News

Top intelligence official falls into coma

Britain's top intelligence official is in a coma in a London hospital after collapsing at home, police and his office said on Friday.

Deadliest malaria cases on rise

An increase in Britons travelling to malaria-infested countries has steadily increased the number of imported cases of the disease over the past 20 years, researchers said on Friday.

Heart tests for all athletes could save lives

Mandatory heart screenings for all athletes could detect potentially fatal problems and save lives, Italian researchers said on Friday.

Biofuels blamed for food price crisis

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75 percent - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report published in a London newspaper on Friday.

Luxury chocolate sales booming

Consumers are spending more on chocolate with sales of luxury boxes booming and those of healthier dark chocolate nearly doubling, according to a study published on Friday.

London mayor to probe allegations against deputy

London mayor Boris Johnson launched an investigation on Thursday into allegations of sexual and financial misconduct against his deputy, the mayor's toughest political challenge since his election in May.

Greg Laurie: From lost boy to Jesus freak

Once a lost boy and now a well-known evangelist, Greg Laurie is letting millions of people into the journey of his personal life, much of which he did not want to revisit.

Obama's take on Bible continues to raise doubts among conservatives

Several conservative commentators this week defended prominent US evangelical Dr James Dobson after he criticised Democrat Barack Obama's Bible interpretation.

Betancourt reunited with children

Ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt, rescued from leftist rebels in a stunning Colombian military operation after six years in captivity, was reunited with her children on Thursday.

Hitler wax figure unveiled in Berlin amid criticism

Berlin's new waxwork museum on Thursday unveiled a figure of a glum-looking Adolf Hitler in a mock bunker during the last days of his life, an exhibit that has been criticized as in bad taste.

House arrest for Qaeda suspect

An Algerian suspected of links to Osama bin Laden and bomb plots in the United States and France has been freed from prison after more than seven years but placed under house arrest while he fights deportation.

At 60, the NHS needs reality check

The National Health Service is famous for being free at the point of need, but analysts say that if the 60-year-old NHS is to serve an ageing and expanding population, the reality of its cost must be accepted.

Cardinal presses MPs on protection for unborn children

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has written to all 646 MPs asking them not to go further in withdrawing legal protection from unborn children.

WCC head rejoices at release of Colombian hostages

World Council of Churches head rejoices at release of Colombian hostages, urges FARC to release hundreds more remaining hostages.

Brazil Indians seek pope's support in land battle

Brazilian Indians locked in a land dispute in the Amazon met Pope Benedict at the Vatican on Wednesday to enlist Church support in their efforts to defend their three-year-old reservation.

Sunni 'infidels' edict may de-rail Saudi inter-faith efforts

Shi'ite Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia have criticised a religious edict from Sunni Muslim counterparts branding them infidels, a statement some say is a swipe at King Abdullah's inter-faith dialogue efforts.