Gateway to Global News

David Beckham lauds ‘exceptional’ Wayne Rooney

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:53:07 +0000

David Beckham hailed Wayne Rooney as one of the best players in the world after he fired Manchester United into the Champions League quarter-finals. The England striker scored twice, as he did in the first leg, as United beat AC Milan 4-0 to seal a 7-2 aggregate win. Milan midfielder Beckham said: “Wayne is such an exceptional [...]

Nigerian survivors recall Jos massacre

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:49:08 +0000

Survivors of violence in central Nigeria on Sunday have been telling the BBC what happened. One witness in a village near the city of Jos said he heard his neighbours screaming as they were attacked. Afterwards he saw the bodies of whole families, including women and babies, killed with machetes and burnt. Another man said he had found [...]

Carlos Slim overtakes Bill Gates in world rich list

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:46:44 +0000

Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim has topped Forbes magazine’s billionaire’s list - the first time since 1994 that an American has not led the rankings. Mr Slim’s fortune rose by $18.5bn (£12.4bn) last year to $53.5bn. That beat Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($53bn) into second place, with US investor Warren Buffett ($43bn) third. In 2009 332 names left [...]

Greece hit by third general strike in a month

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:44:17 +0000

Public services and transport in Greece have ground to a halt as workers stage a third general strike in protest at the government’s austerity measures. Flights are grounded, and schools and hospitals closed in the 24-hour walk-out called by the two largest unions. Protesters and police clashed during a march in central Athens, with reports of tear [...]

Peace talks ‘difficult’ for Abbas amid settlement row

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:42:05 +0000

The Palestinian Authority has said indirect talks with Israel will be “very difficult” if more homes are built on occupied land as planned. Israel announced the plan for 1,600 more homes in occupied East Jerusalem shortly before a peace process visit by US Vice-President Joe Biden. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said they had “demanded that the [...]

Brown visits soldiers in Afghanistan amid defence row

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:08:08 +0000

The prime minister has visited British troops in Afghanistan as a row grows over his evidence to the Iraq inquiry. Gordon Brown’s aides told the BBC he rejected criticism from two former Army chiefs that as chancellor he denied pleas to send more equipment to Iraq. No 10 also fiercely denied Conservative claims Mr Brown was using [...]

Iceland holds referendum on Icesave repayment plan

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:04:42 +0000

Icelanders are going to the polls to vote on paying the UK and Netherlands after the collapse of the Icesave bank, with a resounding “no” vote expected. The British and Dutch governments want reimbursement for the 3.8bn euros (£3.4bn; $5.2bn) they paid out in compensation to customers in 2008. Talks between the three countries broke down on [...]

Suzanne Tamim murder convictions overturned by court

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:31:52 +0000

An Egyptian court has ordered the retrial of an Egyptian tycoon who was sentenced to death for killing his Lebanese pop star lover. The court overturned Hisham Talaat Moustafa’s murder conviction on procedural grounds. He was found guilty last May of paying Mohsen el-Sukkary $2m (£1.3m) to kill Suzanne Tamim while she was in Dubai in July [...]

German Islamists convicted over bomb plot

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:21:51 +0000

Four Islamists have been convicted by a court in Germany of plotting to attack US facilities in the country. The men, two of whom were German-born converts to Islam, were given prison sentences of between five and 12 years. The judge said they had dreamed of “mounting a second September 11 2001″ by killing US civilians and [...]

Andrew Lloyd Webber ‘interested’ in buying Abbey Road

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:05:35 +0000

British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has expressed interest in buying the Abbey Road recording studios following reports its future is under threat. Lord Lloyd-Webber, his spokesman said, is “very interested” in buying the historic London studios should record giant EMI put them up for sale. “He thinks it is vital that the studios are saved for the [...]