WORLD

Greece has been pushed ever closer to the harsh reality of default after Wednesday's general strike all but shut the country down. The strikes have closed schools, central and local government offices around the country, while hospitals were operating on skeleton staff. Port and public transport services were disrupted, while a walkout by journalists forced most morning news programming off the air.

Pakistan's top spy agency has arrested five Pakistani informants who assisted the CIA ahead of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Three months into an airstrikes campaign that has mainly targeted Gaddafi's stronghold, Tripoli, and it seems that the military operation has started to take its toll on Nato and its members countries. .

Britain has renewed calls for Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of war crimes after video footage apparently showing the summary execution of naked and bound prisoners was broadcast on UK television, in the documentary Sri Lanka's Killing Field.

George Osbourne is proposing the biggest bank shake up since the 1930's with controversial plans to ring fence retail arms of banks. He is set to face 'formidable opposition' from the banks in what could be one of the most challenging reforms of the banking sector. The Chancellor wants banks to ring fence their retail banking arms to protect the public if their trading and investment arms were to hit serious trouble.

On Tuesday, armed men stormed the provincial council in Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, killing at least eight people in the latest assault on government buildings in Sunni parts of Iraq.

With news of 35 alleged Anonymous members currently being detained by the authorities, many analysts have come to question just how long it will be until LulzSec finds itself in law enforcement agencies firing lines following its high-profile cyber attack on the U.S. Senate.

Lebanon's new Prime Minister Najib Mikati, finally announced on Monday the makeup of the long-delayed government, which include various members and allies of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

The coalition has placed the United Kingdom on a road to austerity. The vaccination debate is sensitive. Primarily the government's first priority should be to keep their people safe and healthy. With defence and health care cuts can they really justify spending extra on international aid? The government may be heading down a thoroughly noble path but is the timing all wrong?

The Russian head of the World Chess Federation said on Tuesday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is open to talks with NATO and the country's rebels.

Despite efforts from the Italian government to delay the referendum, the results of the vote that was held on 12-13 June constituted yet another major setback for Silvio Berlusconi's regime , proving that the Italian people are more than fed up with their leader.

Seven Republican candidates came together on Monday in a debate in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary of the 2012 election. Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum addressed issues ranging from the state of the economy to abortion rights.

When Sarah Palin herself encouraged people to read them, saying they would detail a governor 'hard at work' many believed that there would be more that would tarnish her reputation. Apart from s shady deal with ex BP boss Tony Haywood, there is very little to go on.

The loose-knit hacking collective LulzSec, which is responsible for numerous recent attacks on several big-name games developers including Sony and Nintendo, yesterday released two statements on its website claiming responsibility for successful cyber attacks against the U.S. Senate and Bethesda Softworks.

Greece has become the lowest rated country in the world, falling behind nations such as Jamaica and Grenada after Standard and Poor's cut the country's rating by three notches. Greece now has a credit rating of CCC, down from its rating of B and it is expected to be reduced further. There is now growing frustration in Europe over the efforts being made by the Greek government with a default the most likely outcome.

The hacker group LulzSec, which has claimed responsibility for several high-publicity attacks on Sony, Nintendo and even the NHS, yesterday posted a message on its website claiming responsibility for a new successful cyber attack on the U.S. Senate.

Could the situation in Libya become any more complicated? The conflict which opposes Col Gaddafi to the rebel fighters and Nato is now threatening to turn into a real legal quagmire as all parties are accused to trespassing the law in a way or another

With Spanish police having just arrested three suspected members of the loose-knit hacking collective Anonymous last week, Turkish authorities have reportedly detained a further 32 suspected members of the Anonymous group.

Ed Miliband's has tried to use his speech this afternoon to detract away from the controversies of the last week. It has no doubt been the toughest of week in his short political career with questions over his relationship with David Miliband and his own performance as leader, Ed Miliband was keen to talk about policy and show the Labour Party was standing up for people. The speech was designed to give us an insight into what the future of the Labour Party will look like under his leadership ...

BBC 2 will air 'Choosing to Die' at 9pm on Monday evening sparking widespread condemnation from officials and licence payers. The film 'Choosing to Die' is a documentary about Peter Swedley, a motor neurone suffer who is chosen to take his own life in Switzerland. The film shows the last breath of Peter Swedley before he passes away. The film is designed to highlight the suffering of people with terminal disease and to illustrate the tremendous heart break and strain such diseases pl...

The student behind a hoax blog which claimed to be written by a gay woman in Syria has defended his actions.

The press in Turkey has welcomed the success of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in this weekend's general election.

Following the 6.3-magnitude quake that killed 181 people on Feb. 22, the New Zealand city of Christchurch was struck on Monday by a 5.2-magnitude aftershock before also suffering an hour later, a 6.0 hit, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Other smaller quakes were also recorded. In the central city and nearby suburbs, several buildings were damaged.

A recent comment from an unnamed security expert to Bloomberg has indicated that like the recent attempt on Google's Gmail service, the recently revealed cyber attack on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could have been state sponsored.

According to the BBC, Libyan rebels are now smuggling weapons through Tunisia to fight Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces in western Libya.

The Government and academic institutions have been accused of keeping parents and students in the dark over the 2012 tuition fee increases. From 2012, universities will have the power to charge a maximum of £9,000 for academic courses - a treble in fee increases. When the legislation was passed by parliament last year, students were told they would receive clear information over the rises but the coalition government has been found wanting. One in three teenagers admits knowing little or nothing...

A blog purportedly written by a gay woman in Syria, which described life in Damascus amid the current political unrest, has been revealed to be a hoax.

he Sarah Palin documents that were released to major news corporations on Friday tell story of an Alaskan governor who craved attention from the national and international media. The attention seeking former Alaskan governor quit half way through her four year term because of a drive to sell books and appear on American chat shows rather than serve the people of Alaska who voted for her.

Two powerful aftershocks have hit the New Zealand city of Christchurch, less than four months after an earthquake that killed 181 people.