WORLD

The prosecution case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and French presidential hopeful accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, is close to collapse, a report in the New York Times has claimed.

A tiny insect that plays love songs with its penis is the loudest animal on Earth.

After years of repression, intimidation and exploitation, regimes in the Middle East and North Africa became aware they risked being forced out by the people they oppressed.

Virgin strike details set to be announced on Friday 1 July

After allegations first emerged in the French newspaper Le Figaro, France has today confirmed it dropped arms to Berber tribal fighters in the mountains south-west of the capital, Tripoli. "During the operation, the situation for the civilians on the ground worsened. We dropped arms and means of self-defence, mainly ammunition," he told ...

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will arrive in Canada today to begin their first tour since their wedding in the spring. The couple will begin in Ottawa where republican feeling is stronger than in most areas of the country and end in Calgary where they will leave for the U.S. The tour is designed to celebrate the birthday of Canada as well as bring together the monarchy and Canada, a relationship that Britain is taking ever more seriously.

Eight hundred and seventy people were hurt earlier this week when a planned memorial for people killed in Egypt's revolution turned into an angry demonstration against the country's interim military government, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights said Thursday.

Greek police fired teargas and battled masked demonstrators as they attacked the finance ministry on Wednesday after lawmakers passed the first of two austerity bills demanded by international lenders.

The on and off relationship of Alex Louden and Pippa Middleton looks back on after the pair were spotted yesterday at Wimbledon arriving hand in hand. The couple witnessed one of the most dramatic days of this year's championships as Roger Federer collapsed from two sets up to throw a semi-final place away to twelfth seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. The couple stayed after the epic encounter and were clearly in good spirits as they watched Andy Murray cruise into the semi-finals.

France provided weapons, munitions and food to Libyan rebels in the Western Mountains in early June to prevent troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from overrunning the region, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Virgin Atlantic pilots have voted overwhelmingly to strike over a four per cent pay increase. The strike, which has mass support amongst pilots, had a turnout of 94 per cent with 97 per cent voting in favour of industrial action. It is a significant blow to British travellers who will no doubt face holiday chaos this summer. The strike will affect key routes flown by Britain's, including Florida, the Caribbean, the Far East and Australia. The first walk out is expected this July.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday responded to criticism as he assured that that his army and police would be ready to take over from foreign forces as planned despite a brazen assault on one of Kabul's premier hotels that left 19 people dead, including all eight attackers.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will arrive in Canada tomorrow to begin their first tour since their wedding in the spring. The couple will begin in Ottawa where republican feeling is stronger than in most areas of the country and end in Calgary where they will leave for the U.S. The tour is designed to celebrate the birthday of Canada as well as bring together the monarchy and Canada, a relationship that Britain is taking ever more seriously.

Michele Bachmann, who, on Tuesday launched a bid for the 2012 presidential elections, has often been compared to Sarah Palin. Both women are Republicans and both come from the North, both hold deeply conservative values close to their heart and just like Palin a few years ago, Bachmann is not scared to impose herself on the political scene and become, despite a lack of political experience, a serious contender.

Israel sent a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad in recent days, warning him that if he started a war with the Jewish state in order to divert attention from domestic problems, Israel will target him personally, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Tuesday.

For the second time in the report's 10-year history, the United States is included in the State Department's annual report on human trafficking.

Beijing tax authorities are seeking more than £1m in unpaid taxes and fines from the outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who was released last week after nearly three months in detention, one of his close friends has said.

Today, Michelle Bachmann, a Tea Party favourite, formally launched her campaign by announcing she intends to run for presidency in 2012.

Just as the operators of Tokyo Electric Power, better known as Tepco, apologised profusely today during its annual shareholders meeting, tonnes of radioactive water were discovered to have leaked into the ground from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, the latest in a series of leaks at the plant damaged in a March earthquake and tsunami, the country's nuclear watchdog said.

Tokyo Electric Power, better known as Tepco, has been at the centre of Japan's nuclear problems since the deadly earthquake and tsunami in March, as it failed to control a meltdown at its Fukushima nuclear plant.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued arrest warrants for Colonel Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi for crimes against humanity. The court says there is evidences he ordered attacks on civilians during the recent uprising, in which more than 20,000 Libyans are thought to have died so far.

A mother of five from Iowa has emerged as one of the front-runners in the Republican race to take on Barack Obama in next year's US presidential election. So could Michele Bachmann end up in the White House, or is she just a new and more polished version of Sarah Palin?

Israeli army sources told the Jerusalem Post on Monday night that new intelligence information obtained in recent days shows that participants of the flotilla planning to break Israel's sea blockade over the Gaza Strip later this week plan to kill Israeli Defence Forces soldiers who board their ships.

Israel backtracked on Monday on a threat to bar foreign journalists from entering the country for 10 years if they board a new international aid flotilla that plans to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has today issued an arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi over crimes against humanity committed against opponents of his regime.

Officials from Brazil's Indian affairs agency, FUNAI, have confirmed the existence of more than two dozen 'uncontacted' tribes within previously unknown indigenous group in the rugged folds of the western Amazon.

Pakistan has expelled a team of at least 18 military advisers and trainers sent to help with the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, as the fallout from the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden continues to rock relations between Islamabad and its western allies.

An investigation by Amnesty International has failed to find evidence for these human rights violations and in many cases has discredited or cast doubt on them. It also found indications that on several occasions the rebels in Benghazi appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence.

Four top surviving leaders of Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime went on trial before a U.N.-backed court for the first time Monday, facing justice three decades after their movement caused the death of an estimated 1.7 million people.