World Headlines
The new EU chiefs: Rompuy-pumpy and Cathy Who?
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9 P.M.
Fatal China mine blast traps many
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 8:46 P.M.
An explosion at a coal mine in north-eastern China kills at least 15 people and leaves more than 100 trapped, report state media.
Blast near aid offices wounds 1 in NW Pakistan
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 8:36 P.M.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- A security guard has been wounded in an explosion outside the office of a non-governmental organization in the main city in northwestern Pakistan....
China says 15 dead, 114 trapped in mine explosion
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 8:17 P.M.
BEIJING (AP) -- A gas explosion tore through a coal mine in northern China on Saturday, killing 15 people and trapping another 114 nearly a third of a mile under ground, central government authorities said....
Resort island reels after deadly attack by gunman
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 8:16 P.M.
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) -- After going on a shooting rampage that left a trail of victims on the Pacific resort island of Saipan, the gunman drove to a scenic, rocky cliff where untold numbers of Japanese men, women and children plunged to their deaths to avoid capture during World War II, according to police and witness accounts....
Museum: Galileo's fingers, tooth are found
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:53 P.M.
ROME (AP) -- Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said Friday....
Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:52 P.M.
ROME (AP) -- A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus. Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the markings, and they stand by carbon-dating that points to the shroud being a medieval forgery....
Homecoming hell
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 6:47 P.M.
Tamil activists' horror at what has become of Jaffna
Large Hadron Collider works again
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 6:21 P.M.
The Large Hadron Collider experiment, designed to shed light on the cosmos, restarts after 14 months of repairs.
US sets marker on Afghan corruption
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 5:57 P.M.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says foreign aid donors must use their influence to tackle corruption in Afghanistan.
Water world
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 5:11 P.M.
Filipino villages still deluged weeks after storms hit
Childhood abuse 'quickens ageing'
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 4:48 P.M.
Physical or emotional abuse during childhood could speed up the body's ageing process, US research suggests.
Blackwater guard charges to drop
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 4:26 P.M.
US prosecutors ask for charges against one of five Blackwater guards accused of killing up to 17 Iraqi civilians to be dropped.
Argentina forces dirty war orphans to provide DNA
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:29 P.M.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Valuing truth over the right to privacy, Argentina's Congress has authorized the forced extraction of DNA from people who may have been born to political prisoners slain a quarter-century ago - even when they don't want to know their birth parents....
Floods devastate UK Lake District, much of Ireland
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:22 P.M.
COCKERMOUTH, England (AP) -- Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes....
Sears Tower plot leader is jailed
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:57 P.M.
The leader of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago is sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison.
Israel halts stadium construction
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:26 P.M.
Israel orders construction work on an internationally financed football stadium being built for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to be halted.
Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates may kill them
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:15 P.M.
LONDON (AP) -- A retired British couple snatched from their yacht by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday they fear they could be killed within a week or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom demand is not paid....
Afghan police are weak link in security force
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:08 P.M.
KABUL (AP) -- Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home....
6 world powers press Iran on nuclear issue
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 1:46 P.M.
BRUSSELS (AP) -- Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute....
Coaxing Karzai
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 1:32 P.M.
Will Clinton's approach to Afghan leader pay off?
France reject Irish replay hopes
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:51 P.M.
The French Football Federation turns down the Republic of Ireland's request for a replay of their controversial World Cup play-off game.
Beam circles 'Big Bang' machine
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:49 P.M.
Engineers have sent proton particles all the way round the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine for the first time in more than a year.
Gates: US to do its part to slow Afghan corruption
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:38 P.M.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) -- The United States will do its part to reduce corruption in Afghanistan by examining its own contracts and projects, even as it is demanding the same from the Afghan government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday....
Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates may kill them
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:34 P.M.
LONDON (AP) -- A British couple being held hostage by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday that they fear they will be killed or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom is not paid soon....
Dangerous seas
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:23 P.M.
Can EU's taskforce defeat pirates off Somalia coast?
Galileo's fingers and a tooth found, Italian museum says
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 11:52 A.M.
