Politics

Miliband, 41, who confessed that he was often beaten up in the school playground, said he never indulged in under-age drinking, and that his only brush with the law was a speeding offence. "I was a bit square. I was too square," the Telegraph quoted him as telling Piers Morgan during an interview. He was asked what his chosen talent would be if he were to appear on 'Britain's Got Talent

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Unidentified people torched the Sri Lankan office of a British-based website that regularly criticises the Sri Lankan government, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa immediately ordered an investigation into the arson. The attack on the office of www.lankaenews.com, which has links to an opposition politician who fell out with Rajapaksa several years ago, is the latest in a series of assaults on media outlets or personnel. "It is well to note that under ... Rajapaksa regime, the free media had suffered most and sustained losses to persons and property on an unprecedented scale in the media history of Sri Lanka," the website said in its report on the attack. Since the start of the final phase of a 25-year civil war in 2006, at least 14 journalists have been killed and many more attacked or threatened in the Indian Ocean island nation. Sri Lanka has a long history of violence and intimidation against journalists, stretching back as far as 1971, when the fi...

Pakistani Law Minister Babar Awan has spoken out over the case of a US man who killed two men in Lahore last week. He said no foreign citizen was above the law. The US embassy has called for the immediate release of Raymond Davis, saying he has diplomatic status and is immune from prosecution. The authorities say he does not have diplomatic immunity and is not one of the foreign security personnel authorised to carry firearms. Dr Awan said that although foreign diplomats enjoyed diplomatic immunity, "Pakistan has its own judicial system and everyone must respect it". Magistrates have remanded Mr Davis in custody until next week while police investigate the shooting. He has been charged with the murder of the two men. The US embassy in Islamabad has claimed diplomatic immunity on his behalf. They argue that he is a consulate employee who acted in "self-defence when confronted by two armed men on motorcycles" on 27...

Burma's new parliament has convened for the first time, officially ending almost half a century of absolute military rule. But the two chambers in Naypyidaw are dominated by the military and its allies. Next Image | Previous Image | |

"Mohammed Abdulrahman, from Ahlia University, died last night in Omdurman hospital as a result of his ... wounds after he was beaten by police," an activist who took part in Sunday's protest told AFP. "This morning (Monday) both Ahlia University and the Islamic University of Omdurman have been closed by a government decision," added the activist, speaking on condition of anonymity. Sunday's demonstrations followed calls by the "30 January" Facebook group for Sudanese youth to take to the streets and stage peaceful anti-government rallies across Sudan. The Facebook group, which boasts around 17,000 members, confirmed Abdulrahman had died, referring to him as a "martyr" who followed in the footsteps of another student killed in the October 1964 popular uprising that toppled the military regime then in power. "Al-Gorashy was a martyr for us. And you are our martyr now, Mohammed Abdulrahman," it said in large red lettering. Proteste...

Ramallah, Jan 31 (DPA) Israeli soldiers arrested Hamas lawmaker Muhammad Natsheh early Monday at his home in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Hamas officials said. They said the soldiers searched Natsheh's home before taking him away. Natsheh is the sixth Hamas lawmaker to be rearrested by Israel since December. Israel arrested several members of Hamas' senior leadership in the summer of 2006, in retaliation for the abduction of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who is still being held captive in Gaza. Israel gradually released most, but this winter detained several of them again. Natsheh was released from prison in September after serving almost nine years, six of them in solitary confinement, said Hamas sources.

The ticklish question has been hovering in the background since the "Jasmine Revolution" street uprising toppled the president of Tunisia two weeks ago. It has only gained in urgency as the demonstrations spread to Yemen, Jordan and then Egypt - threatening President Hosni Mubarak's near-30-year-grip on power. A Chinese blogger first posed the query to President Obama's chief Asia expert during a videoconference from the White House Situation Room with eight Mainland bloggers. "In my view, many Chinese netizens and intellectuals believe that China's future is Tunisia-ization," noted the Beijing-based blogger, 2Keqi, in the web chat with Jeffrey Bader, the National Security Council's senior director for Asian affairs. "Does the American government make this same assessment and does it have a policy plan" in the event that China takes such a turbulent path? Bader and another official, Ben Rhodes, deputy NSC adviser for strategic commun...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Southern Sudan's leader says he hopes Sudan's contested area of Abyei soon holds an independence referendum or is transferred to Sudan's south by presidential decree. Southern Sudan announced Sunday that 99 percent of voters in the south voted for independence during a referendum earlier in January. But Kiir said Monday that the contested region of Abyei needs to also hold a referendum or be given to the south. The status of region is being decided by north-south negotiations. Kiir spoke during an African Union summit in Ethiopia's capital. Southern Sudan is slated to become the world's newest country in July. The independence referendum was guaranteed in a 2005 peace accord that ended a more than two decade north-south civil war.

