There are 17999 articles

  • Chavez wins Venezuela re-election

    President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has won a third term in office, securing a clear lead over rival Manuel Rosales. With most of the ballots counted, Mr Chavez had taken more than 60% of the vote, officials said. The president, who has secured the support of the poor by using oil to fund welfare, told crowds his left-wing "Bolivarian revolution".. More

  • Nine US servicemen killed in Iraq

    Nine US troops were killed in violence across Iraq over the weekend, the US military has said. One soldier died in Baghdad, three just north of the capital and five in the western province of Anbar. About 150 Iraqis also died in the past two days. Almost 2,900 US troops have now died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. The violence came as US President.. More

  • Philippines buries typhoon dead

    Victims of recent mudslides in the Philippines are being buried in a mass grave to prevent the spread of disease. The mudslides were triggered by Typhoon Durian, which hit the country on Thursday. They engulfed villages south-east of the capital Manila. The official death toll stands at 406, with another 398 missing. Hopes of finding more survivors.. More

  • 'Militants' held in Saudi Arabia

    The Saudi authorities say they have detained 136 suspected militants, including a potential suicide bomber. The arrests were made over the past few months in several cities, and those held include members of al-Qaeda-type cells, the interior ministry said. A ministry spokesman told the BBC that 115 of the suspects were Saudi nationals - the rest.. More

  • Rumsfeld urged Iraq tactics shift

    Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld proposed major changes to the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq just two days before he resigned. He made the call in a classified memo to the White House, which has been obtained by the New York Times. Mr Rumsfeld's memo says US strategy in Iraq "is not working well enough" and calls for "a major.. More

  • Dozens killed in Iraqi bombings

    At least 50 people have been killed in three car bomb blasts in the centre of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police say. More than 80 were wounded when the three cars exploded in quick succession in a busy shopping area of the city. The violence came as Iraqi and US forces raided insurgent strongholds in the city of Baquba, arresting more than 30 suspected.. More

  • Bahrainis decide parliament seats

    People in Bahrain are returning to the polls to vote in run-off elections which will decide how much power the opposition has in the new parliament. In the first round, 40% of the seats went to a Shia group that is contesting the polls for the first time. There is concern the strong showing from religious parties could mean fewer freedoms and slower.. More

  • Bush and top Iraqi Shia to meet

    US President George W Bush is to meet the most powerful Iraqi Shia politician in Washington on Monday, officials say. Mr Bush is expected to discuss national reconciliation with the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), Abdel Aziz al-Hakim. The group holds a majority of seats in the Iraqi parliament, and its former.. More

  • Chad rebels battle army in east

    Chadian rebels have attacked the eastern town of Guereda, neighboring Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. Fighting is reported to have lasted three hours with government forces clashing with the rebels. UN offices in Guereda were attacked, and staff have been held at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Amnesty International (AI) says it has evidence that attacks.. More

  • Protesters set up camp in Beirut

    A major demonstration is continuing in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, aimed at forcing the government to resign. Hundreds of supporters of Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies have pitched camp in central Beirut near the offices of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The protesters accuse Mr Siniora of being too pro-western and anti-Syrian. The British.. More

  • US vows to finish job in Iraq

    The US president has praised the Iraqi prime minister as a "strong leader", vowed that US will keep troops until the "job is complete", and said that joint talks had partly focused on increasing the training of Iraq's security forces. George Bush, speaking at a news conference with Nuri al-Maliki in the Jordanian capital Amman on Thursday, also said.. More

  • New group to track Somalia arms

    The UN Security Council has approved a new group to monitor weapons trafficking to and through Somalia in violation of a 1992 arms embargo. The resolution, passed on Wednesday, will establish a new monitoring group which will continue to investigate violations of arms embargo following the release of a controversial UN report last month. The last.. More

  • BA passengers in radiation alert

    British Airways is trying to contact 33,000 passengers after radioactive traces were found on two of its planes. A third plane, currently in Moscow, is to be flown back to the UK for tests. The low grade radiation was found by scientists investigating the death of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. An inquest into the death opens later on Thursday. BA.. More

  • Iraq PM in Amman for Bush talks

    Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has arrived in Jordan's capital, Amman, for talks with US President George W Bush. They are expected to discuss how to improve the security situation in Iraq, following some of the worst violence since the US-led invasion in 2003. In Iraq, the political group loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has said it is suspending.. More

  • Saudi warning over tobacco firms

    Saudi Arabia has warned that it will sue global tobacco firms unless they pay the full cost of treating patients suffering from smoking-related illness. The health ministry said it had already rejected a lower offer from the tobacco firms, though did not say what level of compensation it was seeking. According to local data, Saudis spend 5bn riyals.. More