Karzai told by Britain: start Afghanistan peace talks now
Foreign Office officials believe elements of Taliban ready to talk but fears grow of long Afghan conflict, and growing casualties
Britain will today urge the Afghan government to put more effort into the pursuit of peace talks amid fears that the war could be prolonged ? and more British lives lost ? as a result of incompetence and lack of political will in Kabul.
A speech to be delivered in the US by the foreign secretary, David Miliband, will reflect growing anxiety in London that President H...
by Julian Borger
9 Mar 2010 at 6:48pm
'Jihad Jane' faces terror charges
US woman accused of plotting to murder unnamed Swede and raising money for her cause on the internet
An American woman who called herself Jihad Jane has been charged over an alleged plot to murder a Swedish man.
Colleen Renee LaRose, 46, from Philadelphia, is also accused of conspiracy to provide support to terrorists, making false statements and attempted identity theft.
Irish police yesterday arrested seven people over an apparent plot to kill Lars Vilks, a Swedish cartoonist who had a bounty ...
by Sam Jones
10 Mar 2010 at 5:17am
Five aid workers killed in Pakistan attack
Grenades set off in offices of World Vision humanitarian group
Attackers armed with grenades bombed the offices of an international aid group in north-west Pakistan today, killing five people working for the organisation, police said.
The attack targeted World Vision, a large Christian humanitarian group helping survivors of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Mansehra district.
The dead were all Pakistanis and included two women, said a police official, Mohammad Sabir.
Al-Qaida, the Taliban and allie...
10 Mar 2010 at 2:39am
Dalai Lama lashes out at China
? Spiritual leader repeats call for autonomy within China
? Annual address marks 51st anniversary of failed uprising
The Dalai Lama has lashed out at Chinese authorities, accusing them of trying to "annihilate Buddhism" in Tibet as he commemorated a failed uprising against China's rule over the region.
The Tibetan spiritual leader's remarks show his frustration with fruitless attempts to negotiate a compromise with China. But he said he would not abandon talks.
Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama ...
10 Mar 2010 at 2:24am
Berezovsky wins Litvinenko libel case
Russian oligarch awarded damages over claims he arranged polonium poisoning of friend and former KGB spy
The exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was today awarded libel damages of £150,000 over "savage" allegations he was behind the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the poisoned Russian dissident who was his close friend.
In a chaotic high court battle in London, the 64-year-old tycoon successfully argued his reputation had seriously been damaged by a Russian state television broadcast in Ap...
by Helen Pidd
10 Mar 2010 at 5:34am
Libya-Switzerland feud deepens
Leader among Tripoli officials slapped with Europe-wide travel ban as relations with Geneva take turn for worse
In the bad old days before Muammar Gaddafi cleaned up his act, international isolation and confrontation with the west were a normal state of affairs for Libya. But now the Jamahiriya ? the "state of the masses" ? is mired in an embarrassing crisis with Switzerland that has escalated into a Europe-wide travel ban for the country's leaders and top officials.
From Gaddafi downwards, no ...
by Ian Black
10 Mar 2010 at 5:57am
Sami people adapt to climate change
As global warming and habitat degradation accelerates, people indigenous to the Arctic circle say they have much to teach the world about how to adapt, survive, and thrive
Elina Helander-Renvall comes from Utsjoki, a place so obscure that even many Finns have little idea where it is. Utsjoki, or Ochejohka, Uccjuuha, and Uccjokk, depending on which local language you are speaking, is Finland's northern-most municipality. Straddling the border with Norway, it shivers, unregarded, deep inside the...
by Simon Tisdall
10 Mar 2010 at 6:26am
Rachel Corrie civil action begins in Israel
Parents of American activist killed by Israeli bulldozer seven years ago take fight for justice to Haifa courtroom
A court today began hearing a civil suit brought against the Israeli government over the death of Rachel Corrie, the US activist who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago.
The case, brought before a Haifa court by Corrie's family, challenges the official Israeli version of events in which the military said its troops were not to blame. The family hopes the...
by Rory McCarthy
10 Mar 2010 at 6:01am
Mad Men stars to be made into Barbies
Mattel to launch Don Draper and Joan Holloway dolls ? but without the whisky and cigarettes
It is a move that would have the male denizens of Sterling Cooper reaching for their whisky and cigarettes. Don Draper, a symbol of pre-sexual revolution male values from the hit TV show Mad Men, is to be made into a Barbie doll.
The licensing rights to Draper and three other characters from the critically acclaimed series have been acquired by the toy firm Mattel to be part of a line called the Barbie f...
by Paul Harris
10 Mar 2010 at 1:29am
Castro TV series documents 638 murder plots
He Who Must Live documents Cuban leader's escapes from bacteria-infected hankie, exploding cigar and poisoned wetsuit
Illness has forced him from public view but Fidel Castro is back in Cuban living rooms via a lavish television series that celebrates his escape from 638 assassination plots.
The eight-part series, He Who Must Live is an extravagant departure from Cuban TV's typically low-budget fare: more than 1,000 actors and extras are used in a mix of CSI-type fiction, docu-drama and archive...
by Rory Carroll
10 Mar 2010 at 4:18am
Iranian suitors offered marriage course
Prenuptial training for young people aims to tackle country's rising divorce rates
There was a time when Iranian women seeking husbands prioritised job status and financial security ? not to mention love ? at the top of their list of needs.
Now potential suitors face the prospect of having to fulfil a daunting new requirement before asking for a bride's hand ? having the right government certificate.
Acquiring the appropriate official qualifications before popping the question is part of a plan ...
by Robert Tait
9 Mar 2010 at 5:47pm
Pope's brother admits violent past
? Former choirmaster did not know of sexual abuse
? Pupils claim headteacher was sexual 'sadist'
The elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI admitted today that he slapped pupils at a Catholic boarding school where he was choirmaster and was aware of violent incidents that took place at the school, but not the extent of the abuse. He asked victims for forgiveness for his failure to act.
Georg Ratzinger, 86, who was choirmaster at the Regensburger Domspatzen in Bavaria between 1964 to 1994, said he oc...
by Kate Connolly
9 Mar 2010 at 3:56pm
Do you have a question for Liberty's lawyers? | Liberty Clinic
Post your civil liberties and human rights queries here to be answered by Liberty's lawyers
In this week's Liberty Clinic, James Welch responds to politicalactivist's query about the Regulation of Investigators Powers Act (Ripa) ? politicalactivist believes that, as a result of legal political activities, he is under surveillance.
A couple of week's ago, a few readers had further queries on Emma Norton's piece about CRB checks, which was written in response to a query by Douglasphil.
Doveman ask...
10 Mar 2010 at 8:19am
What are my legal rights if I'm under covert surveillance? | Liberty Clinic
politicalactivist suspects he is under police surveillance as a result of political activities. How does this affect his legal rights?
politicalactivist writes:
"As a result of legal political activities, I am fairly certain that I am monitored under according to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. For example, I am fairly certain that a car that I have regular use of and my home are bugged by the authorities.
Please advise me how being watched in such a manner affects my legal rights. F...
by James Welch
10 Mar 2010 at 8:18am
The new Buddhist atheism | Mark Vernon
A book setting out the principles of a pared-down Buddhism has won praise from arch-atheist Christopher Hitchens
In God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens writes of Buddhism as the sleep of reason, and of Buddhists as discarding their minds as well as their sandals. His passionate diatribe appeared in 2007. So what's he doing now, just three years later, endorsing a book on Buddhism written by a Buddhist?
The new publication is Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. Its author, Stephen Batchelor, is...
by Mark Vernon
10 Mar 2010 at 8:15am
