World News

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to announce his bid for re-election on Wednesday, setting the stage for what he hopes will be a dramatic comeback against his poll-leading Socialist rival.

Syria flatly rejected UN charges of crimes against humanity on Tuesday, even as monitors said troops killed at least six civilians in the heaviest shelling of the protest city of Homs for days.

Ukrainian boxing star Vitali Klitschko warned Tuesday that a "bloody uprising like in Syria" could start in his home country, which he said is now run by a "totalitarian regime."

A string of blasts rattled the Thai capital Bangkok on Tuesday with Israel pointing the finger at arch-foe Iran, a day after bomb attacks targeted Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden pledged to tackle U.S.-China differences head-on as he welcomed Beijing's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping for talks on Tuesday that could set the tone for relations between the two rival powers over the next decade. Xi's White House visit was the centrepiece of a U.S. trip that …

A senior Jordanian government minister has told Sky News that the radical cleric Abu Qatada will receive a new, fair trial with full rights, if he is extradited to Jordan.

The White House on Tuesday welcomed China's likely next leader Xi Jinping, with President Barack Obama looking to push Beijing on a range of concerns yet also work for smoother future relations.

CAIRO (Reuters) - After a bruising meeting in a five-star Cairo hotel, Arab foreign ministers led by Gulf states hinted to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that unless he halts his violent crackdown, some Arab League members might arm his opponents. The message was folded into Article 9 of a League resolution passed on …

At least six people have died in the besieged Syrian city of Homs after it came under renewed attack by regime forces, according to pro-democracy activists.

Cyclone Giovanna hit Madagascar on Tuesday, pounding the Indian Ocean island with strong winds and heavy rain and killing at least one person, according to officials.

Israel has blamed Iran for three explosions in Thailand after accusing the country of bomb attacks on its diplomats in India and Georgia.

MANAMA (Reuters) - Armoured vehicles patrolled Bahrain's capital Tuesday in a security clampdown to deter protesters after overnight clashes outside Manama on the first anniversary of a forcibly suppressed pro-democracy uprising. Youths flung petrol bombs at police cars during skirmishes before dawn, prompting authorities …

Apple has allowed a labour auditor to inspect its suppliers' Chinese factories after allegations of worker abuse.

PERUGIA, Italy (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the trial of American student Amanda Knox, who was cleared last October of the 2007 murder of British housemate Meredith Kercher, filed a motion Tuesday to appeal against the verdict before Italy's highest court. Prosecutors Giovanni Galati and Giancarlo Costagliola said in their …

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces attacked opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in cities and towns across the country on Tuesday and Arab officials confirmed that regional governments would be ready to arm the resistance if the bloodshed did not cease. The western city of Homs, heart of the uprising against …

ROME (Reuters) - The remarkable success of Prime Minister Mario Monti, feted as a hero both at home and abroad, has created turmoil among Italy's discredited politicians and is likely to provoke radical shifts in the political landscape over the coming year. Some analysts say the impact of Monti will spark a political revolution …

Whitney Houston's funeral will be held at an 18,000-seater arena in New Jersey on Friday, according to reports.

Anti-government protests marking the first anniversary of the Shi'ite-led uprising in Bahrain are expected to escalate.

Iran has denied being behind a bomb attack on an Israeli diplomatic car in India, as police hunt a "very well-trained" assassin.

Two bombs exploded in Nigeria's restive north on Tuesday, killing one policeman in the city of Kaduna, hit hard by a wave of attacks claimed by Boko Haram Islamists, police said.

ROME (Reuters) - Maria Grazia Fera was looking forward to getting back to work after her first child was born. But three months into her maternity leave, her temporary contract as a teacher for the disabled expired and suddenly, her job was gone. More than two years later, the 31-year-old is still out of work and often …

The Vatican is having its own version of the WikiLeaks scandals that have hit the United States, spokesman Federico Lombardi has said following a recent rash of leaks to the Italian press.

A man was killed Tuesday when a bomb exploded as he was planting it in a polling booth in Yemen's southern city of Aden, a security official said, amid rising tension ahead of presidential elections next week.

PARIS (Reuters) - Nicolas Sarkozy is set to formally enter France's 2012 presidential race on Wednesday, kicking off a rapid-fire re-election campaign with the odds stacked in favour of Socialist challenger Francois Hollande. The conservative leader is expected to declare his candidacy on prime time television on Wednesday …

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's top general said on Tuesday that he expects Iran's enemies to decide in the next few months how to deal with a nuclear programme that the United States and Israel have said they might attack. In remarks that come as Russia has been voicing its differences with the West on various issues in the …

A young woman whose body was found decomposing 30ft up in a tree in Australia has finally been identified.

Hollywood actor Sean Penn has weighed into the ongoing Falkland Islands dispute, and taken Argentina's side in the matter.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyans could shy away from the country's first free elections later this year if more is not done to educate them about the vote, wartime rebel prime minister Mahmoud Jibril said. Four months after he stepped down from his post, Jibril said it was premature to talk about his own political ambitions …

HIV activists in India claim a new trade treaty with the European Union will threaten the lives of millions of people around the world who rely on generic medicines for their survival.

A bomb blast that badly wounded an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi was a terrorist attack by a highly-trained operative, the Indian government said Tuesday, as Israel accused Iran of being responsible.

Sudanese warplanes dropped several bombs wounding four soldiers in a contested area claimed by South Sudan, two days after agreeing to a non-aggression pact, Juba's military spokesman said Tuesday.

Passengers aboard a Costa Concordia cruise ship that capsized off Italy last month have amended their US lawsuit to bring additional charges of negligence against the ship's captain and crew.

Hillary Clinton has backed an Arab League plan to end the violence in Syria, but acknowledged it is unlikely that calls for a UN military presence would be met.

New Maldives president Mohamed Waheed pledged on Tuesday to restore "peace and order" as international pressure mounted on him to ease tensions after his predecessor was ousted.

A UN Security Council delegation arrived in Haiti Monday to meet with President Michel Martelly and to assess the work of UN security forces as the country struggles to recover from a massive 2010 earthquake.

A teenage monk set himself on fire to protest China's rule in the nation's southwest, exile groups said Tuesday, as police in Washington arrested Tibet activists during a visit by China's vice president.

The US state of Washington became the seventh in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage when Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law a bill approved last week by lawmakers.

China's Vice President Xi Jinping will Tuesday meet US President Barack Obama in a key early test for Washington's relations with the man on course to lead the Asian power for the next decade.

Syrian troops pounded the protest hub of Homs on Monday, as an Arab League peacekeeping plan for the country went ignored and the UN rights chief said crimes against humanity had probably been committed.

US President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion budget packed with tax hikes on the rich and jobs programs, fleshing out a populist vision that he hopes to ride to a second term.

Radical cleric Abu Qatada has been released from jail and back into the community - as Sky News learned the path appeared to have been cleared for his deportation from the UK.

Islamist cleric Abu Qatada, once described as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, has been released from a British prison on extremely tight bail conditions.

MANDALAY, Myanmar - When officials first turned up demanding Chen Ching-feng remove the Chinese sign above her clothing shop in Myanmar's biggest northern city, she ignored them. "When they came back a few days later and asked why the Chinese was still there, I said I had been busy," the ethnic Chinese resident of Mandalay …

Syrian troops pounded the protest hub of Homs on Monday, as an Arab League peacekeeping plan for the country went ignored and the UN rights chief said crimes against humanity had probably been committed.

Peruvian police said Monday they were preparing to question the Shining Path leader known as "Comrade Artemio" after soldiers captured him in a remote jungle cabin suffering from a serious gunshot wound.