Fire broke out in the control room of the world’s tallest observation wheel today, trapping 173 people hundreds of feet above the ground for hours and forcing rescuers to lower 10 passengers to safety by rope.

Cancer vaccination programmes should be extended to teenage boys as they contribute to the transmission of the disease, an infectious diseases expert said today.

BURMA needs at least €630 million ($1 billion) over the next three years to put the survivors of Cyclone Nargis back on their feet, a UN-led report said yesterday in the first comprehensive assessment of damage caused by the disaster that killed more than 84,000 people.

A senior figure in Burma's military junta has suggested that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be freed from house arrest in about six months, Singapore's foreign minister said.

A deal may be in the pipeline to allow a US flotilla – and French and British ships in the same situation – to finally join in the relief effort after the devastating Cyclone Nargis.

Protesters ventured out onto the streets of Rangoon today in defiance of a brutal military crackdown by the Burmese regime.

Lincoln 0 Southend 2 (after extra-time)

Conservative leader Michael Howard lost two members of his shadow cabinet today, as senior Tories began jockeying for position in the race to succeed him.

Singapore is proposing an Asia-wide bloc similar to the European Union, saying the region must work together to thrive in an increasingly technological world.