Two chartered flights out of Egypt carrying over 400 Israeli citizens landed in Ben-Gurion International Airport on Monday, Channel 10 reported, with returning Israelis claiming that the week-long anti-governmental protests that have been sweeping Egypt were not as bad as they seemed. El Al Boeing 757. Photo by: Moti Milrod Protesters have been rocking Egypt, a key U.S. ally in the Arab world, complaining about surging prices and the gap between rich and poor, calling for a new political system.

In the wake of the current unrest in Egypt, the United States is reportedly preparing for an Egypt without President Hosni Mubarak, pushing the 82-year-old leader to meet the demand for greater political freedom. The Obama administration is not yet ready to abandon Mubarak, fearing that openly supporting calls for Mubarak's removal would alarm other US allies in the region. The Los Angeles Times quoted current and former US government officials as saying that the days of autocratic government in Egypt are over with or without Mubarak. "They don't want to push Mubarak over the cliff, but they understand that the Mubarak era is over and that the only way Mubarak could be saved now is by a ruthless suppression of the population, which would probably set the stage for a much more radical revolution down the road," said a former senior US advisor. "They recognized that change was coming...

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has ordered police back onto the streets, days after violent clash with protesters forced them off. The move comes as demonstrators call for a "million-man march" to mark one week since the anti-government protests began, which have left at least 125 people dead. As the chaos continues to unfold, the Federal Government has announced it will send a Qantas plane to evacuate Australians stranded in Egypt on Wednesday. Thousands of Egyptians are still rallying in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities, although the capital at least has begun to showing signs of returning to normal life. Traffic is returning to the streets and many businesses are open, but military helicopters continue to circle overhead and drivers are finding many roads still blocked by the army. The army appears to hold the key to Mr Mubarak's fate - although the generals have held back from crushing the revolt, they have also not withdrawn support for the president, raisin...

A fire in an arms depot of the Anonymous Venezuelan Campaign of Military Industries (CAVIM) in Maracy city of Aragua state killed at least one person and forced authorities to evacuate about 10,000 people from the area on Sunday. Aragua's Governor Rafael Isea said that the fatal victim was a woman. "Apparently she was exposed to the explosions. She was hospitalized in the Hospital Central and died later," Isea said. Isea also said that more than 10,000 people living near the fire zone were evacuated to guarantee their security. "It is a preventive measure, because the munitions exploded and they have certain impact power, so of course we are trying to avoid any bad situation," he explained. The governor earlier said that some 40 people were injured, but later said the figure was much lower. The fire started at about 4:30 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) and caused powerful explosions in three of the four munitions storage areas. The authorities set up a securit...

The authoritarian Belarusian government has released some political prisoners, as the European Union foreign ministers gather to discuss the reimposition of sanctions against the regime following flawed presidential elections in December and a crackdown on the opposition. Vladimir Neklyayev, 64, a poet and a candidate in the elections, had been released from prison at the weekend and was now being held under house arrest, his family said. Mr Neklyayev was attacked and beaten up on the evening of the presidential poll, then bundled from hospital and taken to prison.

MUSCAT (Reuters) - Oman said it had uncovered a UAE spy network in the Gulf Arab state that targeted its government and military, the state news agency of the U.S. ally in the Arabian Peninsula reported on Sunday. "Security services uncovered a spying network belonging to the state security apparatus of the United Arab Emirates, targeting the ruling regime in Oman and the way its government and military work," the agency said, quoting a security source. The news agency gave few details. An Omani government source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said a number of Omani nationals had been arrested, including some who worked for the government. There was no immediate comment from officials in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, a regional financial and tourism hub that has typically had friendly relations with Oman. The Omani official said the arrests dated back about two months, but gave no other details. Oman's news agency sai...

Germany Train Crash Associated Press (2011-01-31 00:15:59) Policemen walk next the wreckage of the engine of a cargo train in Hordorf near Oschersleben, eastern Germany on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. According to German Dapd news agency, the head-on train crash killed more than 10 people and injured more than 20 people on Saturday evening. A passenger and a cargo train crashed head-on near Hordorf village, close to Saxony-Anhalt's state capital Magdeburg, and several train cars derailed and overturned, a spokesman for the district's firefighters said. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Prosecutors say they are opening an investigation into the driver of a cargo train that was involved in a head-on crash that left 10 people dead and injured 23 others in eastern Germany on Saturday. The prosecutors' office in Magdeburg said Monday that it was in...

