Tens of thousands of people marched through downtown Berlin on Saturday to protest a planned trans-Atlantic free trade pact.

Twelve Pacific Rim states have reached the most ambitious trade pact in a generation, aiming to liberalise commerce in 40% of the world’s economy.

Hillary Clinton has called for a new era of shared prosperity in America and told thousands of supporters at a presidential campaign rally that workers can trust her to fight for them.

Ireland have not been the only ones to have changed immeasurably since that March day in Rome two years ago.

A powerful earthquake has struck off the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea.

An earthquake in New Zealand shook loose a giant eagle sculpture promoting The Hobbit movie trilogy and caused other minor damage around the region today.

Consider a couple of scenes from the golf world this year, with emphasis on ‘world’.

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake has hit the Japanese prefecture that is home to the nuclear power plant crippled in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Former British and Irish Lion Austin Healey believes Australia will jump on the loss of Paul O’Connell as a means of overturning the first Test loss and take the series to an all-or-nothing third meeting in Sydney.

Joanna Morgan believes her Britainnia Stakes hero Roca Tumu will handle a step back up in trip following his Royal Ascot success.

A strong aftershock has rattled the Solomon Islands, hampering relief efforts to tsunami-ravaged villages.

Aid workers struggled to reach remote, tsunami-ravaged villages in the Solomon Islands today and the death toll rose to at least nine as more bodies were found in wrecked homes and debris.

A powerful earthquake off the Solomon Islands has generated a tsunami that damaged dozens of homes and reportedly killed several people in the South Pacific island chain.

A strong earthquake has struck the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea.

A strong earthquake has struck the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea.

A strong earthquake registering magnitude 6.1 has shaken northern Japan, reports say.

A strong earthquake has struck Japan, near the nuclear power plant which was hit by a tsunami earlier this year.

AS Japan awoke today to count the potential thousands of people killed by an apocalyptic earthquake and tsunami, engineers were fighting against time to prevent a Chernobyl-type nuclear disaster.

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off Japan’s north-eastern coast today, shaking buildings hundreds of miles away in Tokyo and triggering a small tsunami.

THE US and eight other Pacific Rim nations aim to forge a free-trade pact before President Barack Obama hosts an APEC summit in Hawaii in a year, Chile’s president said yesterday.

US President George W. Bush got a second bloc of world leaders to endorse comprehensive action to remedy the global financial crisis. But his successor, Barack Obama, is already setting the coming economic agenda.

Thousands of anti-government protesters fanned out across Bangkok today, forcing Thailand’s Parliament to shut down and a group of riot police to retreat to their headquarters in what the activists called their final bid to oust a corrupt administration.

The deadline for Europe’s first artificial surf reef along the South Coast was announced today.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the last two tsunami detection buoys have been placed, completing the US tsunami warning network.

Pacific Rim leaders today pledged political will and flexibility to rescue faltering global trade talks after forging an agreement to curb climate change they hope will influence a new global strategy on the problem.

President Bush today urged Asia-Pacific nations to keep up the anti-terror fight, deploying both military might and democratic ideals to turn the tide against extremists.

Members of an Australian TV comedy show, one of them dressed as Osama Bin Laden, drove through two security checkpoints today before being stopped near the Sydney hotel where US President George Bush is staying.

NORTH Korea remains on a list of states that sponsor terrorism, a senior US diplomat said yesterday.

Australia today said it would press ahead with plans to urge Pacific Rim countries to agree that limiting greenhouse gas emissions should be part of a new international pact on global warming.

US president George Bush today urged a tough line in implementing UN sanctions against North Korea for its recent nuclear test at a Pacific Rim summit, where he is also pushing a US-backed proposal for a regional free-trade zone.

US President George Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin sat down today for lunch and informal talks on ongoing nuclear disputes with North Korea and Iran, as the US leader paid an unusual visit to Moscow en route to a summit of Asian leaders.

Mobile phone company Digicel is thriving in the Caribbean and is eyeing further expansion, reports Ian Guider in Port of Spain.

STARBUCKS Corporation has more than 10,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim.

China reported its seventh and eighth bird flu outbreaks in three weeks, as Australia’s foreign minister said today that he will urge Pacific Rim nations to think creatively about how to tackle the threat at a meeting of regional leaders.

Globe-trotting actor and television presenter Michael Palin has decided to put his retirement plans on hold to make another travel show - because he would have spent his free time travelling anyway.

Australia urged calm today over fears about the spread of bird flu as it hosted disaster co-ordinators from Pacific Rim nations to hammer out ways to stop emerging diseases from skipping across the region’s borders.

Australia would consider shutting its borders if bird flu triggered a lethal human pandemic in the region, Australia’s foreign minister said today as disaster co-ordinators from Pacific rim countries gathered in Brisbane to discuss ways to head off such a crisis.

COCA-COLA, the world’s largest soft-drink company, reported a 37% jump in third-quarter profits on healthy sales growth in China, Mexico and other international markets yesterday, sending its shares up 2%.

At least 25,000 protesters opposed to George Bush, the war in Iraq and unfettered capitalism marched through the Chilean capital Santiago just before the American president arrived for a weekend summit of 21 Pacific Rim economies.

British book retailer Borders today opened a new chapter by joining forces with Amazon to launch its first website for UK customers.

Book retailer Borders today unveiled a £18.6m (€28m) deal to take control of stationery-to-greeting cards seller Paperchase.

Asian officials concerned that they pay too much for oil from the volatile Middle East met today to seek ways to cushion the blow of price shocks, and were expected to endorse more stockpiling of petroleum to stabilise their fuel supply.

John Bond, chairman of HSBC Holdings has declined to comment on reports in the British press on Sunday that the bank is in merger talks with Deutsche Bank AG.

SOUTH AFRICA lost their World Cup showdown with England because they failed to back up their ferocious forward power with flair, according to former national coach Nick Mallett.