| France disrupted by pension strikers |
| Some 450,000 anti-government protesters join rallies across France and a national strike causes major disruption, amid rising anger over pension reforms. |
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| Petraeus warns over Koran burning |
| The US commander in Afghanistan warns troops' lives will be at risk if a Florida church goes ahead with its plan to throw copies of the Koran into a bonfire, but the pastor behind the stunt defends it. |
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| Gillard to stay as Australian PM |
| Julia Gillard is to remain as Australia's prime minister after winning the backing of two key independent MPs. |
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| Mozambique bread price climbdown |
| Mozambique says it will reverse the increase in the price of bread that sparked riots last week in which 13 people died. |
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| Iran stands firm on stoning case |
| Foreign powers should stop interfering in the case of an Iranian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning, Iran's foreign ministry says. |
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| ElBaradei eyes Egypt poll boycott |
| Egyptian opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei calls for a boycott of November's parliamentary election, saying it is certain to be rigged. |
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| EU's Barroso laments jobs crisis |
| The European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, highlights unemployment as a major challenge, in his first "state of the union" speech. |
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| Political void 'threatens Iraq' |
| Six months after Iraq's parliamentary elections, a minister warns that the political deadlock is damaging the security situation in the country. |
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| Kabul Bank investors' cash frozen |
| Afghanistan's central bank follows its promise to back Kabul Bank by freezing the assets of leading investors. |
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| Putin weighing up presidency bid |
| Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has indicated he has not ruled out standing for president again at the 2012 elections. |
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| China backs Burma's election plan |
| China urges international support for the Burmese general election planned for later this year, as Burma's leader begins a five-day visit to China. |
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| French church's 'Muslim' gargoyle |
| A Muslim stonemason is immortalised by having his face carved on a gargoyle on the side of the medieval cathedral in Lyon. |
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| Inbred buzzers - rare UK bees under genetic threat |
| Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests. |
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| Flood alert as Hermine hits Texas |
| Tropical Storm Hermine threatens parts of the southern US with flash flooding even as its winds slow as it moves inland, officials say. |
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| Travolta extortion case dismissed |
| Charges against two people accused of trying to extort money from actor John Travolta, following the death of his son in the Bahamas, are dropped. |
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| Guatemala mudslide search halted |
| Teams in Guatemala have to halt the search for bodies following devasting mudslides which have killed at least 45 people. |
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| Mexico begins army shooting probe |
| Mexico's defence ministry launches an inquiry after a man and his teenage son are shot dead at a military checkpoint. |
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| Arrests over Swaziland protests |
| Police in Swaziland arrest about 50 people ahead of protests against sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy, activists say. |
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| Nigeria arrests ex-football heads |
| Four Nigerian former football officials are arrested amid accusations that some $8m (£5m) went missing during the World Cup finals in South Africa. |
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| N Korea accepts flood aid offer |
| North Korea has asked South Korea to send rice, cement and construction equipment after devastating floods, southern officials say. |
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| Christchurch hit by aftershocks |
| Violent aftershocks rattle the New Zealand city of Christchurch following the weekend's powerful earthquake that caused widespread damage. |
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| Greek PM reshuffles his cabinet |
| Greek PM George Papandreou reshuffles his cabinet but leaves the key post of finance minister unchanged as his government battles a debt crisis. |
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| Strike severely disrupts Tube |
| Some services resume on the London Underground following severe disruption on the first morning of a series of 24-hour strikes. |
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| Gunmen kill Iraqi TV presenter |
| Prominent al-Iraqiya TV presenter Riad al-Saray is shot dead in Baghdad by unknown attackers. |
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| Iran 'hampers IAEA investigation' |
| The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has hindered its investigations by repeatedly objecting to its choice of inspectors. |
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| Car bomb targets Pakistan police |
| At least four people have been killed and 13 injured in a bombing near police headquarters in the north-western Pakistani town of Kohat, police say. |
