NEW YORK, USA - The dollar fell against most major currencies Wednesday, hitting a 15-month low against the euro, after solid earnings from major US companies and a healthier reading on the housing market fueled investors' appetite for currencies linked to higher benchmark interest rates.
UK - Forty-seven dangerous fugitives cannot be named by officials - because of their 'human rights'. They include criminals convicted of child sex offences, murder and rape. All have breached the terms of their licence and should have been returned to prison. They are assessed by officials as being at 'high or very high risk' of committing further criminal offences. But the Ministry of Justice has refused to name them.
UK - Muslim fanatics plan to hijack the royal wedding by burning effigies of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Extremists belonging to the group Muslims Against Crusades were behind the poppy-burning outrage on November 11 last year. According to police, they have now vowed to turn the wedding celebrations into a 'nightmare'. They plan a 'forceful demonstration' with thousands of protesters set to burn the Union Flag, images of the Crown, and the bridal couple.
FINLAND - Will the election of right-wing populists in Finland derail the euro rescue package? A Helsinki veto would indeed be expensive for the rest of the euro zone, particularly for Germany. Experts are also warning that other European countries may follow suit if Finland decides to pull out of the euro bailout.
UNITED NATIONS - United Nations diplomats on Wednesday will set aside pressing issues of international peace and security to devote an entire day debating the rights of "Mother Earth." A bloc of mostly socialist governments lead by Bolivia have put the issue on the General Assembly agenda to discuss the creation of a UN treaty that would grant the same rights found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to Mother Nature.
ALGERIA - Documents given to members of Congress and obtained by Fox News show that Algeria's largest minority group, the Kabyles, who number up to 10 million, will demand on Wednesday that their government hold a referendum on autonomy. This will be followed by planned demonstrations, which some analysts fear could lead to a brutal conflict and possible uprising - if the US doesn't act to bring the sides together and work on a mutually acceptable agreement.
UK - British military officers are set to hit the ground in Libya to bolster rebels fighting tyrant Colonel Gaddafi. The advisors will go into the country's second city of Benghazi - the stronghold of the pro-democracy opposition.
CHINA - China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the United States must take "responsible" measures to protect investors in its debt after Standard & Poor's threatened to lower its credit rating on the United States due to a bulging budget deficit.
USA - Gold futures rose to a record $1,500.50 an ounce as US debt concerns weighed on the dollar, boosting demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver surged to a 1980 high.
USA - The national debt has passed another historical milestone, topping $14.3 trillion for the first time ever, according to data released by the US Treasury late Monday afternoon.
USA - The US has been warned that the credit rating on its government debt could be cut by Standard & Poor's. S&P is concerned that Democrats and Republicans will not be able to agree a plan to reduce the growing US deficit. It has downgraded its outlook from stable to negative for the first time, increasing the likelihood that the rating could be cut within two years.
GUANGZHOU, CHINA - At least 18 people were killed and 155 injured in south China's Guangdong Province as of Monday after hailstorms and strong winds rocked the region, flood control authorities said. Winds as strong as 164 km per hour, accompanied by hail and lashing rain, battered the cities of Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Dongguan on Sunday, a spokesman with the province's flood control headquarters said.
USA - The president of the World Bank has warned that the world is "one shock away from a full-blown crisis". Robert Zoellick cited rising food prices as the main threat to poor nations who risk "losing a generation". He was speaking in Washington at the end of the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
UK - Half of children see parents split by 16 as births outside marriage hit highest level for two centuries. The astonishing speed at which traditional family life has collapsed is laid bare today. Shocking figures reveal that births outside marriage are at their highest level in two centuries and nearly half of children can expect their parents to separate by the time they turn 16.
WASHINGTON, USA - The International Monetary Fund has been pushing Athens behind the scenes to restructure its debt. The organization no longer believes that the current austerity measures and EU bailout will be enough to extract Greece from its fiscal mire.