Starlets and showgirls at the centre of the prostitution scandal engulfing Silvio Berlusconi have complained that offers of work have dried up because of the notoriety of the case. Mr Berlusconi is alleged to have paid "several" women for sex during wild "bunga bunga" parties at his palazzo outside Milan – a charge that almost all of them have denied. Several of the woman said they are no longer receiving offers to pose for fashion shoots, feature in promotional campaigns or work as "image girls" at corporate events. One of the women, Barbara Guerra, 32, a men's magazine model and reality television contestant, said she recently received a call cancelling her appearance at a sporting event. "No one said outright that it was because of my involvement in the scandal, but I'm almost sure that was the reason," she said. Miriam Loddo, another of the women named in the inves...

Lahore, Jan 31 (PTI) A Pakistan court today sought aresponse from authorities to a petition that called for stepsto ensure that an American diplomat arrested for shooting twoPakistanis is not handed over to the US. In the petition filed in the Lahore High Court, lawyerSaeed Zafar said efforts were underway to secure the releaseof the American and the government should be barred fromgiving him diplomatic immunity. The American should be barred from leaving Pakistanby including his name in the Exit Control List, Zafar said. Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, who heard thepetition, issued notices to the federal Attorney General andthe Assistant Advocate General of Punjab province, asking themto appear in court tomorrow and to submit their responses. The American, identified in media reports as RaymondDavis, was arrested after he shot and killed two youths whomhe alleged were trying to rob him in a busy commercial area ofLahore on Thursday. A third Pakistani died when he was hit by a UScon...

ADDIS ABABA — Senior African Union officials met Saturday with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and representatives of a west African bloc that has threatened to use force to resolve the Ivory Coast crisis. The closed-door tripartite meeting came on the eve of a two-day summit of African heads of state here where Ivory Coast and other upheavals on the continent were to top the agenda. AU officials briefed the representatives of the UN and the Economic Community of West African States on their latest decisions on Ivory Coast, officials said. "Those who weren't at Friday's (AU) meeting were given a briefing," Noureddine Mezni, spokesman for AU Commission head Jean Ping told journalists. "We are all on the same wavelength," he said. The AU on Friday announced the setting up of a five-member heads-of-state panel to resolve the two-month-old power struggle in Ivory Coast between incumbent strongman Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner o...

KHARTOUM: Students clashed with police in north Sudan as youths heeded calls to take to the streets for a day of nationwide anti-government protests despite a heavy security deployment. The protests on Sunday, coinciding with preliminary results in south Sudan's landmark referendum on independence, ended with violent clashes in Khartoum. Police said at least 64 people were arrested. At the Islamic University of Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city, about 1000 demonstrators were confronted by riot police as they marched, shouting slogans against the President, Omar al-Bashir. Advertisement: Story continues below ''Ocampo, what you have said is right!'' they chanted, referring to the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who has accused Mr Bashir of genocide and war crimes in Darfur. Nearly 99 per cent of southern Sudanese vote...

Authorities say a suicide bomber in northwestern Pakistan has killed three people, including a police official. Officials say the bomber attacked a vehicle Monday on the outskirts of Peshawar, killing Rasheed Khan, the deputy superintendent of police, his driver and one other person. Several people were wounded in the blast. The French news agency says the bomber was carrying 6 to 7 kilograms of explosives. There has been no claim of responsibility. Peshawar, located near Pakistan's tribal area, has been repeatedly attacked by the Taliban.

Egyptian volunteers patrol the streets during the curfew in Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP After six days of unprecedented protests, Hosni Mubarak and his regime still refuse to go . The fig leaf covering this regime has finally fallen, revealing the ugly naked truth. It is a regime that has worked solely and exclusively for its own survival. The events of the past days show that it is ready to burn the whole country if necessary. Friday 28 January will always be remembered as one of the worst days in Egypt's history as protesters went in their thousands on to the streets across the country, calling for an end to the whole regime. Security forces lashed out against them more ruthlessly than ever before, using lethal weapons and so much teargas that many people inside neighbouring houses choked. They shot indiscriminately with rubber bullets and, some say, with live ammunition. By the afternoon security forces were no longer able to contain t...

