News
Iran said to seek bids for 19 atomic power plants
Iran said on Monday it rejected any preconditions for talks with the United States, which suspects it wants an atomic bomb, and a member of parliament was quoted as saying Tehran planned 19 nuclear power plants.
Afghans detain woman with suicide bomb under burqa
A woman carrying a waistcoat filled with explosives under her all-enveloping burqa was arrested on Monday in eastern Afghanistan, provincial officials said, in the first possible reported case of a female suicide bomber in the country.
Kenyan presidential campaigns wrap up with rallies
Kenyan police fired teargas to disperse stone-throwing supporters of the country's main presidential contenders on Monday after the candidates made a final push to win votes in a race deemed too close to call.
No let-up for Christmas for U.S. troops in Iraq
Christmas Eve, late afternoon, and U.S. soldiers from 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment piled into their Stryker armoured vehicles for a patrol out on the streets of Baghdad.
Uzbek leader Karimov re-elected
Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's only president since independence from Soviet rule, swept to victory with 88.1 percent of the vote in a weekend election criticised as undemocratic by Western observers.
Sharif says Musharraf made a mockery of Pakistan
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made the country an international laughing stock by purging the judiciary after he imposed emergency rule in November, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday.
Thai parties start coalition deal-making
Thailand's political parties got down to hard bargaining on Monday after voters roundly rejected last year's military coup but failed to give supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra an outright majority.
Queen goes global on YouTube
The Queen is joining the YouTube generation by posting her traditional Christmas Day message on the video-sharing website.
Two women die in taxi rank fire
Two women died in a fire at a taxi rank in Lincolnshire on Monday, police said.
Shoppers snap up last-minute buys
Shoppers surged into stores during the final weekend before Christmas but analysts said it would not be enough to make up for slow sales in earlier weeks of crucial festive trading.
NHS boss says patient records are safe
Patients should have confidence in the new planned NHS database despite 168,000 records going missing, a health boss said on Monday.
Huckabee, at Texas church, angers some Catholics
Rising U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee risked his standing with Catholic voters on Sunday by courting his evangelical base at the church of a controversial preacher accused of disparaging Catholics.
Heavy security in Indonesia for Christians this Christmas
Heavy security in Indonesian capital to prevent repeat of Christmas attacks on churches seven years ago.
Salvation Army - Christmas companionship for Britain's elderly
Christmas is a time to gather with the family and loved ones. For many older people, however, the festive season, and for that matter the rest of the year, can be much lonelier.
Nine NHS Trusts lose patients' data
Nine National Health Service trusts have lost the records of hundreds of thousands of adults and children, the government said on Sunday, in the latest embarrassing loss of data by official bodies.
Fog clears, but UK airports remain affected
Dozens of flights were expected to be disrupted at Heathrow and Gatwick on Monday despite the lifting of a thick belt of fog that caused travel chaos for thousands of passengers over the weekend.