Naomi Campbell 'to testify against Charles Taylor' AN international court has subpoenaed reluctant supermodel Naomi Campbell to testify this month in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor about a 'blood diamond' he allegedly gave her.  >>Read More ... Sapa-AFP - 1 opinion posted

Gordon Brown to stand down as Labour leader BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced he intends to resign as leader of the Labour Party. >>Read More ... MSN-TZG

Putin brokers gas deal with Ukraine RUSSIA offered on Friday to merge gas giant Gazprom with Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz, to a furious outcry from Ukraine's opposition accusing Moscow of trying to destroy Ukraine's independence. >>Read More ... Reuters

Taliban claims downing US plane A U.S. Air Force aircraft crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing three American troops and a civilian employee. The U.S.-led coalition said it is trying to determine what brought down the CV-22 Osprey. >>Read More ... WSJ

Cardinal defends pope, denounces 'petty gossip' A LEADING cardinal defended Pope Benedict at an unusual address at the pontiff's Easter Sunday Mass, saying the Church would not be intimidated by "petty gossip" about sexual abuse of children by priests.  >>Read More ... Reuters

Israel braces for more diplomatic expulsions ISRAEL, which had hoped a row over the use of forged passports in the killing of a top Hamas militant in Dubai was over, now fears other countries will follow Britain's lead in expelling diplomats. >>Read More ... AFP - 1 opinion posted

Obama signs healthcare bill into law HEALTHCARE reform finally became US law as Barack Obama signed the historic legislation in a White House ceremony  >>Read More ... The Guardian

China will retaliate against US sanctions BEIJING will take retaliatory steps if the United States declares China a currency manipulator and imposes trade sanctions, commerce minister Chen Deming said on Sunday, the latest salvo in a spat over the value of the yuan. >>Read More ... Reuters-tzg

Iran-US relations worsen under Obama TWELVE months ago US President Barack Obama's historic new year message to Iran was meant to usher in a new era between the two arch-foes, but since then the atmosphere has become even more poisoned. >>Read More ... burs-jds/dv-tzg

Missing British boy found safe in Pakistan FIVE-year-old Sahil was snatched from a house in the Punjab region of the country on March 4 after robbers held his family hostage at gunpoint. >>Read More ... Sky News

Mexican gunmen kill US consulate staff GUNMEN in the drug war-plagued Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez killed two Americans and a Mexican linked to the local U.S. consulate, an attack U.S. President Barack Obama said "outraged" him.  >>Read More ... Reuters - 1 opinion posted

Human Rights begin at home. Clean up own backyard China urges U.S. CHINA'S Information Office of the State Council published a report titled "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2009" yesterday. The full text of China's State Council assessment of U.S. human rights violations as published in Xinhuanews  follows: >>Read More ... Xinhua/TZG

Vatican distances Pope from child sex scandals THE Vatican fought attempts to link Pope Benedict XVI to child sex abuse in a counteroffensive on Saturday against widening paedophilia scandals.  >>Read More ... Reuters

US warns Israel over new settlements US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday his government sent a "deeply negative signal" by taking steps that undermined renewed Middle East peace talks. >>Read More ... Reuters

China urges Obama not to politicize yuan THE United States should not make a political issue out of the yuan, a Chinese central banker said on Friday, as the two countries lurched towards a potentially serious clash about Beijing's currency regime. >>Read More ... Reuters - 1 opinion posted

China says relations with US 'disrupted' CHINESE Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Sunday that relations with the United States had been "seriously disrupted," after a rise in friction between the two big powers. >>Read More ... Reuters/TZG

Mexican tops world's rich list, dwarfs Buffet and Gates MEXICAN tycoon Carlos Slim is the world's richest person, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, as the wealth of the world's billionaires grew by 50 percent over the last year, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday. >>Read More ... Reuters

Japan reveals secret nuclear pact with US JAPAN has verified the existence of a secret nuclear pact with the United States that allows US forces to bring nuclear weapons into the country. >>Read More ... PressTV

China pledges to punish Google hackers CHINA has pledged to punish hackers who attacked Google if there is evidence to prove it, but said it has yet to receive any complaint from the world's top search engine.  >>Read More ... Reuters

Al Qaeda American in radical plea AN al Qaeda spokesman who was born in America has called on Muslims serving in the US armed forces to copy the army major who killed 13 people in Fort Hood.  >>Read More ... Sky News

Obama to Offer Aid for Families in State of the Union Address WASHINGTON — President Obama will propose in his State of the Union address a package of modest initiatives intended to help middle-class families, including tax credits for child care, caps on some student loan payments and a requirement that companies let workers save automatically for retirement, senior administration officials said Sunday. >>Read More ...

Obama releases his health care reform proposal  >>Read More ...