LONDON (AFP) - British bank Barclays on Friday said its net profits dropped 16 percent to £3.0 billion (3.57 billion euros, $4.74 billion) in 2011 from a year earlier and cut its bonus pool by a quarter.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan's top court on Friday threw out an appeal from embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani against contempt charges, paving the way for him to be indicted next week.

KAMPALA (AFP) - A Ugandan lawmaker behind a proposed draconian anti-gay bill that sparked an international outcry said Friday he wanted to drop clauses that would see the death penalty introduced for certain homosexual acts.

BEIJING (AFP) - China's trade surplus widened to $27.28 billion in January as imports plunged more than 15 percent from a year earlier, official data showed Friday.

BEIJING (AFP) - China's exports fell 0.5 percent in January from a year earlier, state media said Friday, as overseas economic woes hurt demand for Chinese goods and factories closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.