Guardian Books today published WIKILEAKS: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy , the first full-length biography of the strange and elusive character behind one of the biggest leaks in history. Written by the journalists who forged an unprecedented deal between a gifted computer hacker and three of the world's major newspapers, it tells a story from the inside that reads like a thriller. The authors, award-winning journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding, give a riveting account of what Vanity Fair described as 'one of the greatest journalistic scoops of the last 30 years'. Leigh said: "This book will bring you as close to the unvarnished truth as you're likely to get." The book reveals for the first time: • How a secret deal was constructed in a Belgian hotel to defy the world's biggest superpower, and release an unstoppable flood of military and diplomatic files through the pages of the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel. • That Assange w...

BANGKOK: Burma's ruling generals convened the first meeting of parliament in more than 20 years yesterday, a move they say completes the transition to a multiparty democracy. Reporters were barred from the parliament building when the session was convened under tight security in the capital, Naypyidaw. Officially the opening of the two-chamber parliament will mean the dissolution of the junta that has ruled Burma since 1988. Advertisement: Story continues below But a quarter of the seats are reserved for the military, and a military-backed party controls more than 80 per cent of the rest, allowing the generals to retain their power, albeit in a less hierarchical system. One key question is whether Burma's top general, Than Shwe, will become president, the most powerful job under the new constitution. Than Shwe, who has successfully crushed uprisings and pu...

Speaking of the dilemma currently confronting Mubarak, Peres said, "We still have great respect for Mubarak. Note everything he did was right, but he worked to keep peace in the Middle East." Peres said "people think that democracy is only a legend. Democracy is more than that," he said. "It also means peace and freedom." Netanyahu, in his first public comments on the crisis, said at the opening of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting that Israel was “anxiously monitoring” the developments in Egypt and the region. “Our efforts are designed to continue and maintain stability and security in our region,” he said. Netanyahu, who last met with Mubarak to discuss the diplomatic process three weeks ago in Sharm e-Sheikh , said “the peace between Israel and Egypt has endured for over three decades, and our goal is to ensure that these relations continue. “Of course, at this time, we must show maximum responsibility, restraint and good judgment, and, to this en...

Hillary Clinton met with former first lady and leading Haitian presidential candidate Mirlande Manigat on Monday. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Clinton says the U.S. won't end humanitarian relief, despite major political concerns She says she'll push to get 3rd candidate on the runoff ballot Clinton meets with Haitian president and various political leaders during her visit RELATED TOPICS Haiti Mirlande Manigat (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned early Monday from a one-day visit to Haiti with major concerns about the Caribbean nation's presidential elections. Still, she said that any political differences would not affect U.S. support for Haiti, an already impoverished country devastated by an earthquake last year and a deadly cholera outbreak in recent months. "We are not talking about any of that," Clinton told reporters. "We have a deep commitment to the Haitian people. And that (applies) to humanitarian aid, it goes to governance and ...

CHINA'S powerful propaganda department is trying to block non-official news about the bloody riots shaking Egypt. The Government has stopped the use of the country's name across a popular Twitter-like blogging site and restricting the reporting of events there. Authorities have blocked the Chinese characters for Egypt on Sina.com's Weibo site, used by more than 50 million of China's 400 million netizens. The Egyptian news has been played down in the Chinese media, being relegated to the second page of the country's major website and portals. Newspapers all carry the state-run Xinhua version of the story. The Chinese authorities are sensitive to offshore revolutions against authoritarian governments, fearing such movements might spread to China. Local street protests have been swelling over corruption, the income gap between rich and poor, and heavy-handed security operations such as evictions to make way for development projects.

Trial ... Nazril "Ariel" Irham and his girlfriend, Luna Maya, yesterday. Photo: AFP JAKARTA: Indonesia's biggest rock star, Nazril ''Ariel'' Irham, has been sentenced to 3½ years in prison after personal sex videos were stolen from his laptop and went viral on the internet. The two videos were not deliberately distributed, but the presiding judge, Singgih Budi Prakoso, said Nazril had shown no remorse and given ''an opportunity for others to spread, produce and prepare a pornographic video''. It is the first time that someone has been sentenced under the anti-pornography laws introduced in 2008 at the instigation of the Islamist coalition partners of the President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Advertisement: Story continues below The saga has captivated Indonesia and sparked hand...

