Boris Berezovsky wins libel case over Litvinenko poisoning
EXILED Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky yesterday won his British libel case against a Kremlin-owned broadcaster that aired allegations he masterminded the murder of a former K
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

Lost Boys star Haim dies at 38 after years of heavy drug abuse
ACTOR Corey Haim, a 1980s teenage heart-throb for his roles in the films Lucas and The Lost Boys, died yesterday from an apparent drug overdose, aged 38.
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

France rocked by claims that both Sarkozy and Bruni are having affairs
THE Elysée Palace was maintaining a stony silence last night more than two days after rumours erupted that French president Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni are both havin
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

Biden reprimands Israel as settler move rocks peace bid
US VICE-PRESIDENT Joe Biden took the usual step of publicly reprimanding Israel yesterday over a Jewish settlement plan, saying it undermined his peace efforts.
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

German Catholic authorities launch abuse investigations
CATHOLIC authorities in Germany announced two major abuse investigations yesterday ? one into the renowned choir once led by Pope Benedict XVI's brother and another into w
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

Defiant Ashton calls for unity to rebuild European influence
EUROPE'S foreign policy chief Baroness Catherine Ashton told MEPs yesterday the EU must do more to defend its interests and values as power seeps from the West to econom
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

Investigation after police use drivers as human shield
RUSSIAN traffic police are under investigation for ordering motorists to park their cars across a highway ? and remain inside ? to block a fleeing criminal suspect, prosecuto
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

Hope for Tasmanian devil from cancer-immune colony
AUSTRALIAN scientists have discovered a genetically distinct colony of Tasmanian devils that may save the species from being wiped out by a contagious cancer that has ravaged
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

Swedish cartoonist defiant over drawing of Muhammad
THE Swedish cartoonist who angered Muslims by drawing the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog said yesterday he had no regrets and believed the suspects in an alleged plot
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

Move over Bill Gates, richest man is a Mexican
A MEXICAN billionaire was today ranked as the richest person in the world, the first time the title has been held by a non-American for 16 years.
10 Mar 2010 at 6:00pm

BBC World

Greeks stage fresh general strike

People's Daily Online

U.S. says it prefers TPP with Malaysia
The United States said on Wednesday that it was interested in proceeding with the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP) with Malaysia, instead of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, made this remark in Putrajaya, Malaysia's federal administration center. The United States welcomed Malaysia's interest in taking part in the TPP, Cambell said after meeting Rastam Mohd Isa, Secretary- General ...
11 Mar 2010 at 11:27am

Suspected drone raid kills 3 in Pakistan's tribal area
A suspected U.S. drone attack left at least three persons killed and three others injured in the tribal area of Pakistan's North Waziristan on Wednesday, local sources said. The U.S. unmanned fighter fired four missile targeting the militants at Maizer Madhakhel, a densely-populated area, in tehsil Datakhel near Miranshah, the center of North Waziristan, killing three terrorists. However, the death toll is feared to increase. Earlier, nine Al-Qaida members were killed on Monday when a U.S. ...
11 Mar 2010 at 11:26am

Iran, U.S. at loggerheads to affect war on terror in Afghanistan
by Abdul Haleem Despite confrontation over nuclear issue, Middle East and numerous other international subjects, both Tehran and Washington are in consent to fight militancy in Afghanistan but their confrontation would negatively affect the war on terror. Since Iran considers the long-term presence of U.S.-led western troops in its eastern neighbor as a threat to its security, believing the military buildup is not the way to win the war against terrorism. Presently there are 113,000 NAT ...
11 Mar 2010 at 11:24am

Tourists should not visit areas near rally sites: Thai official warns
While the Thai government is confident to be able to control the political rally, tourists should not visit areas near the anti-government rally sites, acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn said Wednesday. Officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will also be sent to take care of tourists as these officials can also explain the actual situation to tourists during the rally, Thai News Agency quoted Panitan as saying. "The Thai government will be able to control the ...
11 Mar 2010 at 11:23am

Thai police ordered to maintain security during mass rally: official
Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban has instructed police to maintain law and order during a mass rally, Police General Adul Saengsingkaew, a 10-level advisor to the Royal Thai Police Office, disclosed Wednesday. The peaceful rally is essential since it will enable the general public to live their life as usual, the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT) under the state-owned Public Relations Department, quoted Police General Adul as saying. Acting nation ...
11 Mar 2010 at 11:22am

