No image available
/ 27 November 2006
The former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was in the intensive care unit of a Milan hospital on Sunday night after collapsing at a political rally with what was called a minor heart complaint. Berlusconi fell to the floor with his eyes closed, 40 minutes into his closing speech to a rally of young supporters in the Tuscan town of Montecatini Terme.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
A group of Santa Clauses was on strike on one of Vienna’s main shopping avenues on Saturday in honour of "Buy Nothing Day", an international initiative to counter consumerist attitudes ahead of the Christmas season. "Today is Buy Nothing Day; allow yourself a break," 10 Santas, in full garb, told shoppers.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
"In the past you’ve watched soccer … Now experience it!" Words flash across a cellphone screen, introducing viewers to the "soccer experience". Shaky footage shows amateur players passing the ball between themselves. Quick-moving shots capture sky, grass, players and legs — all in head-spinning motion.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
Israel will be prepared to release many Palestinian prisoners, including long-serving inmates, in return for a soldier who militants seized in June, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday. In a major policy speech, Olmert said he was reaching out to the Palestinians for peace.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
A witness at Saddam Hussein’s genocide trial in Baghdad described on Monday how he survived the murder of dozens of villagers by Iraqi forces during the 1988 military campaign against the Kurds. The session resumed after a two-week break with witness Taimor Abdallah Rokhzai telling the court how Kurdish villagers were taken out into the desert and shot by soldiers.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
The New York authorities were scrambling to contain an angry backlash on Sunday after police shot a group of three unarmed black men, killing one of them on his wedding day. The shooting took place after a stag party at a strip club in Queens, a few hours before Sean Bell (23) was due to marry the mother of his two small daughters.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
Israelis and Palestinians have seen truces collapse before. That is why no one wants to call the ceasefire in Gaza a turning point to reviving peace talks. If other hurdles can be crossed such as striking a deal to free an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza and if Palestinian factions can forge a unity government, the weekend truce should be a springboard to substantive contact between the two sides.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
Ghana’s cedi currency will shed four zeros next July, a central bank official said on Monday, and shoppers weary of carrying big bundles of bank notes welcomed the plan. Residents of the West African country complain a combination of low-denomination notes and the low value of the cedi obliges them to carry bags full of tattered currency.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
Dozens of British schools are using creationist instruction packs that teach intelligent design in science classes, the Guardian reported on Monday. The pack, which includes two DVDs and a manual, were sent to every secondary school in Britain on September 18 by a group called Truth in Science.
No image available
/ 27 November 2006
A Chinese company has offered -billion for a 60% stake in Zimbabwe’s struggling state-owned steel firm, according to a report in the government-run Herald newspaper on Monday. The move would be Beijing’s biggest investment yet in the crisis-hit Southern African country.