News
OPEC's Khelil rules out oil price decline
OPEC President Chakib Khelil ruled out on Sunday an eventual oil price fall in view of strong Chinese and Indian demand, adding geopolitics and a weak dollar were behind the current spike, Algeria's APS news agency reported.
Hong Kong democrats call on Chinese VP to speed polls
Democrats in Hong Kong urged Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to speed up implementation of direct elections on Sunday, during his first visit to the city since taking charge of its affairs as a state leader.
Study says men past 40 face fertility problems
Couples trying to have a baby when the man is over 40 will have more difficulty conceiving than if he is younger, French researchers said on Sunday.
Miliband calls for world action on Zimbabwe
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Sunday called on the international community to unite in condemning the re-election of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and said the opposition should now come to power.
Syria says restores order at military prison
Syrian authorities said on Sunday they had restored order at a military jail near Damascus after a riot, but dissidents said the insurrection was not over and dozens of prisoners had been killed.
Gunmen kill U.N.official in Mogadishu
Unknown assailants shot dead the Somali head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) late on Sunday as he was on his way home from saying evening prayers in the chaotic capital Mogadishu, witnesses said.
At least 8 dead in blast near Pakistani mosque
A suicide bomber killed at least eight people and wounded 23 in an attack on police who had been guarding Islamists marking the anniversary of an army commando raid on Islamabad's Red Mosque.
Jerusalem bulldozer killer acted alone
Israeli police have concluded that a Palestinian construction worker who killed three Israelis with a bulldozer in Jerusalem last week acted alone and not as part of a militant organisation, a spokesman said on Sunday.
Baghdad car bomb kills six
A car bomb killed six civilians and wounded 14 other people in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
Five blasts shake Georgia conflict zone
Georgian officials said five explosions struck both sides of the de-facto border between Georgia and its breakaway region of Abkhazia on Sunday, in the latest sign of growing tensions between Tbilisi and separatists.
US lawmakers decry Olympics after dissidents blocked
Two US Congressmen last Tuesday urged President George W Bush to rethink attending the Beijing Olympic Games after they were prevented from meeting Chinese human rights activists.
Derelict Stoke-on-Trent church to re-open as restaurant
A much-loved Stoke-on-Trent church which has stood derelict in the centre of Hanley for the past 20 years is set to receive a new lease of life after the Diocese of Lichfield and the Church Commissioners agreed to sell the building to a consortium which includes one of the country's leading church restoration specialists.
Olympic spirit reaches rural England
A group of nine small villages is to come together for their very own Olympics in advance of the Bejing Olympics later this year.
Holy Land call for Christians and Muslims to engage on ecology
Holy Land Bishop Munib Younan has said that Christians need to have a stronger voice in Jerusalem in order to prevent tensions spreading there, and that Muslims and Christians should work together on ecology issues.
Report of Anglican-Vatican talks ahead of women bishops vote
The Church of England is staying tight lipped over a report that senior bishops have met Vatican officials in secret talks on the crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion, including the ordination of women bishops.
Prospects dim for G8 climate change deal
Prospects that the G8 would reach a meaningful agreement to how best to fight global warming at their annual summit dimmed on Sunday as leaders began arriving in northern Japan with a raft of global problems on their minds.