Fingers and a tooth cut from the body of famed astronomer Galileo Galilei have been found, an Italian museum says.
Can Iran nuclear deal be reached?
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 11:16 A.M.
Six major powers say they are disappointed with Irans response to the offer of a nuclear power deal.
French jail mail escapee caught
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 11:04 A.M.
A French murder suspect who hid in a cardboard box and escaped in a delivery van is recaptured after weeks on the run.
Italian prosecutor: Knox hated murder victim
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 10:50 A.M.
PERUGIA, Italy (AP) -- An American student accused of fatally stabbing her British roommate in Italy had a growing hatred for the victim and killed her in retaliation during a drug-fueled sex game, a prosecutor contended Friday in closing arguments at her murder trial....
The new EU chiefs: Rompuy-pumpy and Cathy Who?
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 10:42 A.M.
LONDON (AP) -- Catherine Ashton: International woman of mystery....
Easyjet sorry for Holocaust error
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 10:14 A.M.
Easyjet apologises after fashion photographs shot at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin were published in its in-flight magazine.
Russian ship frees itself from ice in Antarctic
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9:49 A.M.
MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian ship reached open water off Antarctica after struggling through a huge mass of sea ice for days, a Russian shipping company and a British travel agency said Friday....
Oprah announces end of talk show
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9:31 A.M.
A tearful Oprah Winfrey announces her talk show will end in September 2011 after 25 years on the air.
Match-fix probe targets 200 games
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9:29 A.M.
Around 200 football ties, including three in the Champions League, are part of a match-fixing probe, German officials say.
Is the EU President a good choice?
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9:19 A.M.
Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy is the EU president and the UK's Baroness Ashton is foreign policy chief. Are they the best choices?
Drug-resistant swine flu hits UK
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9:14 A.M.
Health officials in Cardiff say a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu has spread between hospital patients.
Sani Abacha son 'must pay $350m'
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9:03 A.M.
A Swiss court orders the seizure of $350m in assets from the son of Nigeria's ex-ruler Sani Abacha after a 10-year investigation.
Riot over Egypt football defeat
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 9:02 A.M.
Police are injured as Egypt fans' anger over reported violence after a World Cup game erupts in Cairo.
Iran criticised over nuclear deal
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 8:57 A.M.
The six major powers say they are disappointed with Iran's apparent rejection of a deal over its nuclear programme.
Mussolini brain 'stolen by criminals keen to sell it on the web'
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 8:48 A.M.
The granddaughter of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini says criminals have stolen part of his brain and blood to sell on the internet.
India plans surge in solar power
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 8:34 A.M.
India backs plans for a massive increase in the amount of electricity it generates from solar power.
Iraq cleric's aide urges end to political crisis
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:55 A.M.
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A top aide to Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader on Friday urged the country's fractious political blocs to resolve a crisis over a key election law that threatens to delay national polls planned for January....
Mercedes want Schumacher - Jordan
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:54 A.M.
Michael Schumacher will race in Formula 1 for Mercedes' new team in 2010, BBC Sport's Eddie Jordan believes.
East Africa in historic trade pact
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:43 A.M.
East African leaders sign a common market trade agreement, allowing the free movement of people and goods.
'Many flee' Congo fishing clashes
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:41 A.M.
More than 50,000 people flee DR Congo amid deadly ethnic clashes over fishing rights in the north-west, the UN says.
Downbeat Dell weighs on world markets
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:13 A.M.
LONDON (AP) -- World stock markets fell Friday amid mounting concerns about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery following a disappointing earnings update from computer maker Dell Inc....
Lights out
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:13 A.M.
What's causing big power cuts in Latin America?
Vietnam denies blocking Facebook
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 6:51 A.M.
Vietnamese officials deny blocking access to Facebook for the site's million users, instead blaming a technical fault.
Italian sex scandal woman 'dead'
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 6:35 A.M.
A transsexual prostitute linked to a sex row involving an Italian politician is believed to have been burned to death, media report.
