News

Tsvangirai gives Mugabe 24-hour deadline

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai issued a 24-hour deadline to President Robert Mugabe on Thursday to negotiate or face being shunned as an illegitimate leader responsible for the killing of civilians.

N.Korea to hand over nuclear report

North Korea was expected to hand China a long-delayed account of its shadowy nuclear activities on Thursday, a step that may see it removed from Washington's list of terrorist states.

AIDS a growing global 'disaster'

HIV/AIDS infection rates are growing among intravenous drug users, prostitutes and gay men around the globe but they are often viewed as outcasts and refused treatment, according to a report issued on Thursday.

Ecuador may impose Colombia trade sanctions

Ecuador said on Tuesday it may impose trade restrictions on Colombia as the neighbouring countries backed away from a plan to restore low-level diplomatic relations this week.

Prosecutor blames police for Mexico disco deaths

Mexico City's top prosecutor on Wednesday said a senior police officer's decision to seal the exit of a crowded disco during a raid last week caused a dozen people to die.

Mass held at Philippines ferry site

A Catholic priest said mass over the site of a capsized ferry in the central Philippines on Thursday as divers prepared to bore a hole in the vessel to speed up the retrieval of bodies.

Israel keeps Gaza crossings closed

Israel said it would keep its border crossings with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip closed for a second day on Thursday, prompting the Islamist group to warn that the move could wreck a week-old ceasefire agreement.

Militants torch Pakistani ski resort hotel

Islamist militants burned down a hotel at Pakistan's only ski resort on Thursday as security in a northwestern tourist valley deteriorated despite a month-old peace pact, police said.

Colombian smugglers take cocaine under the waves

Colombians who thought they had seen everything in the war on drugs were treated to something new this year: cocaine smuggling in a submarine.

Casting Crowns to release The Altar and The Door Live

Casting Crowns DVD captures one of Christian music's top-attended tours of all time.

Bush welcomes Vietnam's steps on religious freedom

US President George W Bush on Tuesday welcomed steps by Vietnam toward permitting greater religious freedom after meeting with the communist government's prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung.

Former Indonesian president urges religious tolerance

Indonesia's former President Abdurrahman Wahid on Wednesday slammed government restrictions on a controversial Islamic sect and urged the "silent majority" of moderate Muslims to speak out in defence of religious tolerance.

Monitors say impossible to observe vote

Zimbabwe election monitors said on Wednesday they could not effectively observe Friday's presidential vote because of threats to their safety.

Exxon Valdez oil spill ruling overturned

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the record $2.5 billion (1.3 billion pounds) in punitive damages that Exxon Mobil Corp had been ordered to pay for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska.

Kremlin's new man strikes a different pose

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev played down differences with his predecessor Vladimir Putin in an interview with Reuters but the contrast in style and tone between the two men was striking

Irish goverment to study treaty vote

Ireland's government will commission a study to find out why voters rejected the European Union's reform treaty in a referendum this month, Prime Minister Brian Cowen said on Wednesday.