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Australia expels two Syrian diplomats

Tue, 29 May 2012 09:07:43 GMT

Australia has expelled two Syrian diplomats in response to last week's massacre in Syria in which more than 100 people, mostly women and children, were killed.

Jolie backs UK plans for conflict zone rape squad

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Britain is to set up dedicated teams to investigate rape in conflict zones. The specialist "flying squads" will provide a range of services, from gathering evidence against perpetrators to provide counselling for the victims of sexual offences, under an initiative due to be announced by the Government today.

UK seeks to increase pressure on Syrian president

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:30:18 GMT

David Cameron and William Hague were today involved in high-level international talks to ratchet up pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad in the wake of the massacre of more than 100 people, including women and small children.

Britain and Russia split over Syrian president

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:58:18 GMT

Britain and Russia were split today on whether Syrian President Bashar al Assad should stand down amid the bloodshed in the country.

Sanctions stalemate as world powers reject Iran's nuclear plan

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Iran yesterday rejected internationally backed incentives for Tehran to curb its nuclear programme in a development which stopped well short of a breakdown but suggested that negotiations which lie ahead could be protracted and tortuous.

Bullish allies resist Iran's call for end to nuclear sanctions

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

World powers meeting in Baghdad yesterday produced new proposals aimed at limiting the levels of uranium enrichment in Iran's nuclear programme and edging towards a deal they hope could lift the threat of a Middle East war.

Corruption in China 'as bad as ever'

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A branch of Chinese city governments set up to monitor everything from unlicensed street vendors to unauthorised construction is rife with abuse of power, a rights group said yesterday.

UN global health agency chief Dr Margaret Chan wins second term

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:20:45 GMT

Dr Margaret Chan, who has steered the World Health Organization through crises over bird flu and the respiratory SARS bug, has won a second five-year term as its director-general.

UN global health agency cheif Dr Margaret Chan wins second term

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:20:45 GMT

Dr Margaret Chan, who has steered the World Health Organization through crises over bird flu and the respiratory SARS bug, has won a second five-year term as its director-general.

UN hopeful on nuclear deal

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog held talks in Tehran yesterday after voicing optimism about a deal on Iran's nuclear programme.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief visits Iran

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:17:19 GMT

The head of the UN nuclear agency flew to Tehran on a delicate mission that - if successful - could finally lift the veil on whether Iran is seeking atomic arms while strengthening the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later in the week.

IoS exclusive: Cameron hit by big rise in hostility to Europe

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Almost one in three people who voted Conservative at the last election are ready to back the UK Independence Party, or have switched already, according to a devastating new opinion poll revealing the danger posed to David Cameron by a growing anti-Europe sentiment across Britain.

Europe's economic woes dominate G8 gathering

Sat, 19 May 2012 14:40:19 GMT

US President Barack Obama pledged at a Group of Eight summit today to work with Europe on a package that balances growth with debt reduction as world leaders try to prevent the worsening eurozone crisis from destabilizing the global economy.

Capitalism at a crossroads

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Rarely have the world's most powerful people looked so impotent. The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Canada and our own Prime Minister were received by the American President at Camp David last night at a gathering intended to hammer out a comprehensive solution to a eurozone emergency that threatens to plunge the world into a new financial crisis.

G8 summit: The hunger game

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Leading charities have issued a grim warning to the world's top leaders meeting today for the G8 summit at President Barack Obama's country retreat at Camp David: their failure to keep previous promises is tipping poor countries into famine.

The day the world comes out for tolerance

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:00:01 GMT

When Barack Obama came out in support of gay marriage earlier this month, there were many who heralded it as a turning point in the history of equal rights. Symbolism plays a major part in the struggle for acceptance. Just as John F Kennedy finally adopted the cause of the civil rights movement, the gay rights lobby can now claim that the White House is officially on side (even if it suspects Mr Obama had been so privately for a long time).

Pakistan's relations with Nato show signs of thaw

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Nato has invited President Asif Ali Zardari to its summit in Chicago, after signs that Pakistan could be moving to reopen its Afghan border to international military supplies.

EU naval force airstrike on Somali pirates destroys equipment

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:58:54 GMT

A Somali pirate says an airstrike by the European Union naval force patrolling the Indian Ocean has destroyed speed boats, fuel deports and an arms store.

EU naval force carries out strikes on Somali pirates

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:46:54 GMT

The European Union's naval force off the Somali coastline has carried out its first airstrikes against pirate targets on shore.

We are losing the fight against TB, warns WHO

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A third of the world's population is carrying tuberculosis, and the disease could become incurable if governments fail to act, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned. Lack of funding for public health programmes, the sale of inaccurate blood tests and the misuse of drugs, particularly in the private health sector, are hampering the fight against the disease and leading to drug resistance, says the organisation.

Horst Faas, the photographer whose images defined the Vietnam War, dies aged 79

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:54:55 GMT

Horst Faas, a prize-winning combat photographer who changed the way photojournalists covered conflict, has died aged 79.

Horst Faas, photographer whose images defined the Vietnam War - dies aged 79

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:54:55 GMT

Horst Faas, a prize-winning combat photographer who changed the way photojournalists covered conflict, has died aged 79.

The race to catch al-Qa'ida's master bomber Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri

Tue, 08 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

America likes nothing better than putting a name and a face to the Islamic terrorist threat. First, there was Osama bin Laden, until he was killed in Pakistan; then Anwar al-Awlaki, internet recruiter to al-Qa'ida's cause, until he was killed by a US drone attack in Yemen last September. There remains Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed architect of the 9/11 attacks, currently on trial for his life in a courtroom at Guantanamo Bay. But now there's a new pubic enemy Number One: Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, al-Qa'ida's bomb-maker in Yemen.

The race to catch al-Qa'ida's master bomber

Tue, 08 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Fairtrade: Is it really fair?

Sat, 05 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

It is trade, of that there is no doubt. Some £1.3bn is spent on Fairtrade-badged goods in the UK. But nearly two decades after the launch of the scheme, the question that increasingly vexes consumers as they make their purchases is: is it really fair?