Afghan ex-warlord escapes attack
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 6:18 A.M.
MP and former Afghan warlord Abdul Rasul Sayyaf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in which five bodyguards die.
UN condemns SA vineyard attacks
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 6:09 A.M.
The UN condemns violent attacks against Zimbabweans seeking work in South African vineyards, which has left many homeless.
Suicide bomber kills 16 in western Afghanistan
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 5:41 A.M.
KABUL (AP) -- A suicide bomber killed 16 people and wounded at least 23 others Friday in a busy city square in western Afghanistan, while near Kabul a powerful former warlord narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, officials said....
Parents' plight
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 5:09 A.M.
Russian concerns on children taken from families
Priest shot dead in Moscow church
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 4:31 A.M.
A masked gunman enters a church in Russia's capital Moscow and shoots dead a Russian Orthodox priest, police say.
Indian boy mirrors plight of millions of kids
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 4:30 A.M.
NEW DELHI (AP) -- Arun Kumar was born to disabled parents, beaten by his grandparents, ran away from home, got a job in a garment factory and had all his savings stolen by the police....
Puzzling choices
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 4:09 A.M.
What EU appointments mean for bloc's future
Top SKorean model found hanged in Paris apartment
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 4:09 A.M.
PARIS (AP) -- A 20-year-old top South Korean model who was a fashion week regular in New York, Milan and Paris has been found hanged in her Paris apartment, a police official said Friday....
Beckham never considered MLS exit
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 4:03 A.M.
David Beckham says at no stage did he think about leaving LA Galaxy, despite being booed on his return from a loan spell at AC Milan.
EU foreign head dismisses critics
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:57 A.M.
The new EU foreign affairs chief dismisses criticism of her appointment, saying she is the "the best person for the job".
Roy Keane has no sympathy for Irish
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:48 A.M.
Roy Keane lambasts the Republic of Ireland's attempts to get their World Cup play-off match against France replayed.
Bodies of Mumbai gunmen unburied
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:40 A.M.
The unclaimed bodies of nine gunmen who were killed during the Mumbai attacks a year ago are still awaiting burial.
Total cleared over France blast
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:24 A.M.
A court acquits a subsidiary of energy giant Total over a 2001 explosion at a French chemical plant which killed 30 people.
Rebel blast derails train in India, killing 2
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:20 A.M.
PATNA, India (AP) -- A passenger train derailed after Maoist rebels blew up a key track in eastern India, killing two people and injuring at least 30 others, a police official said Friday....
EU gives Nigeria $1bn 'for peace'
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:13 A.M.
Europe signs a $1bn deal with Nigeria, aimed at tackling corruption and promoting peace in the troubled Niger Delta.
Japan says deflation has returned
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 3:12 A.M.
The Japanese government warns that deflation has returned to the country's economy for the first time since 2006.
Profile: Herman van Rompuy
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:59 A.M.
A profile of Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy, the European Union's first permanent president.
Five shot dead on Pacific island
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:45 A.M.
At least five people are killed in a shooting incident on Saipan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific.
I am best for new EU job - Ashton
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:26 A.M.
Labour peer Baroness Ashton - the surprise choice as EU foreign minister - rejects claims she lacks experience for the role.
Thousands of Vicks spray recalled
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:24 A.M.
Procter & Gamble is recalling 120,000 bottles of Vicks Sinex nasal spray after small traces of bacteria were discovered.
US father 'shot child abuse son'
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:23 A.M.
A US man is charged with murder for allegedly shooting his teenage son dead on suspicion he had inappropriate contact with a three-year-old girl.
Peru arrests 'human fat killers'
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:18 A.M.
Police in Peru arrest members of a gang accused of killing dozens of people to sell their fat for use in cosmetics.
Sierra Leone police enlist youths
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:17 A.M.
Sierra Leone is to enlist youths as crime-fighting volunteers in the crime-ridden capital, Freetown, police say.
Fifa turns down Irish replay plea
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:17 A.M.
