Cuban President Raul Castro has said his government is willing to mend fences with bitter Cold War foe the United States and sit down to discuss anything, as long as it is a conversation between equals.

China agreed to work with the United States on a possible sanctions regime against Iran and Ukraine announced it would give up its weapons-grade enriched uranium as a US-hosted nuclear summit got under way today.

British Foreighn Secretary David Miliband was facing fresh claims today that the US imprisoned terror suspects on British territory.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged soldiers to prepare for a guerrilla-style war against the United States.

US President George Bush used his State of the Union address to signal the US' continued support for “the cause of freedom” in Cuba, Myanmar and Belarus, countries the administration has labelled “outposts of tyranny”.

US president George Bush is hoping to take the sting out of the impending criticism of his Iraq policy with a high-profile invitation to co-operate on vexing domestic problems when he delivers his first State of the Union address to a Democratic-controlled Congress.

A North Korean legislator, on a rare visit to the European Union headquarters, said today that Pyongyang would not be swayed by the international condemnation of North Korea’s nuclear test and would not pay attention to criticism.

China is rapidly extending its military reach, buying more long-range aircraft and weapons that will allow it to compete with the US and potentially pose a threat to other countries in the region, a Pentagon report said yesterday.

A police officer assigned to work undercover after the September 11 attacks has surfaced as a surprise witness at the trial of a Pakistani immigrant accused of plotting to blow up a Manhattan tube station.

The Iranian president said today that his country was not afraid of US military action over its uranium enrichment program, but added that he thought any such strikes were very unlikely.

The US' Homeland Security Department has made the nation only marginally safer than before the 2001 terror attacks that created it, the agency’s former internal watchdog claims in a new book.

China has scrapped plans for a sharp increase in export tariffs meant to restrain a surge in textiles to overseas markets amid a trade dispute with the US and Europe.

The US' top commander in Afghanistan has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to fight Taliban and al-Qaida militants along the border, saying appeasing extremists will only put off an inevitable battle.

British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington has urged the European Commission to "keep its sights high" when open aviation area talks resume next week.

PRESIDENT Charles Taylor, the former warlord blamed for nearly 14 years of bloodshed in Liberia and indicted for war crimes, finally surrendered power to his deputy yesterday.

SECURITY concerns are the only reason for the Aer Lingus decision to no longer cater for children travelling alone, the airline's chief executive said yesterday.