World News

Dec 18 - But Chinese President Hu Jintao, at a ceremony Thursday to commemorate 30 years of economic reform and opening, says the Asian juggernaut must focus on growth and stability in the face of the global ...

WASHINGTON : About 35 Iraqi officials have been arrested at the interior ministry, some accused of planning a coup, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing senior security officials in Baghdad.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe refused yesterday to join calls for Robert Mugabe to quit, expressing hope that Zimbabwe’s stalled power-sharing agreement will be implemented this week. Mugabe’s regime has come under pressure from world powers to resign amid a deadlock between rival parties over a power-sharing deal, a growing cholera epidemic and economic ruin.

The OPEC cartel agreed on Wednesday to reduce production by 2.2 million barrels a day, the group’s largest cut ever, in an effort to put a floor on falling oil prices.

The alleged Mafia boss of a Palermo neighborhood hanged himself in jail, hours after he was arrested in a blitz against Cosa Nostra, police in Sicily said Wednesday.

The Khojaly Genocide was the killing of a large number of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians in the town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. According to the Memorial Human Rights Center, Human Rights Watch and other international observers, the genocide was committed by the ethnic Armenian armed forces, reportedly with help of the Russian 366th Motor Rifle Regiment.

A suspected assassin has been caught trying to break into Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential palace in Paris.

The U.S. military says it has handed over 39 detainees - described as former members of Saddam Hussein's regime - to the government of Iraq.

The military said in a statement released Tuesday that the detainees were transferred Monday from a U.S. prison facility at Camp Cropper in Baghdad to an Iraqi-controlled prison. The statement gave no names.

A bus carrying Russian visitors has plunged into a ravine in southern Israel, killing at least 24 people, rescue workers say.

TD Bank economists predict the global economic slump will pull down commodity prices more than previously forecast, with crude oil now expected to fall to US$30 a barrel next year.

Pakistani truckers are refusing to haul vital supplies to NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan because of mounting attacks along the main route, a transporters association said Monday.

Yesterday I wrote about George Bush' agility when confronted with a pair of size-10 shoes, hurled at him by Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt. It appears al-Zeidi is now a hero in Iraq.

What fun! As Bush's presidency winds down, it appears some have decided they'd better let him know just what they think of him before they lose their chance. In this case, shoes.

While the United States can't even get its act together in terms of electronic voting machines, which seemingly flip votes, or don't record votes, or any number of myriad bugs, the country of Estonia has decided it's time to enter a truly digital voting age.

President George W. Bush on Sunday made a farewell visit to Iraq, a place that defines his presidency for better or worse, just 37 days before he hands the war off to a successor who has pledged to end it.

After a red-carpet welcome ceremony, Bush began a rapid-fire series of meetings with top Iraqi leaders. The president wanted to highlight a drop in violence in a nation still riven by ethnic strife and to celebrate a recent U.S.-Iraq security agreement, which calls for U.S. troops to withdraw by the end of 2011.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived in Pakistan Sunday for talks aimed at calming tensions with India as Islamabad accused its neighbour of violating its airspace, drawing a swift denial.

Thousands of visitors from all over India flock here expecting a day of learning more about lions.

A solo Italian adventurer who tried to row from Peru to Sydney safely arrives in Newcastle, Australia, after being rescued by a tug boat.

Zimbabwe's central bank is introducing a $500 million note - the highest current denomination - as the once-prosperous southern African nation battles against spiraling hyperinflation.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last week introduced a new set of denominations, including a $100 million note, but that has not helped to clear long lines for cash at banks. Some people sleep outside banks after failing to get cash.

The RBZ said a $200 million note would be in circulation Friday, together with the $500 million note.

Two boys approached a U.S. soldier, pulled out a pistol and handed it over. They got a smile and some candy in return.