News

Rains flood southern Mexico, one dead

Around half a million Mexicans were made homeless and one man died on Wednesday as heavy rains devastated the southern Mexican state of Tabasco and flooded 70 percent of the swampy region.

China pulls export licences of 764 toy makers

China suspended the export licences of 764 toy manufacturers in the southern province of Guangdong last month because of quality problems, state media said on Thursday.

Enzyme may play role in aggressive lung cancer

Higher levels of an enzyme that makes estrogen may be the hallmark of a more aggressive type of lung cancer in older women, a finding that could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

Suicide bus bomber fuels rumours Musharraf to delay elections

A suicide attack on an Air Force bus killed eight people on Thursday as security forces said they wiped out up to 70 militants in northwest Pakistan, fuelling talk President Pervez Musharraf would invoke emergency powers to put off elections

Renewed calls for ban on 'Harry Potter' over witchcraft, homosexuality

The wildly popular Harry Potter books and their author, J.K. Rowling have been charged with encouraging homosexuality following the author's announcement that one of the novels' main characters is gay.

More Anglicans seek way out of liberal Church

Anglicans worldwide are taking steps to separate themselves from more liberal churches and finding new approaches that would allow them to live the biblically faithful lives that they want to.

Mugabe looks to create law to allow himself to appoint successor

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has signed into law a compromise bill giving him room to pick a successor, the government said on Thursday, in a move analysts said could allow the veteran leader to rule from the sidelines.

Egypt police shoot Eritrean at Israel border

Egyptian police shot at a group of Eritrean migrants trying to illegally enter Israel, wounding one man, a security source said on Thursday.

War fears swell refugee camp near Eritrea border

There is a settlement in Ethiopia where houses are in high demand, new restaurants and bars open often and nearly 700 people moved in last month alone.

Archbishop of Canterbury meets Chief Rabbis in Jerusalem

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has held talks in Jerusalem with Israel's Chief Rabbis on Wednesday.

First-hand account - Ambushed by the Taliban in Afghanistan

The first Taliban shell struck just as Canadian and Afghan troops retreated across a dusty field in southern Afghanistan.

UN uncovers organised child abduction group in Chad

Most of the 103 African children which a French group had planned to fly out of Chad were not orphans as the group had claimed, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF said on Thursday.

Storm warning issued in Florida as Tropical Storm Noel edges northward

Southeast Florida came under a storm warning on Thursday as Tropical Storm Noel edged northward off the peninsula's Atlantic coast after dumping days of torrential rain in the Caribbean and killing at least 91 people.

Gaza Christians fear new extremists over Hamas

The small Christian community in the Gaza Strip says it is more fearful of a new generation of extremists than of Hamas.

Solar energy boom may help world's poorest

Solar energy may just be the answer to the woes of the 1.6 billion people worldwide without electricity.

Barnabas Fund working to save Iraqi Christians

The Barnabas Fund has appealed to Christians to pray for their brothers and sisters in Iraq in the face of severe persecution and dwindling numbers.