Addis Ababa, Jan 31 (DPA) The leader of what will become the world's newest state this year, Southern Sudan, Monday promised a peaceful transition to independence after results showed voters had overwhelmingly chosen to split from the north. Salva Kiir, addressing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir at a meeting on the sidelines of an African Union summit, said the south had no desire to return to 'the bitterness and divisions of the past'. 'Today, the ballot box has triumphed over the bullet,' he said. 'It is our most sincere wish to achieve peaceful coexistence between north and south, to enable all of our peoples to live in security and prosperity.' Official preliminary results released Sunday showed 98.83 percent of almost 4 million voters had opted to secede from Sudan in a January referendum. The vote was enshrined ...

pdated 1412 GMT (2212 HKT) Follow live blogging on " This Just In " and the latest tweets from CNN correspondents from the protests. Send your video, images to CNN iReport. Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- The first of two charter planes carrying U.S. citizens out of chaotic Egypt landed Monday in Cyprus, the beginning of what could be a lengthy evacuation effort amid escalating unrest across the country. At least two flights, carrying 219 Americans between them, were able to take off before Egypt's 3 p.m. curfew went into effect, according to the U.S. State Department. The first flight, carrying 42 people, landed in Cyprus, according to the State Department. The second, carrying 177 Americans, took off Monday for Athens, Greece, but had not yet landed, the government said. With at least 2,400 people seeking evacuation as of Monday morning, getting all Americans out of the country could take some time, said Janice Jacobs, the U.S. assis...

The events of the last week will have profound consequences for the Middle East for years to come. Egypt's role in the region is going to change. President Hosni Mubarak has been the central pillar of the alliance between Western powers and authoritarian Arab leaders and without him it may not be sustainable. He has been the only Arab leader the Israelis trusted. Their biggest fear is that without him their cold - but so far resilient - peace with Egypt will be in danger. The president has been the West's necessary man in the Middle East for 30 years. That is why Egypt has continued to receive vast amounts of American aid, as well as political support from Britain and other European countries - despite a deplorable human rights record, crooked elections, the suppression of virtually all organised political opposition and rampant corruption. Those are some of the reasons why tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets.

Tens of thousands of people are continuing to protest on the streets of Egypt[ AFP] Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president, has sworn in a new cabinet in a bid to quell days of mass uprising against him and the government. Three former senior officers are included in the line-up, suggesting a strong security presence in the new government. Mahmoud Wagdi, a retired police general, was appointed the country's new interior minister, replacing Habib el-Adli, who was criticised for brutality inflicted on protesters. Wagdi was previously head of Cairo criminal investigations department and also a former head of prisons. Protesters had demanded Habib al-Adli, the former interior minister, be sacked after police used force on protesters including beatings, tear gas and firing rubber bullets. Ahmed Abul Gheit, the foreign minister, retained his job, as did General Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the defence minister, state television reported.

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday would not repeat earlier assertions that Egypt's government under President Hosni Mubarak is stable and repeatedly said that the United States wants to see Egypt transition into a democracy. "America's message has been consistent. We want to see free and fair elections and we expect that will be one of the outcomes of what is going on right now," Clinton said during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press." Asked whether Mubarak's government is stable, Clinton said, "I'm not going to get into either or choices."

Muhammad Samiullah, an intermediate student, wasarrested on Friday following a complaint from the ChiefController of the Intermediate Board, who accused him ofblasphemy. A case of blasphemy was registered against him atthe Shahrah-e-Noor Jahan police station. "We got a complaint from the intermediate board thatthis student had violated the blasphemy law by writingderogatory remarks on his examination papers," SSP NazimabadZafar Iqbal confirmed. "We raided the house of the student and arrested himfrom Malir Halt. He has confessed he did write the derogatoryremarks. He claims he did this after being instigated by twoof his cousins who had come to Karachi for a visit from OsloNorway," the police official said. He said since the cousins had already left thecountry and returned to Oslo their was nothing the Pakistanipolice could do against them.

Soldiers examine the wreckage inside the Kohat Tunnel that was closed following the blast, while a survivor talks on the phone in a hospital in Peshawar. PHOTOS: AFP PESHAWAR: Kohat Tunnel, closed following two bomb blasts that ripped through it on Friday, was reopened for 24 hours on Saturday evening. Commissioner Kohat division Khalid Khan Umerzai told The Express Tribune that the tunnel was opened for passenger vehicles for around 24 hours. Cargo vehicles, however, will not be allowed to pass through the tunnel. At least five people were killed and 19 others injured when two explosives-laden trucks were detonated by suicide bombers, one inside the tunnel and the other at its entrance. The attackers had entered the tunnel from the Darra Adamkhel side, Umerzai said. Local sources said that the two attacks that occurred at 12:30am on Saturday, badly damaged the Pak-Japan Friendship Tunnel, which links th...