Lula says Brazil in good shape
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday that his country is in good shape thanks to eight years of efforts to improve the economy. At the inauguration of a thermal power plant in Cubatao, Sao Paulo state, Lula spoke highly of economic achievements since 2003 when he took office. "In 2003, Brazil underwent an unprecedented crisis: we were subordinate to the IMF and many Brazilian companies, including the state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras, did not make any inves ...
11 Mar 2010 at 10:55am

Colombia's Uribe arrives to attend Chilean new president's inauguration
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe arrived on Wednesday to attend the inauguration of Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera. Upon his arrival at Santiago International Airport at 4: 30 p.m. local time (1930 GMT), Uribe expressed sympathy and solidarity with the Chileans who were affected by the Feb. 27 quake . "I know that Chile will overcome this tragedy," Uribe said. "We wish the great nation of Chile every success." The 8.8-magnitude quake on Feb. 27 is Chile's second strongest on r ...
11 Mar 2010 at 10:54am

5 arrested for killing in Chile's quake-hit area
Five members of Chile's Navy Patrol were detained on Wednesday for allegedly killing a civilian in Hualpen, an area affected by the Feb. 27 earthquake. The area has been under a curfew since the earthquake to avoid rapine and public disorder, local media reported. The corpse of a 45-year old man was found at 4:30 a.m. local time (0730 GMT) Wednesday next to a soccer field. According to Admiral Roberto Macchiavello, the man died from excessive use of force by the members of the Navy Patr ...
11 Mar 2010 at 10:52am

U.S. House rejects pullout from Afghanistan
U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to reject a bill demanding President Barack Obama pull troops out of Afghanistan. The House defeated the bill by a 356-65 vote, introduced by Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich. 60 liberal Democrats and 5 Republicans supported the bill. The bill demands Obama to pull all troops out of Afghanistan 30 days after the bill becomes law, or by the end of the year, should he deem the 30-day timeline too much of a risk. Kuci ...
11 Mar 2010 at 10:51am

Quake-torn Chile prepares for inauguration of new president
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday did her last round of duty before vacating her office for the swearing-in of President Sebastian Pinera. Bachelet's last day in office started with a field tour of Bucalemu, one of the areas hardest hit by the Feb. 27 earthquake. The incoming president will have to start his tenure by dealing with the aftermath of the 8.8-magnitude quake. The Bachelet administration already asked relatives of those still unaccounted for in the quake to re ...
11 Mar 2010 at 10:50am

Guardian Unlimited World

Colleen LaRose: all-American neighbour or Jihad Jane?

Arrest of 'cat lady', suspected of plot to kill Prophet cartoonist, linked to terror suspects held in Ireland

She lived in Main Street, Pennsburg, which in hindsight is about as rich a paradox as could be. Her apartment on the second floor of a block of flats in the Pennsylvania town was nondescript, except for some wind chimes and a star hanging from the balcony.

But today the world learned of Colleen LaRose's alleged second life, one quite out...

Richard Purssell describes 'shocking event' in Haifa court on first day of civil suit brought by Corrie family against Israel

A British witness told a court today about how he had watched an Israeli military bulldozer run over and kill the American activist Rachel Corrie while she was trying to stop Palestinians' homes being demolished in Gaza.

Richard Purssell, who was also a volunteer activist in Rafah at the time, seven years ago, described t...

Corrupt contractors and militants take up to 50% of aid before it reaches the country's hungry people, says leaked document

Up to half the food aid meant to feed hundreds of thousands of hungry people in Somalia is being stolen, according to a leaked UN security council report.

The report, seen by the New York Times, says the food is being diverted to corrupt contractors, radical Islamic militants and local UN workers. It advises the UN secretar...

President-elect faces changed priorities after country devastated by worst natural disaster in half a century

The Chilean president-elect, Sebastián Piñera, will take power tomorrow in the aftermath of the country's worst natural catastrophe in 50 years.

Piñera, a moderate conservative who had planned to cut social spending and introduce a market-based economic model, now faces much-changed priorities after last month's devastating earthquake de...

British peer blames plight on Brussels turf wars over shape and powers of a new European diplomatic service

Britain's new EU foreign and security policy chief, Lady Ashton, used the platform of the European parliament today to hit back at the chorus of criticism that has enveloped her first three months in the job.

In a combative performance outlining early views on how to make EU foreign policy more effective, the Labour peer signalled the star...

