Five Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Dubai-based satellite channel Al-Arabiya reported.

China's overheated economy is showing signs of making a "soft landing", thanks to the government's macro control policies, particularly the tightening of land and credit supply, a government think tank said in a report.

Microsoft surprised the tech world, unveiling a plan to go into partnership with longtime rival Novell (NOVL), the world's leading maker of operating systems based on Linux.

Seven people, mostly children, died while an undetermined number of others fell ill over the past few days due to a diarrhea outbreak in a village near San Luis town, Agusan del Sur in southern Philippines, the official Philippine News Agency reported Tuesday.

Chinese ace Liu Xiang, the men's 110-meter hurdles world record holder, has finished in the second place on the internet poll for the World Male Athlete of the Year award in 2006, announced the IAAF official website on Monday.