News

Alexander cleared over illegal donations

The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Wendy Alexander, will not face criminal charges over an illegal donation to her leadership campaign, the election watchdog said on Thursday.

Bank cuts rates but warns on inflation

The Bank of England trimmed interest rates on Thursday to help shore up the economy but policymakers remain worried about inflation, dampening hopes of rapid fire rate cuts.

McCain asks conservatives for support

Republican John McCain asked disgruntled conservatives to support his presidential bid on Thursday, shortly after Mitt Romney ended his struggling campaign and made McCain the all-but-certain nominee.

Palestinian PM sees no '08 Israel accord

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Thursday a lasting peace accord with Israel was unlikely in 2008 despite renewed diplomatic efforts to resolve the long-running conflict.

Gunman kills five in U.S. city council

A gunman killed two police officers and three city officials on Thursday night when he stormed into a city council meeting in a suburb of St. Louis, police said.

Chad calls for EU deployment as rebels regroup

President Idriss Deby called on the European Union on Thursday to deploy a peacekeeping force urgently to eastern Chad, as his government sought to tighten security after a weekend rebel assault on the capital.

NATO struggles for unity over Afghan war

NATO tried to patch over divisions about the war in Afghanistan on Thursday but differences remained over the willingness of some members to contribute troops to the fight.

Indian kidney racket fugitive held in Nepal

Nepal's police have arrested an Indian man suspected of being the mastermind of an illegal kidney transplant racket in India that may have duped or forced at gunpoint hundreds of poor labourers into donating their organs.

Dozens injured in U.S. sugar refinery blast

Dozens of people were injured, some of them seriously, in an explosion at a sugar refinery in the U.S. state of Georgia on Thursday night, local authorities said, adding that no fatalities had been reported yet.

Philippines strives to control boom on paradise isle

It's getting crowded in paradise. About 600,000 tourists came last year to Boracay in the central Philippines, regarded as one of the world's best holiday destinations, and swam, ate and slept on an island that has only about 18,000 full-time residents.

Australia ends 'Pacific Solution' for refugees

Australia ended on Friday its controversial policy of sending asylum seekers into often-lengthy detention on small Pacific island nations, with the last refugees leaving Nauru to live in Australia.

Israel says it's starting to cut power to Gaza

Israel said it was reducing electrical power to the Gaza Strip on Friday as part of its plan to sever economic ties with the territory.

Rambo throws spotlight on violence and killings in Burma

Christian Freedom International (CFI) is urging the global community to call on the Burmese Government to end the large-scale violence that has caused the deaths of thousands of its own citizens, as thousands more continue to stream into refugee camps.