Zimbabwe rival parties formally start talks Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Changes (MDC) formally started talks Thursday in South Africa's Pretoria to seek an end to Zimbabwe's political deadlock.

Thailand, Cambodia to talk Monday on border dispute Thailand and its neighbor Cambodia have agreed to hold a ministerial meeting on next Monday over the disputed border areas adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple.

Argentine ex-general gets life sentence for 'dirty war' actions Luciano Benjamin Menendez, 81, was commander of the regional Third Army Corps in Cordoba for five years during Argentina's 1976-83 ...

Bush reaches out to India in attempt to rejuvenate WTO talks President Bush placed a private call to India's prime minister as their negotiators tried to break a deadlock on world trade ...

Spanish police: Basque explosives cache belongs to ETA Spanish police say they have found a cache of some 220 pounds of explosives belonging to the Basque group ETA.

Pilot charged for airport crash THE pilot of a Garuda Indonesia aircraft that crashed at Yogyakarta airport last year killing 21 people was charged yesterday with negligence and deliberately causing an accid

'Cuba bomber plan' denied by Moscow REPORTS that Russia was considering basing nuclear-capable bombers in Cuba have been denied by defence chiefs in Moscow.

Zimbabwe rivals start talking SENIOR negotiators from Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change began talks yesterday at an undisclosed location in South Africa.

Boy bites pitbull dog AN 11-YEAR-OLD boy is enjoying a flash of fame in Brazil after biting a pitbull terrier that attacked him as he played in his uncle's back yard.

Soldier killed at wheel of ambulance A BRITISH soldier was killed by a suspected roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan as he drove an ambulance back to base, the Ministry of Defence revealed yesterday.

SAfrican lawyer named as UN rights chief United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named South African judge Navanethem Pillay as the world body's new human rights chief.

Shanghai says terror cell planned Olympics attack Police in Shanghai say they've foiled a planned attack on the Olympics.

China pressuring Nepal over Tibet: rights group China has rejected accusations that it has put pressure on authorities in Nepal to use excessive force and arbitrary arrest against hundreds of Tibetan protesters.

Bush, Singh discuss nuclear pact The White House says President George W. Bush has phoned Indian Premier Manmohan Singh to discuss joint efforts to ink a pending nuclear deal.

More than 300 suspects in custody US and Iraqi forces have arrested more than 300 nationals in the course of a wide ranging security operation, according to official sources.

Korean War MIA to be buried at Arlington Remains found in North Korea have been identified as the body of a U.S. soldier missing since the Battle of Unsan in 1950, the Defense Department said Thursday.

Cyclone-hit fisheries hurt Myanmar When Cyclone Nargis struck Myamar in early May, it killed thousands of fishermen and destroyed the fishing grounds and ponds of those that survived, leaving families destitute.

Opinion: No. 44 Has Spoken Anyone who saw Barack Obama at Berlin's Siegessäule on Thursday could recognize that this man will become the 44th president of the United States. He is more than ambitious -- he wants to lay claim to become the president of the world.

U.S.: Iraq insurgency has lost its clout The insurgency that bedeviled U.S. forces for years and killed thousands of Iraqis and Americans is "not even much of a challenge any more" to Iraq's future, the American ambassador says.

South African judge picked for top UN rights post UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has formally informed the General Assembly that he plans to name South African judge Navanethem Pillay to succeed Louise Arbour as high commissioner for human rights, his spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Kenyan group wants ICC action A Kenyan rights groups demands that the perpetrators of post-election violence in the country be tried at the International Criminal Court.

Ban on public executions reiterated A senior judicial officially rejects reports that the execution of criminals continues to be carried out publicly in Iran.

Hezbollah part of Lebanon's defense Hezbullah is ready to be part of but not the whole of Lebanon's defense strategy, Lebanese National Assembly Speaker Nabih Berri says.

Iran upbeat on new nuclear talks Iran is optimistic that more nuclear talks with the six countries who attended the recent meeting in Geneva will be forthcoming.

US to upgrade Pakistan's F-16 jets Washington has confirmed that it aims to grant USD 230m in aid to Pakistan to upgrade the country's F-16 fighter jets.

Barack Obama in Berlin Berlin: U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama kicked off the European leg of his overseas trip in Berlin on Thursday, meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Mr. Obama, shortly after arriving at Tegel Airpot, was ferried in ...

Germans Give Obama Rock Star Welcome In Berlin ´He´s a pop star politician. Germany doesn´t have any of those,´ said student Johannes Ellendorf.

'Brave Iraqis' to get US visas Thousands of Iraqis who fear being killed because they work for the American government or military in Iraq will be awarded US residence visas.

German Politicians React to Obama's Speech: 'A Strong and Gutsy Message' "The speech of a global citizen," "perfect performance," an "homage to Berlin" -- After Thursday's big Obama show at Berlin's Siegessäule, German politicians seem quite impressed by the US candidate's performance. "This will strengthen the trans-Atlantic bridge," said veteran politician Edmund Stoiber.

French military to slash troop levels France's military will slash 54,000 service jobs and close dozens of air, army and other bases to slim down the defense sector at home but make it easier to deploy troops abroad, the prime minister says.

Man stunned that Karadzic used his ID The real Dragan Dabic has emerged - and the 66-year construction worker was shocked Thursday to discover his identity had apparently been stolen by one of the world's most notorious war crimes suspects.

I made a mistake, says DUI Indian-American lawmaker Maryland House Majority Leader, Kumar Barve, 49, the longest-serving Indian American legislator who was first elected in 1990, and has served in this leadership position since 2003 making him one of the most influential politicians in the state, has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, and under a plea agreement received no jail time but only unsupervised probation and ordered to pay a fine of $200 and court costs.

WTO trade talks limp into another day GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks to salvage a global trade deal will limp into another day on Friday after ministers made minimal progress on Thursday in their bid to prevent the suspension of the World Trade Organisation round.

CARIBBEAN-ENERGY-OAS warns region to deal with energy crisis NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC - The Organisation of American States (OAS) has warned the Caribbean to take urgent action to prevent the current global energy crisis from reversing the region's development.

BARBADOS-ENERGY-Barbadian company hikes price of cement BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC - Escalating energy costs have resulted in Barbados' sole cement producer announcing a 20 per cent increase in the price of the product, the second hike for the year.

CARIBBEAN-REGIONALISM-Sir Shridath says CARICOM is disintegrating BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC - One of the last surviving architects of the West Indian Federation, Sir Shridath Ramphal, says the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is disintegrating and losing credibility.

Delhi plans to activate armed forces tribunal The government yesterday moved to activate the Armed Forces Tribunal by approving the creation of 31 posts for the body which will hear appeals against the judgments of military courts.

No need for third runway at Heathrow - travel agent A leading chain of travel agents has come out firmly against the proposed third runway at Heathrow.

Call to stop treating obesity as a disease Doctors have warned that obesity must not be treated as a medical problem - and fat people should instead just be told to eat less.

Moves to stop forced marriages Britain's Home Office says, in an attempt to reduce forced marriages, it is raising the age at which someone can bring a foreign spouse to Britain.