Fifa rejects the Football Association of Ireland's request for a replay of France's World Cup play-off win over the Republic of Ireland.
Gunman opens fire on Saipan; 5 dead
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:17 A.M.
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) -- A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan on Friday, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said....
Student leader on trial in China
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 2:03 A.M.
A former leader of the Tiananmen democracy protests, handed over by Hong Kong to China, goes on trial in what his supporters call political persecution.
Generation game
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 1:54 A.M.
India's unusual record-breaking cricketers
Gunman opens fire on Saipan; 5 dead
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:27 A.M.
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) -- A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan on Friday, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said....
French foreign minister visits Afghan village
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:10 A.M.
GANDAH KASARAY, Afghanistan (AP) -- France's foreign minister walked into a remote Afghan village on Friday to talk with small farmers and local tribal leaders about how to bypass corrupt officials and bring aid directly to those who need it....
Peruvian police: Gang killed people for their fat
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:10 A.M.
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Police say a gang in the Peruvian jungle has been killing people and draining fat from the corpses to sell on the black market for use in cosmetics, although medical experts say they doubt a major market for fat exists....
Pakistan drone attack kills eight
BBC - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:09 A.M.
At least eight suspected militants are killed in a US drone attack in north-western Pakistan, officials say.
Top South Korean model found dead
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 11:55 P.M.
South Korean model Daul Kim is found dead at her apartment in Paris, amid speculation she took her own life.
Militants' grip
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 11:50 P.M.
US Somali youths recruited by homeland radicals
Policemen die in Pakistan blast
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 11:04 P.M.
At least three policemen have died in an explosion in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, police say.
India train 'derailed by Maoists'
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 11:02 P.M.
A passenger train in India derails, killing at least two people, after Maoist rebels blow up a railway track, police say.
Pacquiao returns to Manila a hero
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 10:38 P.M.
Philippine boxing champion Manny Pacquiao returns home to Manila after his latest win, and eyes a political future.
Bardot appeal over Nepal festival
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 10:12 P.M.
Former film star Brigitte Bardot urges Nepal's president to stop a ritual slaughter of animals in an upcoming religious festival.
Nepal mass animal sacrifice festival to go ahead
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 9:46 P.M.
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- A Hindu festival in which hundreds of thousands of animals are expected to be sacrificed will go ahead as scheduled in southern Nepal despite protests, organizers said Friday....
Honduras interim president may take leave for vote
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 8:41 P.M.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- Honduras' interim president said Thursday he may step down temporarily to allow voters to concentrate on the upcoming presidential elections....
UN marks child rights anniversary
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 8:37 P.M.
Ceremonies take place around the world to mark 20 years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
UN committee criticizes NKorea rights violations
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 8:27 P.M.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A key U.N. committee expressed "very serious concern" Thursday at widespread reports of torture and other grave human rights violations in North Korea and strongly urged the government to put an end to the violations....
China 'steps up US cyber-spying'
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 8:17 P.M.
Chinese spies are aggressively stealing secrets to help build up China's military and economic power, a US advisory panel says.
Belgian PM named as EU president
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 8:04 P.M.
Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy is named as the new EU president and the UK's Baroness Ashton becomes foreign policy chief.
Russia gives Ukraine new gas deal
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 7:55 P.M.
Russia agrees to ease the terms under which it supplies gas to Ukraine, in a deal which Moscow says should prevent disruption.
AP NewsBreak: China holds, mistreats US geologist
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 7:37 P.M.
BEIJING (AP) -- Sometime into his long detention by China's feared state security agents, American geologist Xue Feng had something to show U.S. consular officials on their monthly visit. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the burns where his interrogators pressed lit cigarettes into his arm....
200 Web sites spread al-Qaida's message in English
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 6:31 P.M.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings....
Family affair
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 6:23 P.M.
Is North Africa succumbing to dynastic rule?
Oprah talk show 'to end in 2011'
BBC - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 5:53 P.M.
The influential Oprah Winfrey talk show is to end in 2011 after more than two decades on air, her production company says.
