News
Sombre China mourns earthquake victims
Flags flew at half mast across China and the Olympic torch relay was suspended as the country began three days of mourning on Monday for more than 30,000 victims of an earthquake that struck a week ago.
Hopes for Burma cyclone aid rise
Hopes of a deal to speed up aid to millions of Burma cyclone victims rose on Monday as the U.N. said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would visit this week and Southeast Asia kicked off its own disaster-response meeting.
BAE chief subpoenaed in U.S.
U.S. officials investigating alleged bribes in a Saudi arms deal subpoenaed the chief executive of BAE Systems, Britain's biggest military contractor, on his arrival in the United States last week, BAE officials said on Sunday.
Qatari mediator pushes proposals at Lebanon talks
Qatari-led mediators tried on Monday, the fourth day of tense negotiations in Doha, to nudge rival Lebanese leaders towards agreement on proposals aimed at ending their political crisis.
Bangladesh arrests Islamic party chief
Bangladesh police have arrested the chief of the country's biggest Islamic political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, over allegations of kickbacks in a port deal, police said on Monday.
Bush tries to convince Arab sceptics on peace push
U.S. President George W. Bush sought to reassure sceptical Arabs on Sunday he is committed to securing a deal on Palestinian statehood before he leaves office, despite his outspoken support for Israel.
Malaysia ex-PM quits ruling party
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday he had quit the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), media reported, a move that could weaken the ruling coalition.
Colombia rejects Venezuela border incursion charge
Colombian authorities on Sunday rejected charges from Venezuela that their troops had crossed the frontier in the latest incident to test fraying relations between the Andean neighbours.
China quake hurts farmers' hopes to escape poverty
The ribbon of collapsed homes winding up the Jian river valley in southwest China doesn't feature on the picturesque billboards that once welcomed tourists and now help protect its homeless residents from the rain.
Nine killed in Philippine shooting spree
Several Philippine men sprayed houses in a farming village outside Manila with bursts of automatic weapon fire, killing nine people, most of them sleeping children, police said on Monday.
Brown promises 'light touch' tech regulation
Prime Minister Gordon Brown will promise on Monday to maintain "light touch" regulation of technology firms to encourage investment in the sector.
Accountants survey says business confidence tumbles
Business confidence has fallen sharply across all sectors of British industry in recent months but a recession is still viewed as unlikely, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
MPs to vote on human-animal embryos
MPs vote on Monday on far-reaching changes to Britain's laws on fertility research, including controversial proposals to allow scientists to create hybrid human-animal embryos.
New tremor hits China on eve of 3-days mourning
A fresh tremor in southwestern China killed three people on Sunday, injured 1,000 others and sent thousands of people already traumatised by last week's massive earthquake fleeing their homes into the streets.
U.N. chief going to Myanmar to speed aid
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will travel to Burma this week to try to speed up troubled cyclone relief, his spokeswoman said on Sunday, as signs mounted of a breakthrough in getting aid to survivors.
Kennedy in hospital as doctors probe seizure cause
U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy remained in hospital in Boston on Sunday as doctors tried to determine what caused the patriarch of America's most prominent political dynasty to suffer a seizure on Saturday.