World

The 27-member Global Governance Group (3G) is challenging the politically and economically powerful G20 not to marginalise the interests of small and medium-sized countries or undermine the United Nations in key decision-making.

Wall Street is well on its way toward recovering from its near-collapse two years ago, but thousands of US properties sit abandoned and boarded up where once families lived.

Expectations are high for the June 22-26 US Social Forum, where activists and auto workers hope the meet will be an opportunity to chart a sustainable future for an industry that provides 1.7 million US jobs.

El Nino, the cyclical weather phenomenon that began last July and August, has been declared over across Asia as weather bureaus from Hong Kong to the Philippines report that sea temperatures have returned to normal.

The quality of refereeing at the World Cup had been a source of relief until June 18, when referee Koman Coulibaly of Mali disallowed a perfectly legitimate goal by the US that would have given it an all-important win over Slovenia.

New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch said on Monday that Zimbabwe has broken its promise to halt physical abuse of diamond miners and should have its international certification frozen.

US politicians on Sunday blasted BP chief Tony Hayward for attending a yacht race complaining bitterly of the energy giant's foot-dragging response to the two-month-old Gulf oil spill.

Israel announced on Sunday it will allow all strictly "civilian" goods into Gaza while preventing certain weapons and dual-use items from entering the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave.

Burma democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is spending her 65th birthday Saturday under house arrest as activists hold protests around the globe and world leaders call for the junta to free her.

Embattled BP boss Tony Hayward handed off the daily management of the Gulf of Mexico spill, as the British energy firm was assailed by its partner for "reckless" conduct.

South African police went on hooligan alert today as tens of thousands of England football fans poured into Cape Town stadium and took over seafront bars for a World Cup showdown with Algeria.

About 70 miners were feared dead in a Colombian coal mine after a fiery explosion ripped through underground shafts overnight during a change of shifts, authorities have said.

Fresh protests by stadium workers erupted Thursday, adding to a sombre tone at the World Cup as Nelson Mandela mourned his great-granddaughter and the host reeled from a stunning defeat.

Israel approved on Thursday a plan to ease its blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after weeks of international pressure, but provided few details on what new goods would be allowed in.

The Obama administration added Iranian individuals and firms to a blacklist, as the United States and Europe tighten the screws on Iran's nuclear program a week after the UN imposed new sanctions.

World Cup organisers faced protests at home and abroad Wednesday as the Netherlands condemned "absurd" arrests over a marketing stunt and thousands of South Africans protested the tournament bill.

BP agreed Wednesday to pay 20 billion dollars into a fund to meet mounting oil spill claims, as US President Barack Obama won key concessions from company bosses in high-stakes talks.

Although nearly a month has passed since the Thai government forcefully ended the Bangkok protests, the conflict persists. Now the Thai authorities and segments of Thai society have opened up a new flank. They are on a collision course with the foreign media.

When two widely-divergent panels launch their probes on the Israeli attack on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, one of the issues under scrutiny would be the legality of forcibly boarding a vessel in international waters.

This April was the hottest April on record, globally, for at least 130 years, according to the worldwide temperature records maintained by NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

President Barack Obama vowed to make BP pay for its "recklessness" in causing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as he used an Oval Office address to call for a new "national mission" to wean America off fossil fuels.

South African police stepped in to take over security at four World Cup venues after new strikes by stewards, including a walk-out hours before Brazil's first match of the tournament.

Drug-related violence in Mexico claimed 43 lives, including 28 prison inmates slain in clashes between rival gangs and 12 police officers killed in an ambush, officials said.

US officials have said Afghanistan has mineral deposits worth at least one trillion dollars and that the vast untapped riches carry the potential to lift the war-ravaged country out of its deep poverty.