Home / bbc.co.uk rss archive / September-07-2007


Pavarotti funeral 'a state event'
Celebrities, politicians and thousands of fans will attend the funeral of Italian singer Luciano Pavarotti.

Climate tops Apec summit agenda
Australian PM John Howard puts climate change top of the agenda at a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.

US mortgage lender slashes jobs
Countrywide, the biggest US mortgage lender, will cut up to 20% of its staff, as business slumps.

Two acquitted over Katrina deaths
The owners of a New Orleans nursing home are acquitted over the deaths of 35 patients in Hurricane Katrina.

S Leone poised for run-off poll
Voters in Sierra Leone go to the polls on Saturday in the decisive second round of a close presidential election.

Rabies 'could be gone' in decade
Rabies could be eradicated from the world within a decade, according to Edinburgh University experts.

Mobile phone technology turns 20
The international agreement that gave birth to mobile networks is 20 years old this weekend.

Guantanamo medics 'fail patients'
US military doctors accused of ignoring abuse at Guantanamo bay, in a letter published in a British medical journal.

Dental students 'will shun NHS'
Almost one in five dental students plans to shun NHS work completely, research suggests.

Tennis: Henin sees off Venus
Justine Henin beats Venus Williams to set up a US Open final against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Iran faces $2.65bn US bomb award
A US judge orders Iran to pay $2.65bn to families of marines killed by a 1983 suicide bomb in Beirut.

Polish MPs choose early election
The Polish parliament votes to dissolve itself and call a general election, two years ahead of schedule.

Live - France 3-6 Argentina
Hosts France open the Rugby World Cup against dark horses Argentina at the Stade de France.

US Church agrees sex abuse payout
The Roman Catholic Church in San Diego agrees to pay $198m to settle 144 claims of sexual abuse by clergy.

Jamaica confirms opposition win
Jamaica's electoral authorities confirm that the opposition Labour Party has won the general election.

Noriega extradition bid rejected
A US judge rules ex-Panama President Manuel Noriega can be extradited to France on laundering charges.

'SAS man' killed in central Iraq
A Parachute Regiment soldier, serving with the Special Air Service has been killed while on a mission in Iraq.

Hindus upset over ban on holy dot
A senior Indian civil servant faces suspension for wearing the Hindu red mark - the tilak - on his forehead at work.

Mandelson warns on referendum
Peter Mandelson warns MPs not to get drawn into an Eurosceptic agenda by supporting an EU Treaty referendum.

Sweden acts to cool cartoon row
Sweden's prime minister meets Muslim envoys in an effort to defuse a row about a Prophet Muhammad cartoon.

Grenade at Burundi wedding party
A grenade explodes at an engagement party in Burundi, killing 16 people, including the couple to be married.

France v Argentina
Argentina switch Stade Francais star Juan Martin Hernandez to fly-half for Friday's World Cup opener against hosts France.

Polish MPs to vote on early polls
Polish MPs are to vote shortly on a motion whether to dissolve parliament and hold elections two years early.

US analysing 'new Bin Laden tape'
The US government has received a new video tape purportedly showing Osama Bin Laden, officials say.

New rocket crash alarms Kazakhs
Kazakhstan probes another crash of a Russian-built rocket, which was carrying highly toxic fuel.

Tuareg rebels seize Niger troops
At least six soldiers are captured by Tuareg rebels in Niger's uranium-rich northern Agadez region.

Hometown mourns Pavarotti
Thousands of mourners file past the open coffin of tenor Luciano Pavarotti in his home town of Modena, Italy.

Pakistan 'prostitutes' beheaded
Suspected Islamic militants in north-west Pakistan behead two women they accused of being prostitutes, police say.

Russia in Australia uranium deal
Australia is to sell uranium to Russia as long as the substance, used to generate nuclear power, is not resold to Iran.

Police 'suspect Madeleine mother'
Portuguese police believe the mother of missing Madeleine McCann is involved in her death, a family spokeswoman says.

