GORDON BROWN’S crown as leader of the British Labour Party may be crumpled and tarnished but it is still highly coveted.

John Bercow pledged to heal public “anger and disappointment” over the expenses scandal as he was installed as the UK's House of Commons’ 157th Speaker.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was today facing a fight for his political life after James Purnell dramatically quit the cabinet and urged him to stand down for the good of the Labour Party.

MPs were warned yesterday they face “big changes” in their system of pay and expenses as Housing Minister Margaret Beckett became the latest member of the Government to become embroiled in controversy.

BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled his senior ministerial team yesterday, a day after taking power, vowing change after the end of Tony Blair’s decade in power.

Families expelled from the Chagos Islands by the British government to make way for the Diego Garcia US airbase today won their legal battle to return home.

Prosecutors in the UK investigating the case of poisoned Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko will make an announcement today, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has told Iran’s foreign minister that Britain wants Tehran to return the boats and military equipment taken when Iranian naval units seized 15 British sailors and marines in late March.

The sudden release of an Iranian diplomat missing for two months in Iraq raised new hope today that 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran may soon be freed.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary today urged Iran to “peacefully” resolve the crisis over its capture of 15 British military personnel, and said London remains open to dialogue.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said a letter from Iran on the detention of 15 British sailors and marines had done nothing to bring the stand-off over their capture to a close.

Iran’s foreign minister said Britain must admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters in order to resolve a standoff over their capture.

Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tehran last night of a “different phase” if it did not free 15 British military personnel captured in the Gulf four days ago.

The confrontation over Iran’s seizure of 15 British sailors escalated today with Tehran announcing the captured seamen admitted to straying into Iranian territorial waters.

A Foreign Office minister held fresh crisis talks with the Iranian ambassador today in a bid to secure the release of 15 Royal Navy personnel.

Efforts are continuing today to secure the release of 15 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines seized by Iranian patrol boats off the coast of Iraq.

British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett has demanded Iran provide a "full explanation" for the detention of 15 British servicemen seized in Iraqi waters.

Britain was today facing a new diplomatic crisis with Iran after 15 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines were seized at gunpoint by Iranian warships off Iraq.

The government has been in contact with the kidnappers of a European tour group, Ethiopia’s foreign minister said today.

A European tour group that went missing last week is “safe and secure” but being held by unknown kidnappers near the disputed border of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Ethiopia’s foreign minister said today.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett today warned that a failed Iraq would pose as great a risk to international security as Afghanistan when it was controlled by the Taliban.

Gazans rejoiced in the streets to celebrate a Hamas-Fatah power-sharing deal they hope will avert civil war, but Palestinian officials preached patience today, saying implementing the agreement would be a challenge.

The European Union today called on all countries to enforce limited sanctions against Iran that the United Nations security council approved last year in a bid to force Tehran back to the negotiating table to discuss its nuclear program.

Tentative talks between Israel and the Palestinians aimed at restarting the stalled peace process could begin next month, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during meetings in Europe to rally support from British and German leaders.

Senior Russian defense ministry official Vladimir Shamanov said today that more US troops in Iraq “won’t be able to radically change the situation with ensuring peace and security".

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a Mexican environmentalist who was chief of staff to former Secretary-General Kofi Annan to spearhead UN reform efforts and a British diplomat who served as a top adviser to two prime ministers as the UN’s new humanitarian chief.

European Union leaders have agreed to take a tough new line on EU hopefuls - but remained divided today over how to reform the faltering EU constitution before any new expansion of a union that will swell to 27 members in January.

British police investigating the poisoning death of a former KGB agent have officially requested assistance from their Russian counterparts, prosecutors said, as officers arrived in Moscow amid rising diplomatic tensions.

Russia today warned that relations with Britain could be damaged if speculation continued to suggest that they were officially involved in the poison spy case.

Thousands of Hezbollah supporters are entrenched in the heart of Beirut today, starting an open-ended sit-in with a carnival atmosphere intended to pressure the US-backed government of Fuad Saniora into resigning.

In a meeting between British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Britain was given fresh assurances of Moscow’s co-operation into the investigation of the death former Russian agent Mr Litvinenko.

Nepal celebrated the end of a bloody 10-year insurgency by declaring a public holiday today, as the international community hailed the deal under which communist rebels will join an interim government.

British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett today said the international community should be open to discussions with Iran and Syria to help solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and to bolster the reconstruction of Iraq.

Saddam Hussein should not be hanged despite the “horrific acts” he has committed, the Prime Minister of New Zealand said today.

Saddam Hussein’s death sentence was celebrated by some as justice deserved or even divine, but denounced by others as a political ploy before critical US mid-term congressional elections.

Iraq's government has made progress toward taking full charge of the country's security, but no deadline could be imposed for reaching that goal, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said today.

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday urged Labour to focus on the challenges facing the country — not the challengers after his job.

The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the mandate of peacekeepers monitoring a deal that ended a 21-year civil war in southern Sudan.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously today to extend the mandate of UN peacekeepers monitoring a peace deal that ended a 21-year civil war in southern Sudan.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted today that Tehran does not need atomic weapons and he is “at a loss” about what more he can do to prove that.

Coalition forces handed over control of Iraq’s armed forces command to the government today, a move US officials have hailed as a crucial milestone on the country’s difficult road to independence.

Two bombs went off within minutes of each other today in northern Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding 39.

British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett today said that transferring control of Iraq’s security from the US-led coalition to the government was essential.

A lone gunman from the hometown of the killed al-Qaida in Iraq leader opened fire today on Western tourists visiting the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre.