News

Iran vows no retreat in nuclear row

Iran will not "retreat one iota" over its disputed nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.

China eyes nuclear plant for quake-hit province

China's earthquake-hit Sichuan province hopes to build its first nuclear power plant within as little as five years, but has chosen a site it says is geologically sound, state media said on Wednesday.

Last Three Gorges Dam migrants evacuate as water rises

China has finished evacuating the last town to be submerged by the giant Three Gorges Dam, making way for water levels in the reservoir to rise to their final height of 175 metres above sea level, state media said.

Brazil boom breeds new generation of millionaires

When Fabio Calderaro was a 23-year-old cadet at Brazil's military academy in 2000, he invested a couple of thousand dollars in the stock market.

Dolly becomes hurricane as churns toward Texas

Dolly became a hurricane on Tuesday and bore down on southern Texas, but forecasters don't expect it to pack too much of a punch when it comes ashore near the Mexican border on Wednesday.

WSI increases 2008 Atlantic hurricane forecast

WSI Corp increased its forecast for the number of named storms and hurricanes for the 2008 hurricane season due to warming in the Atlantic basin, the private forecaster said on Tuesday.

Banana row simmers at WTO

A long-running row over bananas that threatens to derail talks on a new global trade pact simmered on Tuesday with no immediate solution in sight.

Gay bishop must resign or confess, says Sudan church head

The head of the Anglican Church in Sudan said on Tuesday that unity could be restored to the troubled Anglican Communion only when the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson resigns or confesses he has "made a mistake" in embracing homosexuality.

Disguised Karadzic arrested in Serbia

Bosnian Serb wartime president Radovan Karadzic, indicted for genocide in the Bosnia war, was captured in disguise near Belgrade after 11 years on the run and had been working as a doctor, Serbian officials said on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe crisis talks to start in South Africa

Zimbabwe's ruling party and the opposition MDC prepared to begin negotiations on Tuesday on a power-sharing deal that could end the country's political crisis, the opposition and diplomatic sources said.

Brown seeks changes to mission in Iraq in 2009

Prime Minister Gordon Brown played up an improving security situation in Iraq on Tuesday and said the number of British troops there could continue to come down as key security tasks were completed.

Supermarket fuel price war could ease inflation

Three of Britain's major supermarkets began a petrol price war on Tuesday and cut fuel prices by up to five pence a litre, a move that could ease inflation in August.

Bank's King wants to initiate aid for failing banks

The Bank of England should have the power to initiate state help for failing banks, Governor Mervyn King said on Tuesday.

Indian government wins confidence vote

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government won a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday, ensuring the immediate survival of the ruling coalition and a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

Laser resurfacing fixes wrinkles, study finds

Laser treatment can remove wrinkles better than some newer procedures, dermatologists reported on Monday.

Obama condemns bulldozer attack

A Palestinian rammed a bulldozer into vehicles on a busy Jerusalem street on Tuesday, ahead of a visit by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and wounded 16 people before being shot dead.