News

Symbolic step forward for Jewish-Catholic ties in Jerusalem

Holocaust sculpture dedicated at Catholic institution in Jerusalem as permanent memorial in presence of senior Vatican official Cardinal Martini.

Tory MP criticises 'Christianophobia'

Conservative MP, Mark Pritchard has spoken out against what he perceives to be growing "Christianophobia" within the "politically correct brigade". The MP told the BBC that attempts to marginalise Christian traditions in British life had "gone far enough".

Greek Orthodox leader hospitalised in battle against cancer

Archbishop Christodoulos, 68, leader of the Orthodox Church in Greece was admitted to hospital for tests on Monday for re-evaluation of his cancer treatment. His office said it was unsure how long he would be hospitalised.

Indonesia: Islamic militants sentenced for attacks on Christians

Six Islamic militants have been sentenced to up to 19 years in Indonesia for for a string of violent offences against Christians on Sulawesi Island.

U.S. Iran report is no 'slam dunk'

U.S. intelligence agencies have showed independence from the Bush administration with a sceptical assessment of Iran's nuclear capabilities that is far from the "slam dunk" case against Iraq before the war.

Israel believes Iran restarted nuclear arms work

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday that Iran had probably restarted its nuclear weapons programme, contradicting a U.S. intelligence report which said it was frozen in 2003 and remained on hold.

South Africa's miners union starts safety strike

South Africa's biggest miners' union launched a one-day national strike on Tuesday to protest against deaths in the country's mines, disrupting operations across the world's top producer of platinum and gold.

Blast hits convoy near Kabul airport

A suicide bomber rammed a car into a convoy of NATO forces close to the airport in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, wounding 10 Afghan civilians, a police official said.

Pakistan opposition mull list of poll demands

Pakistani opposition parties began mapping out on Tuesday a list of demands that President Pervez Musharraf must meet to prevent their boycott of a January general election.

Obesity behind many maternal birth deaths

More than half of mothers who died during child birth were overweight, a report found on Tuesday.

Turner art prize goes to Mark Wallinger

Artist Mark Wallinger, famed for re-creating a one-man protest against the Iraq War, won the coveted Turner prize on Monday and pleaded "Bring home the troops."

Panel urges rich states to save trade talks

Rich countries must make unilateral concessions to spur on marathon world trade talks or call a halt to the negotiations if they are going nowhere, MPs said on Tuesday.

Teddy teacher leaves Sudan after pardon

A British teacher jailed in Sudan for letting her students name a teddy bear Mohammad left Khartoum for Britain on Monday after winning a pardon.

Labour party funding scandal flares up again

A financing scandal engulfing Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party flared up again on Monday when a cabinet minister disclosed he had failed to declare donations to the elections watchdog.

Brown to detail five-year cancer plan

Breast cancer screening will be extended to women from the ages of 47 to 73 as part of a five-year plan for cancer services, Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce on Monday.

Britons waste billions on unwanted Christmas gifts

Britons waste 2.3 billion pounds every year on unwanted Christmas presents, and almost a third of them wind up being sold online after the festive season.