UNITED NATIONS - Countries that act unilaterally on the world stage undermine the authority of the United Nations and weaken the broad consensus needed to confront global problems, Pope Benedict said on Friday.
BEIJING - Fresh anti-Western protests flared in several Chinese cities Sunday as people vented anger over pro-Tibet demonstrations along the Olympic torch relay. State media appealed for calm in an apparent attempt to dampen the nationalistic fervor.
MECCA - Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) could be replaced by "Mecca Time," if a group of Muslim leaders get their way.
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles is at the leading edge of a U.S. demographic trend, with half of its workforce immigrants, many of them unskilled and speaking little English.
VANCOUVER - All that April snow this weekend was more than surprising - it was also record-setting. The flakes that fell across the Vancouver region Friday night and Saturday represent the latest snowfall ever on record.
USA - Soaring food prices and global grain shortages are bringing new pressures on governments, food companies and consumers to relax their longstanding resistance to genetically engineered crops.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA - Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing.
SYRIA - Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that Hamas is prepared to accept the right of Israel to "live as a neighbour next door in peace".
BEIJING - China has launched an "education" campaign in Tibet it says is designed to undermine support for the Dalai Lama and any separatist sentiment.
SCOTLAND - The shutdown of the Grangemouth oil refinery has started with the closure of a crude oil unit ahead of planned strike action over pensions.
LONDON - The Bank of England has announced details of a plan to help prevent the credit crisis causing more damage to the UK banking system and economy.
U.S.A - Foreclosure filings jumped 57 percent and bank repossessions more than doubled in March from a year earlier as adjustable mortgages increased and more owners lost their homes to lenders.
UNITED KINGDOM - Retail giant Tesco has rung up annual profits of £2.85 billion, despite "challenging" trading conditions and increased competition from rivals.
CHINA - China defended the use of security guards on the Olympic torch relay, described as "thugs" by Lord Coe, chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, after Australia and Japan said they would not be welcome when the flame passed through their countries this month.
LONDON - Millions of people face eviction from their land to satisfy demand unleashed by new rules requiring petrol and diesel from today to include a proportion of plant-based "bio-fuels" according to protesters.