AUSTRALIA - Pope Benedict XVI has begun a nine-day visit to Australia, where he is due to apologise for decades of sexual abuse of children by priests.
WASHINGTON - Iran's missile test this week did not demonstrate any new capabilities, according to a U.S. official familiar with the intelligence, and the test may not have included one of the longer-range missiles Iran claims was among those launched.
USA - One of the largest US mortgage lenders, the California-based IndyMac Bank, has collapsed amid a growing credit crisis.
JAPAN - There is little consensus on whether the G-8 summit can be seen as a success for the climate.
USA - Water Crisis, Mortgage Fraud, Political Dysfunction, Algae Polluted Beaches, Declining Crops, Failing Public Schools, Foreclosures. Greetings from Florida, where the winters are great!
ENGLAND - Don't believe the Lord Chief Justice any more than the Archbishop of Canterbury, say Stephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi
USA - America is losing its lead in the space race as other countries challenge its dominance on the "final frontier", the head of Nasa has warned.
JAPAN - Every year, the leaders of the Group of 8 meet at some fancy place like the hot springs resort overlooking Lake Toya near here, to debate matters of international importance. And every year, they issue joint communiqués overrun with bureaucratic gobbledygook.
VIENNA - The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned Thursday that oil prices would see an "unlimited" increase in the case of a military conflict involving Iran, because the group's members would be unable to make up the lost production.
NEW YORK/LONDON - More signs emerged on Thursday that the world economy is on the ropes, as spiraling inflation and financial deterioration threaten global growth.
BRUSSELS - Any moves to enhance European military capacity requires co-operation between France and the UK, according to a report published on Wednesday, despite the ambitions of some leaders to develop a strategy to orchestrate autonomous EU operations.
BRUSSELS - The European Parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of raising the number of deputies required to form a political group in the chamber, but critics say the move is a blow to democracy as it will reduce political diversity in the EU assembly.
JAPAN - THREE THINGS make this aspiration by the leaders of the world's "eight richest countries" not just vainglorious grandstanding, but positively dangerous.
UK - The £73 billion cost of decommissioning nuclear power sites could be increased "significantly", the head of an influential committee of MPs has warned.
USA - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.