Before The Ramones became international icons, the band's first press release in 1975 introduced the punk rockers to the world as working-class men from Queens.

Youngsters from the New York borough's neighborhood of Forest Hills "either become musicians, degenerates or dentists. The Ramones are a little of each," it informed.

Ukraine's parliament on Thursday appointed pro-Western speaker Volodymyr Groysman as prime minister in a bid to end months of political gridlock and unlock vital aid to the war torn-state.

Lawmakers voted by 257 to 50 to approve the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk -- condemned by President Petro Poroshenko for losing the public's trust -- and select Groysman in the first cabinet overhaul since Ukraine's 2014 pro-EU revolt.

A leading Islamic scholar has claimed Muslims are "annoyed" by the level of support among Americans for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Ali Qara Daghi, Secretary-General of the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), told AFP late Wednesday that Trump was also using "attacks on Islam" to try and secure his bid for the White House.

Israel has approved plans for more than 200 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, adding to a sharp increase in settlement projects so far this year, an Israeli NGO said Thursday.

Israel's government has given the green light for the plans for at least 229 homes to move forward and they are now at various stages in the technical process, said Hagit Ofran, a spokeswoman for settlement watchdog Peace Now. 

At least 13 pro-government fighters were killed in a rebel attack on their positions near the Yemeni capital despite a U.N.-brokered ceasefire taking effect this week, military sources said Thursday. 

The rebels attacked positions of Gulf-backed loyalist fighters in Nihm, northeast of Sanaa, where clashes have occurred for two weeks despite warring parties promising to abide by a ceasefire that took effect on Sunday at midnight. 

Around 450 Vietnamese drug addicts have escaped from a rehabilitation center where many were held for compulsory treatment, an official said Thursday.

The detainees attacked guards, climbed walls, and broke down the main gate at the center in the Vietnam's southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau late Wednesday.

Tech billionaire Sean Parker announced a $250 million grant on Wednesday to fund research aimed at breakthroughs in cancer treatment through immunotherapy.

Parker, the founder of music-sharing service Napster and an early investor and executive at Facebook, will create a center for immunotherapy -- which aims to use the body's immune system to fight the disease -- collaborating with six U.S.-based cancer research institutions.

A small, picturesque Australian village has been listed for sale, attracting interest from China and Singapore, with its new buyer set to own dozens of homes, a lake full of fish and 35 Highland cattle.

Property agents said they hoped the 145-hectare (358.3-acre) Tarraleah village in the heart of Tasmania state would fetch up to Aus$13 million (US$10 million).

The growth of genetically-modified crops has dipped for the first time following two decades of steady increases, according to a study released Wednesday.

Twenty years after the first genetically-modified plant was marketed, the worldwide acreage of GM crops reached 181.5 million hectares in 2014.      

North Korea has been making preparations to launch mid-range ballistic missiles, possibly to mark the birthday of the country's late founding president on Friday, South Korean media reported.

The North deployed one or two Musudan ballistic missiles around the eastern port of Wonsan about three weeks ago, Yonhap news agency said Thursday, citing an unnamed Seoul official.