Gainsbourg 'no longer in danger'
Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg will leave intensive care "in the coming days" after brain surgery, her clinic says.

Gaza outdoor prayer ban enforced
Hamas security forces go out in force to prevent Fatah supporters defying a ban on outdoor prayers in Gaza.

US jobs data shows surprise fall
US firmss have cut back on the total number of staff employed for the first time in four years, official data shows.

Chinese woman's 'needle ordeal'
Doctors find 26 needles in a woman's body, believed to have been inserted by relatives upset she was not a boy.

US backing for two-tier internet
The US Justice Department has said that internet service providers should be allowed to charge for priority traffic.

Struggle to aid fleeing Congolese
Aid workers in eastern DR Congo struggle to cope with a surge of people fleeing recent fighting.

Government backs Trust on iPlayer
The government has responded to calls to make the BBC's iPlayer work on computers that do not run Windows.

Branson reserve in SA land claim
A luxury game lodge owned by Sir Richard Branson is at the centre of a land restitution claim in South Africa.

Petraeus mulls Iraq troop pullout
The top US commander in Iraq considers cutting troop numbers by about 4,000, media reports say.

Saudis freed from Guantanamo
Sixteen Saudi prisoners arrive in Riyadh after being released from the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.

MPs push for EU treaty vote
A cross-party campaign presses Prime Minister Gordon Brown to hold a referendum on the new EU Treaty.

Seven US soldiers killed in Iraq
The US military says four troops were killed in Anbar province and three in Nineveh province on Thursday.

Anger as Kenya MPs get huge bonus
Kenyan MPs vote to give themselves a $22,000 bonus each, despite public condemnation.

Greenspan points to market 'fear'
Current financial turmoil is similar to that seen in earlier stock market crashes, former Federal Reserve boss Alan Greenspan warns.

Pakistan 'releases UK national'
A British national held in detention in Pakistan without charge for more than a year is released, Human Rights Watch says.

Spain finds 10 migrants' bodies
The bodies of 10 migrants from West Africa are found off the coast of Gran Canaria after their boat capsized.

Spears 'comeback' for MTV awards
Britney Spears is to make her first major public performance in three years at the MTV Video Music Awards.

MP3 users risking hearing damage
Most young people who regularly use MP3 players face premature hearing damage, a charity warns.

Extra police for S Leone election
Security is tightened ahead of Sierra Leone's presidential run-off on Saturday, following campaign violence.

World Cup ready for big kick-off
The fifth Rugby World Cup gets under way at 2000 BST on Friday when hosts France take on Argentina in Paris.

Rescuers widen hunt for Fossett
Rescuers scouring the Nevada desert for missing US adventurer Steve Fossett widen their search area.

Order for Sharif brother arrest
A Pakistani court orders the arrest of former PM Nawaz Sharif's brother ahead of their expected return next week.

Rugby: Sella tips France for glory
France legend Philippe Sella believes the hosts can win the Rugby World Cup on home soil - if they beat Argentina.

Shoaib sent home after Asif row
Pakistan dismiss Shoaib Akhtar from their World Twenty20 squad after a bust-up with Mohammad Asif.

Injured Burmese activist released
Burma frees a protester who was injured during arrest, in an apparently conciliatory gesture, activists say.

Sydney 'ring of steel' breached
A crew from a TV comedy show, one dressed as Osama Bin Laden, breaches Sydney's tight security for Apec.

'No evidence' to convict Spector
The defence in the US murder trial of Phil Spector urges jurors to acquit the producer in closing arguments.

Zimbabwe currency devalued
Zimbabwe devalues its currency as part of its battle to tackle its deepening economic crisis.

Madeleine mother 'to be suspect'
Kate McCann, mother of missing four-year-old Madeleine, will be declared a suspect, the BBC has learned

Austria prepares to welcome Pope
Pope Benedict is due to visit Austria, where he will join Jewish leaders to pay tribute to victims of the Nazis.