An Afghan migrant has died after being hit by a truck near the French coastal city of Calais.

A BBC reporter, a producer and a cameraman have been detained in North Korea and are being expelled from the country, the BBC has said.

The head of the international body responsible for policing the world’s tax havens that help shelter the rich and powerful last night criticised Panama as a “holdout” state.

African elephant numbers are likely to drop as the high rate of poaching in parts of the continent remained unchanged last year, a study reveals.

US oil prices were steady yesterday, ahead of the first big snowstorm this year in the country’s north-east, while benchmark Brent crude fell after pledges of no policy change by the top oil exporter Saudi Arabia after King Abdullah’s death.

The Australian government has bent to public pressure by proposing a specific prohibition on secret service officers torturing suspected terrorists.

The UN secretary-general said it is his “hope and belief” that his emergency mission to the Middle East will lead to an end to the fighting between Hamas and Israel.

Representatives of some of the world’s biggest corporations and institutions are among Ireland’s most powerful women, according to an awards ceremony organised by the Women’s Executive Network.

Arab foreign ministers have offered the Syrian opposition coalition the country’s seat at the Arab League on condition that it first forms a representative executive council.

Serbian police have banned a Gay Pride march in capital Belgrade – citing security concerns but also complying with a request from the Christian Orthodox church.

Turkey has warned it will respond to any further military action by Syria following the shooting down of one of its jets.

South Sudan's president has today vowed that the nation will not withdraw its troops that this week entered a disputed border region with Sudan.

A FORTNIGHT from today, Mar 1, is the first day of the new public service provision after 8,118 retirements.

Chinese investors are trying to follow the rules when spending money abroad, the head of one of China's biggest private equity firms says, as global leaders increasingly look to the country to prop up the world economy.

Emergency Services in Italy are denying reports that a seventh body has been found amid the wreckage of the Costa Condordia this morning.

A former Cambodian drug tsar has been jailed for life for committing the very crime he was hired to fight.

The Taliban attacked the US Embassy, Nato headquarters and other buildings in the heart of Kabul today while suicide bombers struck police buildings.

Libya's deputy foreign minister accused Nato today of intensifying its bombing campaign and backing foreign mercenaries to lay the groundwork for an advance by rebels trying to topple Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

THE findings of the Moriarty Tribunal have been criticised by a retired senior civil servant for ignoring the sworn evidence of a large group of government officials.

THE “first-come, first served” principle for grant aid has been dropped by the Department of Agriculture for all future schemes.

Thai police said they have tightened security and confiscated mobile phones belonging to the leaders of protests that paralysed Bangkok for weeks.

A MULTI-MILLION euro income stream the country receives from Europe for social projects is in danger because of questions raised about the possible misuse of grants given to Fás.

A Swiss ban on minarets could violate fundamental liberties, Europe’s top human-rights watchdog said in an indication that the heavily criticised vote could be overturned.

Airlines were today ordered to replace hundreds of crucial instruments of the type suspected as a cause of last month’s Air France Airbus crash that killed all 228 on board.

Preparations are in full swing in the run-up to the presidential elections in Afghanistan next month and no effort will be spared to ensure security, said the United Nations.

NATO and Russia agreed to resume military ties today in their first high-level meeting since Russia’s war with Georgia disrupted relations 10 months ago.

The United Nations’ special envoy to Burma is due to visit the country this week to pave the way for a possible visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

THE number of people unemployed throughout the world could rise by up to 25 million by 2010 because of the global financial and economic crisis, secretary-general of the OECD Angel Gurria said yesterday.

Syrian President Bashar Assad questioned how long Arab nations can keep offering Israel a land-for-peace proposal, as the Arab League chief today called for Arabs to meet later this year to evaluate negotiations with Israel.

Kenya’s main opposition party today threatened mass protests within a week if the government fails to begin paving the way for any type of power-sharing government.

HOSPITAL consultants have been warned today is D-day for completion of talks on a new work contract.

The leading US diplomat for Africa is in Kenya today to encourage a peaceful resolution after a disputed presidential election sparked days of deadly riots.

AMNESTY International used the recent International Human Rights Day to draw attention to various terrible and grievous human rights abuses being perpetrated all round the world.

Authorities in Chad said today they were holding seven crew members of a plane contracted to fly more than 100 children out of the impoverished African country, as President Idriss Deby called an attempt by nine French citizens to take the children away to Europe “shocking” and promised punishment for anyone found to have been involved.

The science is clear and the time short, but the political will is lacking to confront global warming, the United Nations secretary-general said today.

A former South African government minister, whose name was synonymous with terror in the apartheid era, pleaded guilty to attempted murder today in a plot to kill a prominent church leader by lacing his clothes with poison.

The Taliban today offered to hold talks with South Korean officials in Afghan government-controlled territory over the fate of 21 hostages if the UN guaranteed the safety of the militant delegation.

LEBANESE troops bombed Islamic militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, as mediators met senior military officials to discuss a possible ceasefire deal that would disarm the al-Qaida-inspired fighters.

A pro-Kremlin youth group today said it would end a blockade of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow, where activists have been protesting for days over the relocation of a statue of a Soviet soldier in the Estonian capital.