Jordanian protestors shout slogans during a sit-in held outside the prime minister's office in Amman, Jordan, on Jan. 29, 2011, calling for the formation of an interim government and the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Samir Rifai. (Xinhua/Mohammad Abu Ghosh) AMMAN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) - Dozens of Jordanians demonstrated Saturday, calling for the formation of an interim government and the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Samir Rifai. During the sit-in, which took place in front of the headquarters of the Jordanian prime ministry, the demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and said Jordan needs a government that can shoulder its responsibilities. The demonstrators, who included trade unionists, political party members, military retirees and representative of the youth sector, slammed the government for "making the financial situation of citizens worse." The demonstrators criticize

Hani Mohammed/Associated Press Protesters in Sana, Yemen, waved Yemen’s flag at a rally on Thursday. Many are calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, but some opposition leaders seek less drastic change. The Yemeni protests were another moment of tumult in a region whose aging order of American-backed governments appears to be staggering. In a span of just weeks, Tunisia’s government has fallen, Egypt’s appears shaken and countries like Jordan and Yemen are bracing against demands of movements with divergent goals but similar means. Protests led by young people entered a third day in Egypt, where Mohamed ElBaradei , the Nobel laureate who has become an outspoken opponent of President Hosni Mubarak , returned in hopes of galvanizing the campaign. The Muslim Brotherhood, long Egypt’s largest organized opposition, ended days of official inaction and said it would join the Friday protests, declaring “a day of rage for the Egyptian nation.

ROME: Italy faces the possibility of a dynastic succession as calls grow for the millionaire daughter of Silvio Berlusconi to enter politics with a view to becoming the country's next prime minister. In a move which would delight Mr Berlusconi's supporters but dismay his opponents, Marina Berlusconi is being mooted as his possible successor as a prostitution scandal threatens to bring his third term in office to a premature end. Ms Berlusconi, 44, who is known for her love of short skirts and high heels, is already being groomed to take over her father's multibillion-dollar empire. The eldest of his five children, she heads his Fininvest holding company as well as Mondadori, his publishing empi Now she is believed to be contemplating a move into politics. Members of the Prime Minister's People of Freedom (PDL) party have backed the idea of his daughter becoming a candidate at the next elections. With Mr Berlusconi ...

Naypyitaw (Myanmar), Jan 30 (DPA) Security was tight Sunday around Myanmar's newly built parliament compound, which will be used for the first time this week by legislators elected in the country's first polls in two decades last November. Barricades were in place on roads leading to the massive parliament compound in the suburb of Naypyitaw, Myanmar's new capital since 2005, situated 350 km north of the old capital of Yangon. Plain-clothed security personnel were posted at municipal guest houses where hundreds of legislators were lodged ahead of the first session of the upper and lower houses of parliament starting at 8.55 a.m. Monday. The odd start time is attributed to Myanmar's military supremo Senior General Than Shwe, who is known to be a believer in numerology. But members of parliament were in the dark about what was on the agenda for the first session. 'We haven't been told what meetings are on the agenda for tomorrow yet,' said Khin Maung...

JOHANNESBURG — South Africans lit candles and prayed for Nelson Mandela at church services around the country Sunday as officials said the anti-apartheid hero was in stable condition and resting at home. A national campaign promoted by a group of media organisations encouraged South Africans to "Light a Candle of Hope" for Mandela's recovery from an acute respiratory infection. Officials said Mandela, 92, was still in stable condition at his home in Johannesburg after being discharged following a two-day hospital stay that had the world on edge over the health of one of its most beloved icons. At the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, the township where Mandela lived before being jailed by the apartheid state, provincial premier Nomvula Mokonyane led a candle-lighting ceremony and thanked Madiba -- the clan name by which Mandela is affectionately known -- for his sacrifices for the country. "We now pray that Madiba lives for another moment. We pray that God bles...

Pakistani authorities have rejected the demand of the U.S. to release an American diplomat who shot dead two youths in Lahore, saying the matter would be handled in court according to the country’s laws. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a TV news channel on Sunday that the matter was already in court and the Punjab Police were investigating the shooting incident in Lahore on Thursday. “It would not be appropriate to publicly talk on this issue,” he said. U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter raised the issue on Saturday with former premier Nawaz Sharif, whose PML-N party rules Punjab. Mr. Munter expressed regret over the death of Pakistani nationals in the Lahore incident and contended that the American should be handed over to U.S. custody since he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. Mr. Sharif “politely turned down the plea, saying that the matter was sub judice”, the Dawn newspaper reported on Sunday. PML-N spokesman Pervaiz Rashid told the media that Mr. Sharif believed the m...

