News

Stop the arrests, U.N envoy tells Burma junta

U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari told Burma on Monday to stop arresting dissidents and Thailand proposed a regional forum including China and India to nudge the reclusive military junta towards democratic reform.

Call for Muslim-Christian unity 'encouraging' - Vatican interfaith head

A top Vatican official in charge of relations with Islam said a recent letter from Muslim scholars to Pope Benedict XVI and other global Christian leaders is "very interesting" and "very encouraging."

Archbishop of Canterbury attacks Atheism and Dawkins' 'God Delusion'

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has attacked atheism and the author of the best-selling book The God Delusion.

Ethnic clashes kill 20 in tense eastern Chad

Twenty people were killed in ethnic clashes in east Chad after the desertion of former rebels loyal to the defence minister stoked tensions in the region bordering Sudan's Darfur, government sources said on Monday.

EU ministers upbeat on treaty deal

European Union foreign ministers voiced confidence on Monday that a summit this week will clinch a deal on a long-awaited treaty to reform EU institutions despite remaining snags involving Poland and Italy.

Canada not listening to leading environmentalist

David Suzuki, Canada's best-known environmentalist, has spent a generation encouraging Canadians to look after the environment, but it seems they have not been listening.

Torrential rains, floods kill 20 in Central America

Emergency officials across Central America worked to clean up towns inundated by recent deadly floods and landslides, and braced for more bad weather on Sunday.

Montenegro takes first step towards European Union

Montenegro signed a key accord with the European Union on Monday that put the small Adriatic republic on the first rung of the ladder to eventual membership of the 27-nation bloc.

NHS dental changes 'force patients to go private'

Dental patients are being forced to go private, prompting many to go without treatment or even fix their teeth at home because of NHS changes last year, according to a survey.

China's president offers Taiwan talks, peace pact

Chinese President Hu Jintao offered on Monday to enter into negotiations with Taiwan to reach a peace agreement in an overture to the self-ruled island which China claims as its own.

Envoy urges UN to quit Mideast mediating group

The United Nations should pull out of the Quartet of Middle East mediators unless the group starts taking Palestinian human rights seriously, a U.N. envoy said on Monday.

Breakaway Somali republic advances into Somalia

Troops from the breakaway Somali republic of Somaliland on Monday captured a village inside a rival region of Somalia, killing at least 10 people, witnesses said.

Religious row takes over Hollywood blockbuster of Philip Pullman novel

A row over religion has engulfed the movie version of 'The Golden Compass', one of Philip Pullman's children's novels from the series His Dark Materials, as critics say that the Hollywood film waters down the anti-Catholic themes in the book so as not to offend.