News
Nine dead in Nebraska mall shooting
A 19-year-old man killed eight people and then himself with an assault rifle at a busy mall in Omaha on Wednesday, sending terrified workers and Christmas shoppers scrambling for cover.
Australia's Rudd to bridge China, West climate gap
Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has proposed to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that Australia act as a bridge between China and the West on the issue of climate change.
Wife admits 'dead canoeist' photo genuine
The wife of a back-from-the-dead canoeist has admitted to newspapers that a photo of them taken together in Panama last year was genuine.
Britain to unveil measures on terrorism suspects
Britain is expected to unveil plans to extend the time terrorism suspects can be held without charge on Thursday but will offer a compromise to opponents that would give parliament a greater say, media reports said.
Primary schools hailed for national test results
The government hailed three primary schools in Merseyside, Greater Manchester and London on Thursday for achieving the best "value added" results in national tests taken by 11-year-old pupils this summer.
Strike set to hit job centres and benefits offices
Civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions started a two-day strike over pay on Thursday which is likely to disrupt services.
Insurers call for 25-year flood strategy
Britain needs a 25-year flood management strategy, run by a single organisation and including greater investment and targets for cutting flood risk, an insurance trade body said on Tuesday.
Philippine Muslim rebels jailed for kidnap and beheading
A Manila court sentenced 14 members of a Muslim militant group to life in prison on Thursday for the kidnapping of 20 people from a luxury beach resort in 2001 and the decapitation of three of them, including an American.
Spice Girls appreciate fame more now
The Spice Girls, back together and nearly a decade older than they were during their last world tour, have a better appreciation for their success -- and each other -- than they did during their heyday as a late 1990s pop phenomenon, the singers said on Wednesday.
Car bombs kill 23 across Iraq
Car bombs killed 23 people in Baghdad and three other Iraqi cities on Wednesday but U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that a secure, stable country was within reach.
Ghana delays sentencing of UK drug girls
A court in Ghana on Wednesday delayed until January the sentencing of two British teenagers found guilty of smuggling 6 kg (13 lbs) of cocaine, saying it first needed to consider a social services report on the girls.
Government planning big new prisons
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said on Wednesday the government would spend 1.2 billion pounds to create 10,500 extra jail places by 2014 to help tackle a crisis of overcrowding in prisons.
U.S.'s Rice seeks to ease African crises
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday received commitments from Africa's Great Lakes countries to stick to previous promises to end a conflict in eastern Congo which risks spilling across borders.
Kenya clashes kill 16 ahead of elections
Land clashes in Kenya's fertile Rift Valley highlands have killed 16 people, uprooted hundreds and fuelled fears of a bloody campaign ahead of a December 27 election, police said on Wednesday.
Archaeologists say dig reshapes Roman Jerusalem
Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a wall beyond Jerusalem's old boundaries, showing the city built by biblical King David may have been much larger than previously thought, they said on Wednesday.
EU talks must place focus on Zimbabwe - Tearfund
UK relief and development agency Tearfund says AU / EU talks this weeks must focus on the devastating humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.