A state of emergency in New Zealand South Island city of Christchurch has been extended until Wednesday following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Much of the ruined city remains cordoned off on Monday morning, while search and rescue teams assess buildings for damage. The main rail line south of Christchurch has reopened, however, ...

CANBERRA -- A boat carrying 92 asylum seekers has been intercepted near Scott Reef off the North West coast of Western Australia, Border Protection Command said on Monday. Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS Ararat intercepted the boat on Saturday after passengers on board called for help. Border Protection Command said the ...

LONDON -- British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that the new coalition government will announce an emergency budget next month aimed at "significantly reducing" the record government budget deficit. In his first speech since becoming chancellor, Osborne told a news conference that the emergency budget, to be delivered on ...

LONDON -- Several airports in and around London were closed as the latest wave of volcanic ash from Iceland moved southward, aviation authorities said. An airspace ban issued by the British National Air Traffic Service late Sunday affected Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City airports, where flights may resume from 7:00 ...

Stockholm - Team USA was eliminated in the semi finals of the XIV edition of the Hattrick World Cup, losing 2-3 to Greece. On Sunday the team plays the bronze game versus Chile.  The Hattrick World Cup is much like the FIFA World Cup, but it is all taking place in ...

The Pirate Bay logo Popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay was sold yesterday for 60 million ...

(WIKINEWS) -- The Peel P50, a single door, three wheel microcar went on display at New York's Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum. The Peel Engineering Company manufactured 50 to 100 ...

NOVO-OGAREVO (PNA/Itar-Tass) -- The current cost of construction for the APEC summit to be held on Russky Island outside Vladivostok in 2012 is 140 billion roubles, Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said.

GENEVA (PNA/Xinhua) -- Switzerland will soon open negotiations with the United States and other countries on tax accords as part of plans to ease banking secrecy, the official Swissinfo news website reported.

BRUSSELS (PNA/Xinhua) -- The Dutch government plans to spend 6 billion euros (8.1 billion U.S. dollars) in two years on measures to boost the economy, including subsidizing environmentally-friendly houses, encouraging the use of cleaner cars and reducing youth unemployment, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said.

MADRID (PNA/ANTARA) -- Veteran Irish band U2 proved again they are among the megastars of rock when all 90,000 tickets for the Barcelona launch of their new world tour reportedly sold out in just 54 minutes.

By PRASUN SONWALKAR LONDON (PNA/PTI) -- Amidst reports that over 20 Britons trained by militant organizations in Pakistan had returned to the UK, the government today warned that there was a “severe” threat of Britain being attacked by dirty bombs.

VIENNA (PNA/Xinhua) -- The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency failed to elect a new chief after three rounds of voting.

WASHINGTON (PNA/Xinhua) -- Visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Thursday that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency after the dominant position of the currency is under widespread doubt.

CANBERRA (PNA/Xinhua) -- The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said it will consider carefully any requests to boost its presence in Afghanistan after the United States promised to send thousands more troops into the increasingly dangerous war.

MOSCOW (PNA/RIA Novosti) -- Russia’s lower house of parliament approved on Friday in the third and final reading the president’s proposed amendments to increase the presidential and parliamentary terms to six and five years, respectively.

MOSCOW (PNA/RIA Novosti) -- Russia’s lower house of parliament approved on Friday in the third and final reading the president’s proposed amendments to increase the presidential and parliamentary terms to six and five years, respectively.

MOSCOW (PNA/Xinhua) -- Wimbledon champion Venus Williams suffered a shock first round elimination at the Kremlin Cup.

MOSCOW (PNA/RIA Novosti) -- Three minor Russian liberal parties dissolved on Saturday, and will form a Kremlin-backed pro-business party at a founding congress.

STOCKHOLM (PNA/Xinhua) -- The Icelandic government said Sunday it has reached agreement with some European Union members on guarantees for deposits held by foreigners in frozen Icelandic accounts.