News
Madeleine case seen nearly over
The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is close to a conclusion, Portuguese Justice Minister Alberto Costa said on Wednesday.
Georgian tycoon dies suddenly
Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, who feared assassination and faced accusations of plotting a coup in his homeland, has died in Britain and British police are treating his death as suspicious.
Curry houses facing kitchen staff crunch
An immigration charity has urged ministers to ease curbs on Bangladeshi migrant workers, in a bid to avert a potential staff crisis in Britain's curry houses.
Chinese 'disgusted' over Darfur pressure
Chinese state media accused Western countries on Thursday of abusing the Olympic Games to pressure Beijing, saying boycotts by movie director Steven Spielberg and others "disgusted" the Chinese people.
Court dismisses U.S. kidnapping suit
A federal judge, saying the case involved a state secret, dismissed a lawsuit on Wednesday against a unit of Boeing that charged the firm helped fly terrorism suspects abroad to secret prisons.
Iran sanctions draft to be revised
Key world powers will revise a draft resolution on new sanctions against Iran over its atomic program and call a vote after a U.N. nuclear report on Iran is issued, Britain's U.N. envoy said on Wednesday.
U.S. House defeats stopgap extension of spy program
In a victory for President George W. Bush, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday defeated a Democratic bid to temporarily extend an expiring spy law instead of replacing it with a new measure that also would immunize telephone companies from lawsuits.
U.N. East Timor police called 'cowards'
The brother of East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta on Thursday accused United Nations security forces of behaving like "bloody cowards" and said they hid, rather than defended the wounded leader against rebels.
Gunmen kill nine Iraqis from same family
Gunmen shot dead nine members of an Iraqi family after storming their house in the village of Awja, north of Baghdad, on Thursday, police said.
Malaysian polls: anything possible, except new govt
Malaysia's March 8 election is likely to shape the course of economic and social policy over the next five years, even if it doesn't deliver a new government.
'Silent emergencies' stalk Africa's hungry children
While world attention is gripped by major crises such as Darfur and Kenya, malnutrition threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in "silent emergencies" elsewhere in Africa, the United Nations said.
Bolivians fear floodwaters could rush Amazon city
Floodwater topped a highway protecting the Bolivian city of Trinidad on Tuesday, threatening to inundate 95,000 residents already suffering from severe flooding in the Amazon region.
State of emergency extended in E.Timor
East Timor's parliament approved an extension of the state of emergency until Feb. 23 as Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao called for calm on Wednesday following an assassination attempt on President Jose Ramos-Horta.
Fresh Expressions giving birth to new forms of church
Fresh expressions under the spotlight: evidence from theologians and other academics supports continued growth of new forms of church alongside traditional ones.
Rock School's Lil' Chris visits World Vision education projects in India
Leaving behind the comforts of home, young musician and contender on Rock School, Lil' Chris, took time out last month to witness firsthand the vital education work that World Vision's School Aid is doing in India.
Zollitsch succeeds Lehmann as Germany's top Catholic
A liberal archbishop, Robert Zollitsch, was voted in as chair of Germany's Catholic bishops' conference on Tuesday to succeed Karl Lehmann as the country's top Catholic prelate.