WASHINGTONPresident Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki voiced cautious optimism regarding the situation in Iraq Wednesday, noting greater stability and decreased violence as U.S. troops continue to(…)

One cleric’s legacy of peace
By Bill Law
BBC Radio 4, Crossing Continents
Pakistani madrassas, religious schools, are often seen in the west as incubators for terrorism. Most do not fit that(…)

Pandemic flu service to go live
By Nick Triggle
Health reporter, BBC News
The National Flu Service is expected to go live later, giving thousands of swine flu sufferers access to drugs(…)

WASHINGTONOn the eve of his fourth prime-time news conference, President Obama was working the phones, calling lawmakers involved in the health care talks to push them to embrace(…)

HARTFORD, ConnecticutPrincipal Steve Perry doesn’t believe in cursory inspections. For him, every single detail matters. T’s are always crossed, I’s are always dotted. Shirts are always buttoned and(…)

Israeli textbooks to drop ‘Nakba’
Israel’s education ministry is to drop from an Arabic language textbook a term describing the creation of the state of Israel as “the catastrophe”.The Arabic(…)

Honduras rivals ‘resuming talks’
Delegations from both sides in the Honduran political crisis are to take part in fresh talks, mediators say.But the interim Honduran authorities say they will not(…)

Obama to defend healthcare plan
US President Barack Obama is preparing to go before the cameras to defend his plans for health reform.At 2000EDT (0100BST) he will hold a news(…)

Falling sales dent eBay profits
Online auction giant eBay has reported a fall in profits between April and June of almost one-third, but analysts had expected a sharper fall.Net profit(…)

Q&A: US healthcare reform
US President Barack Obama made reform of the American healthcare system his top priority when he entered the White House.He has pledged to get a reform(…)

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the Ashes series after undergoing surgery for an ongoing Achilles tendon injury.
Kevin Pietersen’s Achilles injury has forced him(…)

JERUSALEMIsraeli textbooks for Arab school children will no longer say that Arabs refer to the period surrounding the birth of Israel as al-Nakba, or “the catastrophe,” Israel’s education(…)

German language adds 5,000 words
Around 5,000 new words have been officially added to the German language – many of them from the English-speaking world.The newcomers appear in the latest(…)

Artificial brain ‘10 years away’
By Jonathan Fildes
Technology reporter, BBC News, Oxford
A detailed, functional artificial human brain can be built within the next 10 years, a leading scientist has claimed.Henry(…)

Biden pledges support for Georgia
The US will support Georgia as the former Soviet republic seeks to broaden its democratic credentials, US Vice-President Joe Biden has said.He told the BBC(…)

(Entertainment Weekly) For the past three weeks in a row, Michael Jackson’s “Number Ones” has been the biggest-selling album in the country.
For the first time in(…)

TEHRAN, IranIran’s supreme leader believes the country’s president should dismiss the top vice president, whose recent appointment has drawn criticism from conservatives, semi-official media reported Wednesday.
Ayatollah Ali(…)

Germany affirms Magna preference
The German government has said that after initial evaluations of the three bids for Opel, it still favours a deal with Canadian car parts maker Magna.The(…)

Alberto Contador has moved closer to his second Tour de France victory in three years after finishing second to Luxembourg’s Frank Schleck in the gruelling 169.5km 17th stage(…)

Investigators on Wednesday morning were searching the Houston, Texas, building where Dr. Conrad Murray has a practice, according to a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Officers(…)

Newspaper group sues Berlusconi
The publisher of Italy’s second largest-selling newspaper is suing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.Mr Berlusconi described La Repubblica as “subversive”, prompting L’Espresso media group to sue for(…)

New rituals for the British summer
By Laura Schocker
There’s much that’s predictable about a British summer, but it’s not a season preserved in aspic. Alongside the time-honoured traditions are emerging(…)

German arms op man enjoys scratch

Advertisement
A German dairy farmer who received the world’s first transplant of two complete arms has spoken about his new limbs -(…)

LONDON, EnglandThere could be help at hand for the world’s number one golfer, Tiger Woods, as he aims to recover his form following a recent early exit from(…)

MOSCOW, RussiaA Ukrainian general has been arrested in connection with the murder of a journalist nearly nine years ago, the country’s president said Wednesday.
Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko(…)