News
Berlusconi, ex-mayor battle in Italian election
Italians voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election that could bring conservative media magnate Silvio Berlusconi back to power for the third time to deal with a deep economic and social malaise.
South Sudan blocks census over ethnicity, religion
Sudan's south said a census vital to sharing wealth and power with its former northern foe would not take place until questions on ethnicity and religion - major issues behind decades of civil war - were included.
Police find body thought to be missing TV host
A body believed to be that of missing children's television presenter Mark Speight has been found in a remote area of a London railway station, police said on Sunday.
Seek the peace of the city, Obunge tells black Christians
Rev Nims Obunge told the black church to think less about money and more about sowing back into the land in an honest address at the Christians in the Marketplace conference on Saturday.
Smith says monitoring 30 U.K. terrorism plots
British police and security agencies are currently monitoring 30 terrorism plots, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in extracts of a newspaper interview released on Saturday.
Car owners face stricter litter fines
Local authorities in England and Wales are seeking tougher laws to prosecute motorists who dump rubbish from their cars, the Times reported on Saturday.
Regional leaders urge rapid Zimbabwe poll result
Southern African leaders called on Sunday for the rapid release of results from Zimbabwe's election after a two-week delay that has raised fears of violence.
Deadly Iran mosque blast not an attack
A blast in a mosque in Iran that killed at least 10 people was an accident and not an attack, a senior Interior Ministry official said on Sunday.
Nepal's Maoists heading to victory in key election
Nepal's Maoists were marching to victory in the Himalayan nation's first election in nine years, latest tallies showed on Sunday, a result almost nobody had expected.
Kenyan leaders strike power share deal
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga struck a deal on a power-sharing cabinet on Saturday after secret one-on-one talks to end a six-week impasse, sources close to the talks said.
U.S. air strike in Iraq wounds troops and civilians
A missile fired by U.S. forces at militants in east Baghdad overshot its target and hit a U.S. vehicle, wounding two soldiers and three civilians, the U.S. military said on Sunday.
China media slam Pelosi on Tibet
Chinese media slammed top U.S. politician Nancy Pelosi as "the least popular person in China" for her stance on Tibet in an editorial on Sunday, and said the Beijing Olympic games would be a triumph of justice over evil.
No light at end of Thai-Burma smuggling tunnel
Thailand beefed up its border checks this week after 54 illegal Burmese migrants died seeking a better life.
Taiwan-China meeting seen as major ice-breaker
A landmark meeting on Saturday between China's president and Taiwan's vice president-elect broke 60 years of ice and paved the way for trade and transit links such as regular direct flights, local media and analysts said.
Media magnate and ex-mayor face off in Italian poll
Italians began voting on Sunday in an election that will hand media magnate Silvio Berlusconi or former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, two very different men with similar policies, the task of trying to cure economic malaise.
Traditional acupuncture may ease migraines
Acupuncture, as practiced in traditional Chinese medicine, may offer some relief from migraine pain, a new study suggests.