News
Jakarta airport closed after torrential rains
Indonesia's main airport was closed on Friday as more than 40 flights were delayed and some forced to return after takeoff due to low visibility following torrential rains.
Anglican Covenant Design Group meets in London
The Anglican Covenant Design Group is in London this week to review responses to the draft Covenant and fashion steps towards a final document.
Churches challenged to practise justice during Lent
Church Action on Poverty is challenging Christians to engage more deeply with injustice and poverty in the UK with its new Lent resource, Just Church.
CofE in Shropshire welcomes decision to reconsider school closures
The Church of England in Shropshire has welcomed the Council's decision to stop the process of consultation over school closures and to reconsider.
Second Kenyan opposition MP shot dead
Kenyan opposition legislator David Kimutai Too was shot dead on Thursday in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, the second member of parliament for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) killed this week, the party said.
Giuliani and Edwards quit White House race
Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat John Edwards abandoned their failing U.S. presidential bids on Wednesday, narrowing the race to two main candidates on each side before next week's nomination voting in more than 20 states.
Tempers flare amid China holiday rail havoc
Tens of thousands of Chinese crammed into a railway station in Guangzhou on Thursday, desperate to get home for a major holiday after days of delay caused by snow and showing signs of losing their patience.
Official says deputy Afghan governor killed in blast
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Thursday killing a deputy provincial governor and at least five other people, officials said.
Israel's Olmert seen surviving war report
Israeli newspapers forecast Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's survival on Thursday after a report criticised the army and his government's conduct during a 2006 war in Lebanon but offered him a political reprieve.
Istanbul factory blast kills 17
An explosion at an Istanbul factory on Thursday killed at least 17 people and injured nearly 40 after it brought down several floors of a multi-storey building, Istanbul authorities said.
Iraq has million-woman social time-bomb
Every week, letters from Iraqi widows spill across Samira al-Moussawi's desk. One wrote to ask whether she should spend what scant money she gets on her infant or on school books for her older son.
Record European profits for Shell
Royal Dutch Shell posted record European company earnings of $27.6 billion (13.9 billion pounds) in 2007, but fourth-quarter profit missed forecasts as a fall in production dampened the benefit of high oil prices.
Family payment Tory MP faces Commons vote
The Conservative MP at the centre of a storm for paying his son almost 50,000 pounds of public money for doing nothing faces a Commons vote on Thursday which is almost certain to suspend him for 10 days.
Jeremy Beadle dies at 59
Jeremy Beadle, one of Britain's favourite television presenters during the 1980s and early 1990s, has died, it was reported on Wednesday.
Jesuits overjoyed as new online journal clocks up thousands of visitors
The British Jesuits' new online journal has clocked up over 13,000 pageviews in its first week. More than 3,000 unique visitors came to the site, and over 10% of them have already become subscribers.
Watchdog criticises 'tough' community orders
Managers policing supposedly tough community service orders allowed criminals to escape punishment for unacceptable excuses on a regular basis, an independent watchdog found on Thursday.