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — Two out of eight Hamas prisoners who broke out of a Cairo prison as a wave of anti-government protests swept Egypt arrived back in Gaza on Sunday, an official source said. A senior official in the Hamas government confirmed all eight were on their way back to Gaza, with the report also confirmed by one of the escapees. By Sunday morning, at least two of the prisoners who had been held in Abu Zaabal prison, northeast of Cairo, had made it back to Gaza, entering the strip through the tunnels which run under the border, a Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity. They made their escape when thousands broke free from jails across Egypt as officials struggled to control the wave of chaos sparked by nationwide riots demanding the end of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. Among those who arrived back in Gaza on Sunday was Mohamed al-Shaer, a big name in the cross-border smuggling enterprise, who was arrested in Egypt six months ago after com...

Amid anti-regime riots in Egypt that have claimed over 100 lives, US President Barack Obama has sought restraint and favoured "concrete steps" aimed at advancing political reforms in the Arab nation, as he held key talks with his national security team to assess the situation there. "He reiterated our focus on opposing violence and calling for restraint; supporting universal rights; and supporting concrete steps that advance political reform within Egypt," the White House said in a statement last evening after the meeting. The US President was updated on the current situation in Egypt during the meeting with his national security aides that lasted for about an hour. Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and his deputy Denis McDonough, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism John Brennan, the Vice President's National Security Adviser Tony Blinken and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communica...

ElBaradei, Nobel Prize for Peace winner and former IAEA chief, is seen as a decent alternative to the current Egyptian regime that is in place [EPA] The return of Mohamed ElBaradei to Egypt a year ago and him joining the ranks of its political opposition created lots of expectations and frustration. He has been seen as an agent for democracy, hope and change in a country ruled by dictatorships for decades. Yet, many feel he may have wasted an opportunity and failed many Egyptians who believed in him. Thus, when he announced yesterday that he is returning to Egypt from a trip to Europe to join the ongoing and unprecedented protests against the ruling regime, his announcement was met with initial scepticism. Some of the activists who have been participating in the latest protests in the street and online have sharply criticised his attitude toward politics in Egypt. Gamal Eid, the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, an Egyptian human rights group, say...

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Sunday declined to comment on the arrest of a US man who shot dead two men in Lahore, saying the matter was being probed by courts and regional authorities. The US embassy has claimed diplomatic immunity on behalf of Raymond Davis, previously described as a consulate employee, who is under investigation on double murder charges after shooting dead two motorcyclists on Thursday. A third Pakistani was crushed to death by a consulate car that went to help Davis following the shooting in a busy street in the eastern city. "The federal government is not silent over this matter. This matter is in the court," Gilani told reporters in a live televised press conference from his home town of Multan. "The Punjab government is conducting an inquiry into this matter and I would not comment till it is completed," Gilani said. Davis, who has been held at a Lahore police station since the incident, appeared before a magistrate...

Fog hampers rescue efforts after head-on collision between commuter and freight trains in eastern Germany Share 7 Helen Pidd in Berlin guardian.co.uk , Sunday 30 January 2011 12.24 GMT Article history Rescuers at the scene of the crash between a commuter train and a freight train near Hordorf in eastern Germany. Photograph: Peter Foerster/EPA At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured in a head-on train crash in eastern Germany last night. Police fear the death toll could rise following the collision between a commuter train and a freight train near the village of...

Photo: Reuters African Union Commission chairperson Jean Ping addresses a news conference at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, January 29, 2011. More than 25 African leaders are in Ethiopia's capital for a 2-day summit focusing mainly on political and security concerns. The annual gathering, which opened Sunday in Addis Ababa, will feature mini-summits on Ivory Coast, Sudan and Somalia, as well as discuss several other hotspots, such as Niger and Madagascar. However, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping says two of the continent's late-breaking political crises, in Egypt and Tunisia, will not be on the agenda. He said developments in those countries erupted too late to be included in his report to the summit.

