Tag: united kingdom

A French court has given former President Jacques Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence for diverting public funds and abusing public trust.

UK unemployment rose by 128,000 in the three months to October to 2.64 million, the highest level since 1994, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Prospects for a year-end congressional compromise on key tax and spending legislation grew more complicated, as the Republican House passed a controversial version of a payroll tax cut extension despite a veto threat from the White House.

Police in Belgium have found a woman’s body in a shed belonging to the gunman who went on a rampage in the center of Liege on Tuesday.

Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations rejected the world body’s estimate that 5,000 people have died in an uprising against the government, calling the allegation “incredible.”

Two U.S. Army helicopters crashed during training exercises at a Washington state military base, killing four aviators on board, the base said in a statement.

Iran’s defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi, shrugged off a U.S. request for the return of an American spy drone captured by Iranian armed forces and instead demands an apology from Washington.

Fifteen al-Qaeda militants have broken out of a prison in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, officials have said. The militants escaped through a six metre tunnel dug from the yard at the city’s central prison.

Panama’s ex-leader Manuel Noriega has been extradited back to his home country from France and taken straight to prison.

A shaky Monday opening in Asia and Europe as skeptical investors assessed a new European fiscal pact aimed at fixing the continent’s debt crisis and preventing a breakup of the euro currency bloc.

Republicans and Democrats determined to look tough on Iran and avoid any election-year challenges to their pro-Israel bona fides are rebuffing Obama administration pleas to ease proposed penalties on Iran’s central bank.

Most EU members have agreed to a tax and budget pact to tackle the eurozone debt crisis, but a German and French attempt to get all 27 EU states to back changes to the union’s treaties was dropped after objections from the UK.

The death toll at the Amri Hospital has risen to 73. 70 patients and three hospital staffers were among those killed at the multistoreyed private hospital which turned into a towering inferno in the early hours of the morning.

Chinese police have busted two child-trafficking rings after a six-month nationwide investigation, rescuing 178 children and arresting 608 suspects, the country’s Ministry of Public Security announced.

The Somali capital, Mogadishu, has been hit by some of the fiercest fighting in the city in months, in what is seen as a major setback for the government.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accuses the United States of stirring up protests against his 12-year rule and says foreign countries are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to influence Russian elections.

The Muslim Brotherhood says it has won 34 seats in Egypt’s most recent elections, out of 56 seats that were up for grabs.

The Australian was convicted of blasphemy while doing the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, and is facing 500 lashes and one year in prison.

President Asif Ali Zardari is undergoing treatment for a minor heart attack in a Dubai hospital, according to a hospital source.

European stocks dropped following Standard & Poor ‘s threat to downgrade 15 Euro zone countries.

In another step toward finding Earth-like planets that may hold life, NASA said that the Kepler space telescope has confirmed its first-ever planet in a habitable zone outside our solar system.

At least 58 people are dead after explosions hit the Afghan cities of Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif on the Shiite holy day of Ashura, officials say.

Syria has responded “positively” to a proposed Arab League plan aimed at ending eight months of violence, and expects the agreement to be signed soon, says Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad al-Makdesi.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted permission to apply to England’s Supreme Court in a final attempt to block his extradition to Sweden over rape allegations.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s party saw its majority in Russia’s parliament weaken sharply, according to preliminary election results released Monday, a humiliating setback for the man who has steadily tightened his grip on the nation

Syria has entered a state of civil war with more than 4,000 people dead and an increasing number of soldiers defecting from the army to fight President Bashar Assad’s regime, according to the U.N.’s top human rights official.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continued her visit in Myanmar with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who intends to run in upcoming parliamentary elections. The secretary was to tour Suu Kyi’s home, where the activist spent

German Chancellor Angela Merkel likened solving Europe’s debt crisis to a marathon, shunning investor calls for quick action while pushing for stricter budget enforcement and overhauling the region’s governance.

The two separate attacks in Northeastern Iraq came on the third day of US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Iraq.

Pakistan announced that it would cease to support the War on Terror if NATO does not stop bombing parts of Pakistan.

Laurent Gbagbo’s trial for crimes against humanity will start on Monday at the International Criminal Court.

Hillary Clinton arrived in Myanmar on Wednesday, marking the first visit to the nation by a U.S. secretary of state in more than five decades.

Iran’s parliament speaker blames Britain’s “domination-seeking” policies for the storming of British compounds by hard-line Iranian protesters the day before. Norway, meanwhile, closes its embassy in Tehran due to secur

Up to two million public sector workers in the UK go on strike over their pensions, in what is set to be the biggest walkout for a generation.

Pakistan will boycott upcoming talks on Afghanistan’s future after NATO raids that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The two buildings in the Galilee area were damaged but there were no reports of casualties.