BIRMINGHAM paid the price for Nikola Zigic’s early saved penalty as a narrow defeat in Braga left them facing an uphill battle in their bid to progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League.

The image of the beach resort of Acapulco has taken a new hit from Mexico’s drug violence, with 27 people killed in less than a day, including 14 men whose bodies were found with their heads chopped off at a shopping centre.

Police in Mexico today found the headless bodies of 14 men outside a shopping centre in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.

Venezuelan soldiers moved into privately-owned hotels to help accommodate some of the thousands of people forced from their homes by flooding and mudslides following weeks of torrential rains.

THE future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must support farm incomes and address the issue of price and income volatility while at the same time avoiding market distortions.

FORMER boxing champion Edwin Valero took his own life in his jail cell in Venezuela just hours after he was arrested over his wife’s killing, police said yesterday.

Police and supporters of President Hugo Chavez clashed with students in cities across the country during protests over the government forcing an opposition channel off cable TV.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has warned his side not to think the hard work in their quest to reach the World Cup finals is over, despite continuing their 100% record in Group Five.

MISS VENEZUELA was the fairest of them all once again, winning the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant’s creation.

Miss Venezuela was the fairest of them all once again, winning the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant’s creation.

Experts were today trying to identify the decapitated bodies of 12 men found in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

A VENEZUELAN passenger plane slammed into a steep mountainside in the Andes, killing all 46 people on board, officials said yesterday.

The wreckage of plane carrying 46 people was found today scattered across mountains in western Venezuela. There were feared to be no survivors.

A commercial airliner with 46 people aboard is believed to have crashed in Venezuela after residents reported hearing a thunderous collision in the mountains.

A brace by new Chelsea signing Claudio Pizarro helped Peru twice come from behind to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Copa America after a 2-2 draw with Bolivia.

US President George Bush sent a long-distance message to Congress from the south-east tip of Mexico: The future of US relations south of the border hinges on immigration reform.

BY bus and charter flights, thousands of tourists streamed out of this Caribbean resort city that was pounded by Hurricane Wilma, but thousands more remained stranded yesterday.

Hurricane Emily swept over the Yucatan peninsula early today, snapping whole rows of concrete power lines in half, flooding some streets with knee-deep water and shattering ground-floor windows.

Weather forecasters have predicted Hurricane Emily will hover over Mexico for the next three days bringing strong winds and floods to some of the country's top holidays resorts.