Latest World News - MSN News UK

Judge named as Greek caretaker PM

2012-05-16T13:33:32

Senior judge Panagiotis Pikramenos has been named Greece's caretaker prime minister and new elections will be held on June 17, according to reports on state TV.

Bosnia hails start of Mladic trial

2012-05-16T13:33:32

Ratko Mladic has gone on trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, 20 years after his troops began ethnically cleansing Bosnian towns and villages of non-Serbs.

Pakistan invited to Nato summit

2012-05-16T13:33:32

Nato has invited Pakistan's president to the upcoming Chicago summit on Afghanistan, the strongest sign yet that Islamabad is ready to reopen its western border to US and Nato military supplies heading to the war in the neighbouring country.

UN team evacuated after Syria blast

2012-05-16T13:33:32

A team of international observers has been evacuated from a tense town in northern Syria the day after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb, a UN spokesman said.

19 killed in al Qaida crackdown

2012-05-16T13:33:32

The latest fighting to uproot al Qaida from southern Yemen has killed 13 militants, as well as four soldiers and two militiamen fighting alongside the army, military officials have said.

Cannes gets the hump with Dictator

2012-05-16T13:33:32

Cannes got the hump with Sacha Baron Cohen as the funnyman staged his latest stunt to promote his new comedy film The Dictator.

Obama urged to cut nuclear arsenal

2012-05-16T13:33:32

An influential panel is calling for an 80% reduction of US nuclear weapons and an elimination of all nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.

World stocks tumble over Greece

2012-05-16T13:33:32

World stocks have dived after a failure by Greece's political leaders to form a coalition government set the stage for new elections next month, keeping Europe's debt crisis centre stage.

Samsung takes Nokia mobile crown

2012-05-16T13:33:32

Nokia has been bumped off the top spot as the world's largest mobile phone company after 14 years at the peak, according to research.

Airbus profits hit by wing problems

2012-05-16T13:33:32

Airbus parent company EADS said its first quarter earnings were hammered by a 158 million euro (£119 million) charge to fix problematic wing parts on its flagship A380 superjumbo.

Haiti to regulate mining industry

2012-05-16T13:15:43

The Haitian government is drafting legislation for the newly emerging mining industry to help this impoverished Caribbean nation reap benefits, the new prime minister said.

Groom sought after bride found dead

2012-05-16T12:44:42

The groom is being sought in the stabbing death of his young bride hours after their marriage - his new wife's body found in a bathtub in the silver sequin cocktail dress she wore at her wedding reception and possibly at the wedding itself, US police said.

OJ Simpson in new bid for freedom

2012-05-16T11:43:15

A new lawyer for OJ Simpson has filed a new attempt to gain his release from Nevada state prison, alleging the former American football star and actor was so badly represented by lawyers in his trial and previous appeals that he deserves a retrial.

Obama teases 'up and comer' Beckham

2012-05-16T11:08:22

David Beckham proved himself a good sport when US President Barack Obama jokingly tackled him about his age and his line of underwear.

Greek deadlock fuels currency fears

2012-05-16T10:59:00

Greece has headed into a month of political uncertainty after power-sharing talks collapsed, triggering new elections that could determine whether the country retains its tenuous position in Europe's currency.

Mladic on trial for 'war crimes'

2012-05-16T07:20:59

Twenty years after Serb forces unleashed a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, their military commander General Ratko Mladic is finally going on trial on charges of masterminding atrocities throughout the country's devastating 1992-95 war.

Merkel and Hollande pledge unity

2012-05-16T07:20:59

German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande say they have agreed to discuss ways to generate economic growth in Europe.

Top Legion priest fathered child

2012-05-16T07:20:59

The Legion of Christ religious order has been hit by the second scandal in a week with the admission that its most well-known priest - a prominent author, lecturer and television personality - had fathered a child.

Greece to go to polls as talks fail

2012-05-16T05:57:52

Greece faces another election within weeks after nine days of talks to form a "unity" government finally collapsed.

Hollande sworn in as French leader

2012-05-15T17:47:36

Francois Hollande has taken over as France's first Socialist president since 1995, running a country worried about Europe's future and pledging to make it a fairer place.

Eurozone economy avoids recession

2012-05-15T17:47:36

Germany's strong export performance helped the economy of the 17 countries that use the euro narrowly avoid a recession in the first quarter of the year, official figures show.

EU in strikes on Somali pirates

2012-05-15T17:47:36

The European Union has said its naval force off the Somali coastline has carried out its first air strikes against pirate targets on shore.

Big guns snap up Facebook shares

2012-05-15T17:47:36

Small investors face a struggle trying to get in on the highly-anticipated Facebook public share offering.

China unhappy over UK Dalai meeting

2012-05-15T17:47:36

China has criticised David Cameron for meeting the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, saying it amounts to support for Tibet's independence from Chinese rule.