Dubai , Jan 30 (PTI) Qatar -based Al Jazeera newschannel, which has given nearly round-the-clock coverage tothe uprising against the regime of Egyptian President HosniMubarak, was shut down in Egypt today. Egyptian authorities have shut down the offices of AlJazeera following the network�s coverage of riots in Cairo ,the channel announced today. The Egyptian authorities announced through the statetelevision that they are revoking the Al Jazeera Network�slicence to broadcast from the country, and will be shuttingdown its bureau office in Cairo, according to the Qatar-basedchannel. Egyptian state news agency MENA said Al Jazeera�sjournalists had been stripped of their accreditation and thenetwork�s licence had been withdrawn. "The Information Minister ordered....suspension ofoperations of Al Jazeera , cancelling of its licences andwithdrawing accreditation to all its staff as of today," astatement on the MENA website said. Al Jazeera has been at the forefront of reporting ont...

Governments urge citizens to stay away or leave * Russia n, German tourists on Red Sea continue holidays * Some foreign firms fly out expatriate staff, families * For main story on Egypt, click on [ID:nLDE70S0LV] FRANKFURT, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The United States and Turkey on Sunday offered to evacuate citizens wanting to leave Egypt, where violent protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak have given way in some parts of Cairo to looting. Other governments advised their citizens to leave the country or avoid travelling there if possible, although Russian and German tourists at Red Sea resorts made no move to cut short their holidays. Witnesses said some businesses were starting to evacuate their staff and reported scenes of chaos at the airport, where many people, including Egyptians, were trying to fly out. "The U.S. embassy in Cairo informs U.S. citizens in Egypt who wish to depart that the Department of State is making arrangements to provide transportation...

The Egyptian military has staged an apparent show of strength in the capital Cairo during a sixth day of anti-government protests. Two air force jets and a helicopter are repeatedly flying low over Tahrir (Liberation) Square, the main gathering point for demonstrators. A column of tanks arrived there only to have its path blocked by demonstrators. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for an "orderly transition" of power in Egypt. "We want to see an orderly transition so that no-one fills a void, that there not be a void, that there be a well thought out plan that will bring about a democratic participatory government," she told the Fox TV network. "We also don't want to see some takeover that would lead not to democracy but to oppression and the end of the aspirations of the Egyptian people." The BBC's Jeremy Bowen, in Tahrir Square, says ther...

MOSCOW — Russia's Caucasus rebels remained conspicuously silent Sunday after investigators pinned the blame for a Moscow airport bombing that killed 35 people on a 20-year-old man from the restless region. The Investigative Committee reported in Saturday findings that the suicide bomber was specifically targeting foreigners when he set off his charge on January 24 at the international arrivals hall of Russia's busiest airport. The Domodedovo blast killed eight foreign nationals in an attack that -- if Moscow's claims are true -- would appear to mark a fundamental shift in the strategy followed by Islamists in their 15-year campaign against Russian rule. "According to investigators, the act of terror was first and foremost aimed against foreign citizens," Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said in televised remarks. The investigator refused to give the suicide bomber's name or the republic he came from because the police were still on the hunt fo...

, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Saturday said its legal process should be respected after the U.S. embassy called for the immediate release of an American diplomat who was arrested after he killed two Pakistani s this week. The American, identified by Pakistan i police as Raymond Davis, told a court on Friday he had acted in self-defence after fleeing what he said was a robbery attempt in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday. Davis has been remanded in police custody for six days for questioning. "This matter is sub judice in a court of law and the legal process should be respected," a Pakistani foreign office spokesman said in a statement. The U.S. embassy said in a statement on Friday only that a staff member of the U.S. Consulate General in Lahore was involved in an incident involving "loss of life". In a statement on Saturday, the embassy identified him as a U.S. diplomat who it said had been unlawfully detained by authorities in Lahore, where the sho...

Gunshots erupt in Cairo STORY HIGHLIGHTS Interior ministry the focus for clashes between police, protesters Protesters chant "The people and the military, we are one." Tens of thousands emboldened to join protests Saturday RELATED TOPICS Mohamed ElBaradei Egypt Hosni Mubarak (CNN) -- Defiance and hope replaced Friday's scenes of widespread chaos and violence in Cairo on Saturday but at least five people were reported dead in clashes between police and protesters outside the Interior Ministry building. CNN's Ian Lee said a "firefight" was going on around the ministry as protesters attempted to charge the building. Lee said he had seen one protester shot in the head as police cordoned off the area and fired shots down side streets. At least five people died from gunshot wounds, according to a physician at a triage center in a Cairo mosque. CNN's Frederick Pleitgen said the Interior Ministry building was a symbol of Egyptian President Hosni Muba...