News
Pope absent from Time most influential list, Vatican not alarmed
The Vatican says it is happy that Pope Benedict was left off Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people, which included the Dalai Lama and the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians.
US urged to put Vietnam back on religion blacklist
A US religious freedom watchdog group urged the United States on Friday to put Vietnam back on a religious rights blacklist, two years after the communist country was removed from the list.
Muslim rebels expel Christians in southern Philippines
Muslim rebels have forced hundreds of mainly Christian families off their farms in the southern Philippines, escalating tensions in the region ahead of the withdrawal of Malaysian peace monitors next week.
Chalke announces charity sector 'parliament'
New Oasis Centre to act as 'parliament' for the charity section to enable more effective relationships with government and media around the role of faith groups in public life.
Evangelical Cizik among Time's 100 most influential people
The Rev Richard Cizik, the face of the green evangelical movement, was named among Time magazine's top 100 most influential people in the world for 2008.
Over 350 dead as cyclone pounds Burma
A cyclone killed more than 350 people in military-ruled Burma, ripping through Yangon and the Irrawaddy delta where it flattened at least two towns, officials and state media said on Sunday.
Boat with 80-plus people sinks in Amazon
A boat carrying more than 80 people sank on Sunday at dawn on a major river in the Amazon rain forest, rescue workers and media reports said.
Rice presses Israel on roadblocks and settlements
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday pressed Israel to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians and called Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank "particularly problematic".
China province records 622 new cases of virus
A province in eastern China recorded 622 new cases of the intestinal virus known as enterovirus 71 on Saturday alone, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.
Iraqi president's wife escapes bomb attack
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's wife narrowly escaped death on Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near her convoy in central Baghdad, the president's office said.
Brown insists his party can recover
Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted on Sunday he had made mistakes but insisted his party could recover from crushing local poll losses to win the next parliamentary election.
Pope set to meet Archbishop of Canterbury
Pope Benedict is expected to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Monday in only the second official meeting between the two religious leaders, a Vatican source said on Sunday.
Government seen risking business exodus over tax
Some of the biggest names in British business have told the government that it risks a corporate exodus if it presses ahead with tax proposals on foreign earnings, newspapers said on Sunday.
Angel of North trounces St Paul's in landmark poll
Sir Christopher Wren's St Paul's Cathedral came up short in a survey of Britain's most recognisable landmarks on Sunday as Anthony Gormley's "Angel of the North" sculpture proved a convincing winner.
Police seize £13 million of cocaine
Cumbria police said on Sunday they had made one of the country's biggest cocaine seizures, netting drugs with a street value of 13 million pounds and arresting six men.
Brown calls for pressure on OPEC on oil price
Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Sunday for international pressure on oil producers' group OPEC to bring oil prices down.