Within 24 hours after its July 2005 release, "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" had sold 6.9 million copies in the United States alone - 287,564 books per hour - making it the fastest selling book in recent history.
Gordon Brown is set to become prime minister, bringing to an end Tony Blair's 10 years in power.
EUobserver reports that the incoming Portuguese Presidency has set aside only three months for negotiation on a new EU treaty.
Conservative leader David Cameron said of Tony Blair: "He's agreed to a transfer of power to Brussels without the permission of the British people. Far from being dead, this Constitution has been resuscitated. This will be remembered as one of the most flagrant breaches of any of the promises he's made."
Former EU Justice Commissioner Antonio Vitorino has questioned the legal basis for the British opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, negotiated by Tony Blair at the EU summit.
CHANGCHUN -- Northeast China's Jilin Province, which has been plagued by drought for nearly a month, has managed to provide drinking water to about 150,000 thirsty people in the rural areas, but more are crying for water.
Heavy rainstorms along with lightning and hail since last week have hit many parts of China, killing nearly 50 people, destroying farmland and sweeping away houses.
Nigeria's main trade unions have called off their four-day-old general strike over a rise in fuel prices after reaching an agreement with the government, both sides have said.
An "in depth" study by a core globalist body and also funded in part by all manner of elitist groups and corporations, including the Rockefellers and the Ford Foundation, has found that the people of the world want a global government with a standing army to police the planet.
President Robert Mugabe's government has ordered prices of basic goods and services be slashed by half to protect Zimbabweans battling with the world's highest inflation rate, official media reported on Tuesday.
MEYERS, Calif. (AP) - California officials declared a state of emergency Monday in the area near Lake Tahoe where firefighters battled a raging forest fire that has destroyed 225 buildings and forced the evacuation of hundreds more.
Super-lasers could help to develop Britain's next generation of nuclear weapons, reports Roger Highfield
It was described as an "exceptional case". A 20-year-old man raped a girl aged 10 and was spared jail. The judge then caused uproar by saying that the young victim had "dressed provocatively".
More than 150,000 pupils have been targeted by school bullies because they are gay, research suggested today.