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| UN in fresh Pakistan flood appeal |
| The UN makes a fresh appeal for Pakistan's flood victims as film star Angelina Jolie arrives in the country to highlight their plight. |
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| Police expected to quiz PM's aide |
| The Metropolitan Police are likely to discuss new phone-hacking allegations with Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson, its assistant commissioner says. |
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| Blitz commemorated at St Paul's |
| Pilots, firefighters, nurses and ambulance workers gather 70 years after battling through eight months of bombing raids over Britain's industrial centres. |
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| Key Asian interest rates on hold |
| The cost of borrowing in Australia stays at 4.5% and Japan at near zero amid continuing global economic uncertainty. |
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| US firm buys Realtime Worlds game |
| Part of collapsed computer games firm Realtime Worlds has been bought by an anonymous American company, administrators confirm. |
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| Diamond to be new Barclays chief |
| Bob Diamond is to become chief executive of Barclays, while HSBC chairman Stephen Green steps down to become a government trade minister. |
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| Woods named in US Ryder Cup team |
| World number one Tiger Woods is named in the United States Ryder Cup team to play Europe at Celtic Manor. |
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| Live text - US Open day nine |
| Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters are in US Open quarter-final action, while Rafael Nadal is also plays on day nine at Flushing Meadows. |
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| Capello insists Rooney will play |
| England manager Fabio Capello insists striker Wayne Rooney will play in the Euro 2012 qualifier away to Switzerland on Tuesday. |
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| Carey heads up Booker shortlist |
| Australian author Peter Carey, who has already won the Man Booker prize twice, has made the shortlist for this year's prize. |
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| Rock anthems vanishing from chart |
| Sales of rock singles have dropped 18% in the UK this year, according to figures from the Official Charts Company. |
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| Cowell 'could give up X Factor' |
| The music mogul could ditch next year's X Factor and says he only has a contract with ITV1 for this year's series. |
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| Andrea Bocelli concerts to mark 9/11 |
| Andrea Bocelli is inviting survivors of the attacks on 11 September 2001 in New York to concerts on the Amalfi coast. |
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| Iraq's six-month political stalemate |
| Six months on from the declaration of a hung parliament in Iraq's election, there is still no new government. |
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| India's illegal betting syndicates |
| The role of the gambling syndicates that can make millions from the outcome of a single game has been highlighted by the allegation that three Pakistani cricket players were involved in a betting scam. |
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| Strike over French pension reforms |
| France faces serious disruption in a nationwide strike to fight proposals to raise the retirement age. |
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| Life for Roma expelled from France |
| Nick Thorpe has been visiting some of the families in western Romania, who were sent back from France. |
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| Guatemala landslide rescue hopes fade |
| Guatemalan officials say they have given up hope for dozens of people buried when a landslide engulfed a highway north-west of the capital. |
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| Iran pressured over stoning threat |
| The international community is calling for Iran to reconsider the stoning to death of a woman for adultery. |
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| Clear up begins in parts of Pakistan |
| The BBC's Orla Guerin has returned to the Pakistan town of Nowshera, which was one of the first areas to be hit by the rising waters. |
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| One-minute World News |
| Watch the latest news summary from BBC World News. International news updated 24 hours a day. |
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| How to fix Pakistan |
| Should Islamabad surrender some sovereignty to save the country? |
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| Revolutionary rap |
| Meet the rapper dubbed the 'first lady of Arabic hip hop' |
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| Moral support |
| Families focus on keeping miners mentally strong |
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| Reluctant return |
| Roma angry and disillusioned after being thrown out of France |
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| Unswung 60s |
| What does Mad Men tell us about this most mythologised decade? |
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| Zero tolerance? |
| US Muslims are free but that's not enough, argues Michael Goldfarb |
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| Foreign fall-out |
| Case of condemned female 'adulterer' creating problems abroad for Iran |
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| Hero's welcome? |
| Russia's returning spies will find it difficult to adjust |
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