Police probe theft link in French murders
Detectives investigating the savage murder of two French students in London released details on Friday of items stolen from the flat where they were bound stabbed and burned
Sarkozy welcomes Betancourt to Paris
FrenchColombian politician Ingrid Betancourt landed in Paris on Friday to an emotional welcome from President Nicolas Sarkozy who had made her release from captivity in the Colombian jungle a foreign policy priority
Inquiry after SATS exam delay
The government launched an inquiry on Friday after the US company marking 9 million school exam papers for national tests said results would be at least a week late
Legal fight ahead if badger cull rejected
Farmers said on Friday they would launch a legal challenge if the farm ministry rejected as expected next week a badger cull to help tackle bovine tuberculosis in cattle
Mayor launches Routemaster bus design contest
Mayor Boris Johnson launched a 25000pound competition on Friday to design a new bus for London as part of his campaign to bring back the distinctive Routemaster vehicle
Anglican leaders face battle over women bishops
The Church of Englands governing body faces a bruising battle over consecrating women bishops that could spark a mass exit from the Anglican Church by disgruntled traditionalists
British Muslims feel like Jews of Europe
Muslims in Britain feel like aliens in their own society and say they are targeted like the Jews of Europe the countrys first Muslim government minister said
Churches need to be aware of domestic violence says ecumenical body
German churches experience with the issue of domestic violence will play an important role in a Peace Declaration of the World Council of Churches planned for 2011 said Georges Lemopoulos deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches WCC
UN needs new vision of development says Progressio
The worlds most critical environmental and social problems will only be solved by a new vision of development declared Catholic agency Progressios Head of Advocacy Joanne Green at a summit meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council ECOSOC in New York on Wednesday
OM Himalaya hike to raise funds for Dalit children
A team of 20 volunteers with Operation Mobilisation will scale the heights of the Himalayas this autumn to raise funds for some of Indias most oppressed and vulnerable people Dalit children
Households worse off than 2003
The average household is now 15 percent worse off than it was five years ago according to Ernst Youngs Annual Discretionary Income Study released on Friday
Top judge sees mediation role for Sharia
Islamic Sharia law could have a role in mediation in England but the country will never have Islamic courts that can impose their own judgments the top judge said on Thursday
Three due in court over Kinsella murder
Three teenagers are to appear in court on Friday charged with the murder of Ben Kinsella the 16yearold stabbed to death in north London last weekend police said
Obama sparks controversy with Iraq comments
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waded into controversy on Thursday over his plans to withdraw US combat troops from Iraq first saying he might refine his views but later declaring his stance had remained unchanged for more than a year
Oil pauses near record over 145
Oil took a breather above 145 a barrel on Friday a day after tensions between Iran and Israel prompted traders to stock up on oil ahead of the Independence Day long weekend sending futures to an alltime peak
US transgender man gives birth
Thomas Beatie who was born a woman but after surgery and hormone treatment lives as a man has given birth to a girl at an Oregon hospital People magazine reported on Thursday
Top intelligence official falls into coma
Britains top intelligence official is in a coma in a London hospital after collapsing at home police and his office said on Friday
Biofuels blamed for food price crisis
Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75 percent far more than previously estimated according to a confidential World Bank report published in a London newspaper on Friday
Luxury chocolate sales booming
Consumers are spending more on chocolate with sales of luxury boxes booming and those of healthier dark chocolate nearly doubling according to a study published on Friday
London mayor to probe allegations against deputy
London mayor Boris Johnson launched an investigation on Thursday into allegations of sexual and financial misconduct against his deputy the mayors toughest political challenge since his election in May
Greg Laurie From lost boy to Jesus freak
Once a lost boy and now a wellknown evangelist Greg Laurie is letting millions of people into the journey of his personal life much of which he did not want to revisit
Betancourt reunited with children
Exhostage Ingrid Betancourt rescued from leftist rebels in a stunning Colombian military operation after six years in captivity was reunited with her children on Thursday
Hitler wax figure unveiled in Berlin amid criticism
Berlins new waxwork museum on Thursday unveiled a figure of a glumlooking Adolf Hitler in a mock bunker during the last days of his life an exhibit that has been criticized as in bad taste
House arrest for Qaeda suspect
An Algerian suspected of links to Osama bin Laden and bomb plots in the United States and France has been freed from prison after more than seven years but placed under house arrest while he fights deportation
At 60 the NHS needs reality check
The National Health Service is famous for being free at the point of need but analysts say that if the 60yearold NHS is to serve an ageing and expanding population the reality of its cost must be accepted
Brazil Indians seek popes support in land battle
Brazilian Indians locked in a land dispute in the Amazon met Pope Benedict at the Vatican on Wednesday to enlist Church support in their efforts to defend their threeyearold reservation
Sunni infidels edict may derail Saudi interfaith efforts
Shiite Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia have criticised a religious edict from Sunni Muslim counterparts branding them infidels a statement some say is a swipe at King Abdullahs interfaith dialogue efforts
Shares tumble worldwide on Super Thursday
A global selloff knocked world shares to a fivemonth low on Thursday as surging oil fanned concerns about inflation and slowing growth ahead of an expected euro zone interest rate hike and a key US jobs report
Colombia tricks rebels in hostage rescue
Colombian troops tricked rebels into freeing politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans in a bold but bloodless jungle rescue that dealt a severe blow to Latin Americas oldest leftwing insurgency
French students murdered and set alight
Two French DNA research students were tied up repeatedly stabbed and left in a burning flat in an attack described by one senior detective on Thursday as the most shocking he had ever seen
Britain signs deal for biggestever warships
Defence chiefs signed a three billion pound contract on Thursday to build two aircraft carriers that will be the biggest warships in the Royal Navys history the government said
Christian group concerned over humanpig embryo licence
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authoritys decision to grant a licence for the creation of humanpig hybrids is a foretaste of things to come warns the Christian Legal Centre