legal action in the US to limit payouts by a fund set up to compensate those affected by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP said some of the claims being paid by the scheme's administrator were "fictitious" and "absurd". BP set aside $7.8bn (£5.2bn) when it agreed to pay compensation in 2012, but it now expects a much higher total. The Deepwater Horizon disaster released an estimated four million barrels of oil into the Gulf. An explosion on an offshore rig killed 11 workers and ruptured a deep-sea well head, which took 84 days to seal. Last year BP agreed to pay compensation to around 100,000 people and companies - including fishermen and restaurant owners - who claimed the oil spill had harmed their livelihoods or their health. More»

The new Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has said he will fight for "the great renaissance of the Chinese nation," in his first speech as head of state. He was speaking at the end of the annual National People's Congress. At a rare news conference later, new Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing would "win the trust of the people", pledging to cut government spending. The comments come as the Communist government has completed a once-in-a-decade leadership transition. Mr Li, who already holds the number two spot in the Communist Party, is now taking over the day-to-day running of the country, succeeding Wen Jiabao. More»

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has scrapped the final phase of its European missile defence shield, citing development problems and funding cuts. Upgraded interceptors were to have been deployed in Poland to counter medium- and intermediate-range missiles, and potential threats from the Middle East. Mr Hagel said the threat had "matured" and that the US commitment to Nato missile defence remained "ironclad". The interceptors had been strongly opposed by the Russian government. It complained that they would be able to stop Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and undermine its nuclear deterrent. More»

Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al-Thani, president of Qatari Businessmen Association, said during a meeting of the Turkish-Qatari Business Council which was organized in Istanbul by Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) that his country has allocated $100 billion for the infrastructure projects in Qatar in the next ten years. “Turkish companies will succeed in these projects with their experience. At the moment 35 Turkish companies are actively working in Qatar," Al-Thani said. Also speaking at the meeting, President of DEIK Mithat Yenigun said, "We invite more Qatari investment in Turkey.” More»

US President Barack Obama's three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories will begin on March 20, Israel said on Sunday, in the first official announcement of the much-anticipated visit. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau said Obama was due to arrive Wednesday, March 20, at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv and then head to Jerusalem for talks with President Shimon Peres and a dinner meeting with Netanyahu. The White House has not announced specific dates for the Obama visit, his first to Israel and the West Bank as president. Israeli media reports and a Palestinian official have said that it will run from March 20-22 and take in talks with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah. More»

China has dissolved its powerful railways ministry in a raft of measures aimed at boosting government efficiency and tackling corruption. The railways ministry, which has been criticised for fraud and wasting funds, now comes under the transport ministry. The family planning commission, which oversees the controversial one-child policy, joins with the health ministry. China is holding its National People's Congress, which will cement its once-in-a-decade leadership change. Communist Party chief Xi Jinping will become president, replacing Hu Jintao, while Li Keqiang will replace Wen Jiabao as premier. More»

Secretary of State John Kerry had hoped to offer considerably more aid to Egypt than the $250 million he announced during his trip to Cairo but was blocked by Congress, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said. “This is not the aid package that the administration wanted to announce,” Royce told The Hill. The administration wanted to release a “larger sum,” but bowed to the wishes of Royce's committee as well as congressional appropriators, he said. Royce wouldn't say how much Kerry had hoped to announce, but the State Department has been pressing Congress to greenlight $450 million in direct aid since last fall. “Our approach is not the full-throttle administration approach of delivering all the aid that they wanted to deliver, but rather a measured approach of tying tranches to results as it pertains to the peace treaty with Israel, to cooperation with respect to smuggling [into Gaza] and with respect to economic reforms to guarantee civil rights and the rule of law within Egypt,” he said. “That's the pressure that we're applying.” More»

The national electoral council set the poll date on Saturday one day after Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's handpicked successor, was sworn in as acting president in a ceremony largely boycotted by the opposition, which slammed it as unconstitutional. Shortly after the date was set, the main opposition coalition announced it had unanimously chosen Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in the October election, as its unity candidate again. "We have all recognized Henrique Capriles Radonski as the person to embody this option of change," said Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, executive secretary of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD). Capriles wrote on Twitter that he was "grateful" for the offer and would announce soon whether he will accept the nomination. The Miranda state governor was picked by the MUD last year in an unprecedented primary. More»

Hiring in the US has gathered momentum after government figures showed that the economy created 236,000 jobs in February. The figure was much higher than analysts had expected, and more than the 157,000 jobs created in January. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7% last month, the lowest since December 2008, from 7.9% in January, figures showed. But the White House's chief economist said more work was needed as Congress remained divided over economic policy. Progress 'unmistakable' Employment growth has risen by an average of 195,000 a month in the last three months, figures show. Analysts had forecast a rise of 165,000 jobs for February. More»

The United Nations called off an effort to secure the release of 21 Filipino peacekeepers held by a Syrian rebel group until Saturday because of darkness in the Golan Heights, a spokeswoman said, according to AFP. "Arrangements were made with all parties for the release of the 21 peacekeepers," said UN peacekeeping spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero. Vehicles were sent to the village where the 21 are being held "but due to the late hour and the darkness it was considered unsafe to continue the operation. Efforts will continue tomorrow," she added. Reports earlier on Friday indicated that a UN convoy that entered the Syrian village of Jamla to pick up the 21 peacekeepers pulled out when the army shelled the area. "When the UN vehicles entered into Jamla, the Syrian army shelled a nearby village. The UN cars then withdraw from Jamla," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. More»