Crispian Balmer

The nun was beatified in 2003 after the procedure to establish her case for sainthood was started two years after her death instead of the usual five.

Israeli forces say they were met with heavy resistance from Hamas when they pounded multiple sites across the Gaza Strip.

At the first of two funeral services, Israel has paid tribute to Ariel Sharon who is viewed as a hero at home and a war criminal by some others.

Despite him being a man of war, Sharon’s supporters question whether future leaders will have the same clout when it comes to securing peace.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church, and has taken the name Pope Francis I.

Roman Catholic cardinals prayed for divine help, hours before a conclave to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the church.

President Zuma has said the preparations put in place for the 2010 soccer world cup had eased the burden of hosting Afcon for South Africa.

Two explosions struck the heart of Damascus on Saturday, killing at least 27 people in an attack on security installations.

State television in Syria has reported gruesome images from twin bomb attacks on security buildings in the countries capital.

An uncompromising speech in the US by Israel’s prime minister has persuaded the public back home that war with Iran is possible, perhaps even likely.

Palestinian negotiators secretly told Israel it could keep swathes of occupied East Jerusalem, according to leaked documents.

The path to Middle East peace, already strewn with an array of daunting obstacles, has now got one more hurdle to overcome.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders failed in talks on Tuesday to resolve a dispute over settlement building but remain convinced they can reach a deal.

Nicolas Sarkozy is finding it much tougher to deal with Washington than he had anticipated and is recalibrating his policies accordingly.

Gabon’s President Omar Bongo has died after 41 years in power in the Central African country, French media said on Sunday.

Search crews in the Atlantic struggled on Friday to recover wreckage from an Air France flight as hopes dwindled of finding bodies.

Turkey blocked Europe’s candidate to head Nato, souring a summit marking the military alliance’s 60th anniversary.

Resurgent China opened the Olympics on Friday with a burst of fireworks at a spectacular ceremony that celebrated ancient Chinese history.

Sports fans around the world have been swindled by an international internet scam which offered thousands of bogus tickets for the Beijing Games.

Widespread sabotage has damaged France’s high-speed rail network and caused huge delays to services already hit by an eight-day transport strike, a senior executive at the SNCF…