News

Micah Challenge inspires greater action on poverty

International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander commends Christians for ongoing efforts to eradicate extreme global poverty at Micah Challenge reception.

U.N. condemns Zimbabwe poll violence

The U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed to take its first formal action on Zimbabwe by condemning violence against the opposition and ruling that a free and fair presidential run-off was impossible.

Divers find bodies in sunken Philippine ferry

Divers found ghostly white bodies floating head up inside a sunken passenger ferry in the central Philippines on Tuesday raising fears of a mass grave below the waves.

Iran says new EU sanctions are meaningless

Iran condemned on Tuesday new sanctions imposed on it by the European Union and made clear they would not slow Tehran's nuclear activities, an Iranian news agency reported.

U.S. court rules for Guantanamo prisoner

A federal appeals court on Monday overturned a U.S. military tribunal's enemy combatant designation for a Chinese Muslim at the Guantanamo Bay prison, its first ruling that gives a detainee a chance for release.

U.S. mayor denies pregnancy 'pact'

The mayor of a Massachusetts city that drew attention for a spike in teenage pregnancies denied on Monday a media report that a group of girls entered a pact to become pregnant.

U.S. report shows gaps in European nuclear security

Most European military sites equipped with U.S. nuclear weapons fail to meet Pentagon security requirements, according to a U.S. Air Force study.

Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday, Palestinian security sources and medical workers said.

US Evangelicals not locked in partisan embrace - Pew

American evangelicals remain more Republican than Democratic but are not locked tightly in the embrace of either party, according to a new survey released on Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

U.N. chief says Zimbabwe poll would lack legitimacy

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Monday not to hold the run-off presidential election as planned on Friday, saying the result would lack legitimacy.

Public sector workers to strike over pay

Around 600,000 local government workers have voted to strike over pay, public sector union Unison said on Monday, adding to fears that higher living costs may spark an hard-to-control inflationary spiral.

Sarkozy offers in Israel to broker peace

French President Nicolas Sarkozy put himself forward on Monday as a possible Middle East peace broker, offering in a speech to Israel's parliament to help reach agreement and mobilise French troops if necessary.

Teenager given life for Wild West murder

An 18-year-old man was sentenced on Monday to life imprisonment for murdering a care worker caught in the crossfire of a "Wild West" shootout in a south London car park.

Data from 900,000 ambulance calls lost

Details of nearly 900,000 emergency calls to the ambulance service have gone missing while in transit, the Scottish Ambulance Service said on Monday.

Iraqi PM pledges to enforce law after Amara raid

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged to maintain law and order throughout Iraq on Monday, days after a crackdown in Amara wrested control of the southern city from the hands of Shi'ite militias.

Serbia to get pro-EU coalition government

Serbia is to get a Western-leaning government after the Socialists opted on Monday to join a pro-European Union alliance headed by President Boris Tadic's Democratic Party.