Editor's Picks

Fashion event gets big crowd of celebs

World
2010-9-9

AS if a general strike wasn't enough to snarl Paris traffic, a hoard of fashionistas brought it to a crawl as they turned out for the City of Light's ...

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Minister resolute on Quran burning

World
2010-9-9

THE leader of a Florida church said yesterday he was determined to go through with his plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it...

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BP internal report assigns blame for oil explosion

World
2010-9-9

OIL giant BP laid much of the blame for the rig explosion and the massive Gulf of Mexico spill on itself, other companies' workers and a complex series of failures in an internal report released yesterday before a...

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Beaten and abused in 8 years of torment

World
2010-9-9

AN Austrian woman kidnapped at the age of 10 says she was repeatedly beaten, starved and forced to do housework half-naked during more than eight years at the mercy of a man who considered himself an Egyptian god. ...

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Tensions emerge in Aussie coalition

World
2010-9-9

THE first full day of Australia's new minority government revealed tensions yesterday between the deputy prime minister and a kingmaker independent legislator over plans to make mining companies pay more tax. The...

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Blair calls off party to launch his book

World
2010-9-9

A BOOK-LAUNCH party for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at London's top modern art venue has been postponed following a threat by protesters to picket the event. A Blair spokesman said the party, to have...

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FBI: No explosives on LA-bound plane

World
2010-9-9

INVESTIGATORS found no explosives aboard a Los Angeles-bound Thai Airways flight in which a bomb threat was found scrawled on a bathroom mirror, the FBI said yesterday. Airport officials were notified at 7:15pm...

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Afghan customers beaten in bank queue

World
2010-9-9

AFGHAN security forces used batons on unruly customers scrambling to withdraw their savings yesterday from a branch of the graft-hit Kabulbank, the country's biggest private financial institution. Officers from...

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Iran suspends stoning sentence

World
2010-9-9

IRANIAN authorities have suspended the sentence of death by stoning for a woman convicted of adultery, the foreign ministry said yesterday. "The verdict regarding the extramarital affairs has stopped and it's...

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British premier mourns death offather in France

World
2010-9-9

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron's father died in France yesterday after suffering a stroke while on holiday, the leader's office said. Cameron flew to a hospital in Toulon, on the French Riviera, to be at...

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UN admits Congo rapes failure

World
2010-9-9

THE United Nations says that more than 500 systematic rapes were committed by armed combatants in eastern Congo since late July - more than double the number previously reported - and accepted partial responsibility...

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Teachers stay home after two killed

World
2010-9-9

PANICKED teachers in Thailand's restive south stayed home from school yesterday after two teachers were killed in broad daylight amid threats from suspected Muslim insurgents that 20 would die. The Narathiwat...

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Obesity surgery 'could save UK millions'

World
2010-9-8

PROVIDING surgical treatment for people who are morbidly obese could save British taxpayer-funded health services and the wider economy hundreds of millions of pounds a year, leading surgeons said today. In an...

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Mystery eye problem at dairy show caused by cow urine

World
2010-9-8

THE cause of a mystery eye ailment that struck about 50 visitors to a dairy pavilion at an agricultural show in Australia has been traced -- to cow urine. The Royal Adelaide Show had to close its dairy cattle...

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Circus forced to stop live fish regurgitation act

World
2010-9-8

A RUSSIAN circus has been forced to cancel an act in which a woman swallows a live fish and regurgitates it after Australian officials deemed it cruel. The New South Wales (NSW) Department of Industry and Investment...

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John Lennon's killer refused parole for sixth time

World
2010-9-8

JOHN Lennon's killer was denied parole for the sixth time yesterday, three months before the 30th anniversary of the former Beatle's death. The New York State Division of Parole turned down Mark David Chapman's...

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Men seeking to impress on the dance floor, move that body

World
2010-9-8

MEN hoping to impress women on the dance floor now have science to help them. A European study has found that men who move their necks and trunks more to the beat are most likely to attract women. British and...

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Colorado wildfire destroys dozens of buildings

World
2010-9-8

A wind-whipped wildfire sent flames roaring through a rugged canyon in the Colorado foothills, forcing about 3,500 people to flee and destroying dozens of homes - some that belonged to the firefighters themselves,...

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No 'Singlish' please, Singaporeans told

World
2010-9-8

"BORROW me $5 can?" may not be the most graceful way to ask for a few dollars, but it's music to the ears of many Singaporeans. But as Singapore cements its position as a financial services hub and top regional...

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Greek PM shuffles cabinet positions

World
2010-9-8

GREECE'S new cabinet was sworn in yesterday after a late night reshuffle focused on battling the country's debt crisis, with Prime Minister George Papandreou retaining his finance minister but changing other key...