Oil prices extended a week-long slide on Thursday, briefly tumbling below a barrel for the first time in two weeks amid growing concerns an economic slowdown in top consumer the United States would cut global energy demand. US crude settled down 70 cents to ,84 a barrel after falling as low as ,65 earlier in the session
People with a genetic variation that slows down HIV may also be causing a mutation to the Aids syndrome that makes it less potent if transmitted to others, South African researchers said on Friday. The human immunodeficiency virus that causes Aids attacks immune system cells
Osama bin Laden urged Palestinians on Thursday to use ”iron and fire” to end an Israeli blockade of Gaza, in a recording after the Vatican rejected accusations by the al-Qaeda chief of a ”new crusade”. In an audiotape broadcast by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite channel on Thursday, bin Laden urged Muslims to keep up the struggle against US forces in Iraq
The international community must overcome its reluctance to get involved in Somalia and help put an end to abuses there, a special United Nations envoy said on Thursday. ”While more people are talking about Somalia, there is still little action to stop the violence,” Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told the Security Council during a debate on whether to send UN peacekeepers to the East African country.
Gunmen aboard a speedboat attacked a security vessel as it travelled to a major oil industry port in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, killing a Nigerian sailor, security sources said on Thursday. About 15 unknown gunmen attacked the vessel late on Wednesday as it travelled along the Bonny river towards Onne.
Sometimes it pays to have your own wheels. Two teenage suspects in a convenience store robbery in Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto, may have made a clean escape had they thought to bring a getaway car along for the heist. Instead, the men fled the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of money, and then called for a taxi — which showed up with two police officers inside.
A British cash machine became a big hit this week after it started paying out twice as much money as it should. The ATM, outside a supermarket in they city of Hull in northern England, began spewing out double the money on Tuesday afternoon and continued doing so for several hours.
The ACT Brumbies overcame a crippling injury toll to beat the Cheetahs 29-23 in the Super 14 in Canberra on Friday. The Brumbies survived a late fightback from the visitors to chalk up their third win of the season while earning a valuable bonus point to stay in contention for a place in the finals nearing the halfway stage of the competition.
A shoplifter looking to make a quick getaway from a Dutch supermarket after stealing a packet of meat left police a crucial piece of evidence — his 12-year-old son. In his haste the 45-year-old thief made a solo dash to his car, batting away a supermarket worker who had flung himself on the vehicles’ bonnet.
China admitted for the first time that security forces shot at Tibetan protesters, as the military on Friday pursued its crackdown on volatile areas amid fears of mass arrests. The admission comes with Beijing’s Communist rulers trying to put the country’s best face forward in the run-up to the Olympic Games in August.