Moral campaign halts Gaga concert

2012-05-15T17:47:36

Lady Gaga will have to cancel a sold-out show in Indonesia following protests by Islamic hard-liners and conservative MPs, who said her sexy clothes and dance moves would corrupt the youth.

Strauss-Kahn sues maid for $1m

2012-05-15T17:47:36

Former world finance boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn has made a one million dollar counter-claim against the New York hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault, saying she seriously damaged his reputation with what he calls a bogus allegation.

Crew begins Space Station mission

2012-05-15T16:21:40

A three-man crew has blasted off from a space centre in southern Kazakhstan on board a Russian-made Soyuz craft for a half-year stay at the International Space Station.

Obama chooses jobs as battleground

2012-05-15T12:33:24

President Barack Obama has tried to tarnish Mitt Romney as a corporate titan who got rich by cutting rather than creating jobs, opening a new effort to undercut the likely Republican nominee's claims that his business background is just what America needs in a time of deep economic uncertainty.

Britons die in trekking incidents

2012-05-15T11:55:45

Two Britons have died in separate incidents while holidaying in Gran Canaria - just days after parts of the Canary Islands were issued with heatwave warnings.

US state rejects civil union law

2012-05-15T11:44:34

A last-ditch effort by Colorado's governor to give gay couples rights similar to married couples in the state has failed.

Bloc in sanctions warning to junta

2012-05-15T09:04:49

West Africa's regional bloc has threatened to re-impose sanctions on Mali, saying that the junta's actions "appear clearly designed to disrupt the political transition" after a coup in the West African nation.

Over-consumption 'threatens planet'

2012-05-15T08:48:56

Wildlife populations around the world have declined by 30% in the past four decades in the face of record over-consumption of natural resources, a report has warned.

Palestinian hunger strikes end

2012-05-15T07:26:43

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have agreed to end their weeks-long hunger strike after Israel agreed to improve jail conditions.

Briton stabbed in Vegas sex spa row

2012-05-15T07:26:43

A British tourist is in hospital with life-threatening stab wounds after a dispute at a sex spa, Las Vegas police said.

Merkel shrugs off election setback

2012-05-15T05:36:36

Germany's Angela Merkel has insisted that a bad local election defeat for her party will not weaken her as she grapples with Europe's deepening debt crisis.

Soldiers shot by Afghans named

2012-05-15T05:03:11

Two British servicemen who were shot dead by members of the Afghan police force in Helmand on Saturday have been named by the Ministry of Defence.

Call over Nato's Libya airstrikes

2012-05-15T03:20:15

A human rights organisation has called on Nato to compensate survivors of airstrikes in Libya which it says killed dozens of civilians.

Jackson's clothes to go on tour

2012-05-15T03:20:15

Michael Jackson's glittery gloves, spangled jackets and stage-worn costumes are going on a world tour before being sold to the highest bidder in December.

Dalai Lama warns against despair

2012-05-15T03:20:15

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has warned the British people against feeling "hopeless" and "helpless" in the face of economic difficulties.

Thug's grave may hold kidnap clues

2012-05-14T22:05:42

The body of a mobster has been exhumed in Rome as part of an investigation into the mystery disappearance of the teenage daughter of a Vatican worker almost 30 years ago.

Bank chief leaves after 2bn loss

2012-05-14T21:28:59

One of the highest-placed women on Wall Street, Ina Drew chief investment officer at JPMorgan Chase, will retire, the first casualty of its two billion dollar trading blunder.

Yahoo's 'bogus degree' boss quits

2012-05-14T20:27:30

Yahoo has swept out embattled chief executive Scott Thompson to try to clean up a mess created by an exaggeration about his education that destroyed his credibility as he set out to turn the long-troubled internet company around.

'Iran explosives chamber' drawing

2012-05-14T14:23:57

A drawing based on information from inside an Iranian military site shows an explosives containment chamber of the type needed for nuclear arms-related tests that United Nations inspectors suspect Tehran has conducted.

Headless bodies dumped on highway

2012-05-14T12:57:16

Forty-nine bodies with their heads, hands and feet hacked off have been found dumped on a northern Mexico highway in what appeared to be the latest carnage in the escalating war between Mexico's two dominant drug cartels.

Speedway rider Lee Richardson dies

2012-05-14T11:38:08

Speedway rider Lee Richardson has died following a crash in Poland, his British team have confirmed.

15 killed in Nepal plane crash

2012-05-14T10:30:36

A plane has crashed into a mountain in the Himalayas while trying to land at an airport in northern Nepal, killing 15 people and critically injuring six.

Merkel suffers setback in polls

2012-05-14T08:30:14

Voters in Germany's most populous state have strengthened a centre-left regional government which Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives sought to portray as irresponsibly spendthrift, and inflicted an embarrassingly heavy defeat on the German leader's party, projections have shown.

Five people killed in Georgia flood

2012-05-14T02:56:48

A flood has killed five people in Georgia's capital after torrential rain caused the local river to burst its banks, officials have said.