Moves aims to restore public confidence in science of global warming after mistake over melting rates of glaciers

The UN called in the world's top scientists today to review a report by its climate body, four months after public confidence in the science of global warming was shaken by the discovery of a mistake about the melting rates of Himalayan glaciers.

In an announcement at the UN in New York Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, and Raje...

The IPL, six weeks of razzmatazz and TV with a little sport, is predicted to double last year's takings

It is already big and brash. It is about to get substantially bigger and brasher. At 8pm on Friday, hundreds of millions of people in India, from tea shops in Mumbai slums to plush Delhi suburbs and thousands of villages in between, will sit down to watch the Deccan Chargers play the Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the third se...

Russian oligarch awarded damages over claims he arranged polonium poisoning of friend and former spy

The exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was today awarded libel damages of £150,000 over "savage" allegations he was behind the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the poisoned Russian dissident who was his close friend.

In a chaotic high court battle in London, the 64-year-old tycoon successfully argued his reputation had seriously been damaged...

Cardinal deplores initiative for 'trivialising sexuality' as headmaster of Kepler school urges others to follow

For its critics in the Vatican, it is a matter of "deep concern". For its proponents, it is "evidence of great courage".

Amid national controversy, the Kepler scientific secondary school today became the first in the Italian education system to install condom vending machines for students. The machines, in the girls' and boys' toilets...

He Who Must Live documents Cuban leader's escapes from bacteria-infected hankie, exploding cigar and poisoned wetsuit

Illness has forced him from public view but Fidel Castro is back in Cuban living rooms via a lavish television series that celebrates his escape from 638 assassination plots.

The eight-part series, He Who Must Live is an extravagant departure from Cuban TV's typically low-budget fare: more than 1,000 actors and extras are used in...

Toronto Globe and Mail: International

New law barring Myanmar opposition leader condemned
One of the country's Southeast Asian allies calls it ‘a complete farce’

The New York Times

Nigerians Recount the Night of Their Bloody Revenge
The police have arrested about 200 people in Jos, where this week dozens of herdsmen slaughtered hundreds of people in a brutal act of sectarian retribution.
by By ADAM NOSSITER
10 Mar 2010 at 11:10pm

Chile?s New President Enters a Changed Political Landscape
The aftermath of the earthquake may give the country?s new right-wing government a chance to entomb the ghosts of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
by By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
10 Mar 2010 at 11:10pm

Spy Chief in Pakistan to Stay On Another Year
An unusual extension for Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha may pave the way for a longer term for the head of the army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who was set to step down this year.
by By JANE PERLEZ
10 Mar 2010 at 10:38pm

Einstein's Theory of Relativity On Display
For the first time, the complete, original manuscript of the theory of relativity, profoundly human and surprisingly moving to examine, has been put on display in Jerusalem.
by By ETHAN BRONNER
10 Mar 2010 at 9:54pm

Barcelona Journal: Trumpeting the Catalan Language, by Law, in Small Type on ...
A local bill requiring that at least half the copies of every film from outside Europe be dubbed in Catalan is the latest attempt to assert Catalan culture.
by By JOHN TAGLIABUE
10 Mar 2010 at 8:10pm

Palestinians Hold to Plan for Indirect Talks With Israel
Palestinian leaders meeting with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. condemned a decision by Israel on new housing, but still spoke of participating in peace talks.
by By ETHAN BRONNER
10 Mar 2010 at 10:01pm

In Saudi Arabia, Gates Seeks to Bolster Effort Against Iran
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will discuss military cooperation and Iran?s nuclear program, officials said.
by By ELISABETH BUMILLER
10 Mar 2010 at 9:20pm

House Rejects Kucinich Plan for Swifter Afghanistan Pullout
Debate on the measure offered a preview of Congressional consideration later this year of the Obama administration?s request for money to pay for the Afghan war.
by By CARL HULSE
10 Mar 2010 at 10:02pm

Quotes Attributed to Mandela?s Ex-Wife Cause a Stir
In the London Evening Standard this week Winnie Mandikizela-Mandela described her former husband as a figurehead who had made a bad deal with South Africa?s former white rulers.
by By CELIA W. DUGGER
10 Mar 2010 at 9:50pm

Obama Pledges U.S. Aid to Haiti
President Obama made the pledge after meeting with President René Préval of Haiti on Wednesday, even as the U.S. military begins withdrawing forces.
by By JEFF ZELENY
10 Mar 2010 at 8:52pm