Strong quake kills 4 in Italy cheese region

2012-05-21T00:37:27Z

A magnitude-6.0 earthquake shook several small towns in northeast Italy, killing four people, knocking down a clock tower and other centuries-old buildings and causing millions in losses to the region known for making Parmesan cheese.

12,500 officers to police London Olympics

2012-05-21T00:36:23Z

Some 12,500 officers will be deployed daily during the Olympic Games in the country's largest ever pre-planned policing operation, according to the Metropolitan force.

Bee Gees star Robin Gibb dies aged 62: family

2012-05-20T23:18:49Z

Robin Gibb, singer with the legendary British band the Bee Gees, died on Sunday aged 62 after a lengthy battle against cancer, his family said.

Pay freeze in 92 percent of London finance jobs - study

2012-05-20T23:11:10Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Pay was frozen in more than nine out of 10 types of investment banking jobs in the City of London financial district over the past year, according to research published on Monday by financial services recruitment firm Astbury Marsden. The research, which looked at 142 different investment banking functions, showed there was no increase in the average basic salary in 92 percent of jobs in the year to end-March. Average pay fell in 3.5 percent of jobs, while 4.2 percent saw an increase in average basic salary. ...

Nationalist wins Serb presidential runoff

2012-05-20T21:46:25Z

Nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic won the Serbian presidency on Sunday, a result that adds to the political turmoil in the Balkan country and could slow down its attempts to join the European Union.

Cameron basks in Chelsea's triumph

2012-05-20T18:45:30Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron savoured Chelsea's win over German club Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Sunday after watching the deciding penalty shootout with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a summit in the United States. "It's not often you get the opportunity to watch a penalty shootout between an English team and a German team and watch the English team win," Cameron told reporters in Chicago before a NATO summit. ...

Tens of thousands greet victorious Chelsea team

2012-05-20T18:22:44Z

Tens of thousands of Chelsea fans gave their team a hero's welcome on Sunday as they made an open-top bus parade through their west London home after their Champions League win over Bayern Munich.

UN. nuclear agency chief heads to Tehran

2012-05-20T21:15:37Z

The head of the U.N. nuclear agency flew to Tehran on Sunday on a delicate mission that — if successful — could finally lift the veil on whether Iran is seeking atomic arms while strengthening the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later in the week.

Torres doubts Chelsea future after 'worst' time

2012-05-20T20:38:51Z

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has cast doubt over his future at the newly-crowned European champions, labelling this past season as the most difficult of his career.

Victim's father regrets death of 'Lockerbie bomber'

2012-05-20T20:23:46Z

The father of a British victim of the Lockerbie bombing said Sunday he regretted the death of the only man convicted of the atrocity and expressed hopes his name would be cleared posthumously.

Lockerbie bombing convict dies in Libya

2012-05-20T20:24:27Z

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people, died on Sunday, almost three years after being freed from jail on compassionate grounds.

Huge crowds greet start of London 2012 torch relay

2012-05-19T19:53:59Z

The Olympic flame was greeted by thousands of cheering spectators as it began its 70-day relay journey around Britain and Ireland on Saturday ahead of the 2012 London Games.

Greeks' crisis is personal as well as political

2012-05-19T23:13:55Z

Like many Greeks left unemployed by their country's economic tailspin, Dimitris Spachos finds it easier to talk about his nation's problems than his own.

Roach rocks England to give Windies hope

2012-05-20T18:42:36Z

Kemar Roach stunned England with a dramatic late burst to give West Indies hope of an improbable victory in the first Test at Lord's on Sunday.

Ennis record runs into unexpected hurdle

2012-05-20T17:59:42Z

British Olympic hope Jessica Ennis saw her new personal best in the 100m hurdles wiped out on Sunday by an embarrassing blunder by officials who forgot to lay out enough barriers.

Cameron calls for euro contingency plans

2012-05-20T17:10:57Z

CAMP ROUND MEADOW, Maryland (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron urged countries on Saturday to put in place strong contingency plans to deal with fallout from the euro zone debt crisis as fears grow that Greece could be forced out of the European single currency. Cameron, speaking at a summit of the Group of Eight major economies, also appeared to hint that the European Central Bank should follow the example of the Bank of England by embarking on an asset purchase program to try to boost the economy. ...

Greeks must choose on euro - Cameron

2012-05-20T17:10:57Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Greek voters have a choice in next month's elections between staying in the euro or leaving, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday, urging the euro zone to put in place strong contingency plans for either eventuality. Cameron, speaking in Chicago before the start of a NATO summit, dismissed talk that the G8 summit that ended on Saturday at Camp David, Maryland, was a failure "because I think it helped to crystallize the thinking of the world's economic leaders and particularly crystallize the thinking of the euro zone members. ...

Powerful quake kills at least 4 in northern Italy

2012-05-20T12:47:37Z

One of the worst quakes to hit northeast Italy in hundreds of years rattled the region around Bologna early Sunday, killing at least four people, collapsing factories and sending residents running out into the streets, emergency services said.

Strong quake kills at least 4 in northern Italy

2012-05-20T15:06:49Z

A strong earthquake shook northeast Italy early Sunday, killing four people, tearing off chunks of church facades and sending panicked residents into the streets. Aftershocks wreaked more havoc in the region, including knocking down a clock tower and injuring a firefighter.

Rocker Pete Doherty plays decadent dandy in Cannes

2012-05-20T15:04:10Z

British rocker Pete Doherty, whose cocaine-snorting and carousing have landed him in jail, on Sunday appeared in his first film role in Cannes as a debauched young man in 19th-century France.

New memorial to Falklands dead unveiled

2012-05-20T13:09:47Z

A new memorial to the Britons who died in the Falklands war between Britain and Argentina in 1982 was unveiled on Sunday, nearly 30 years since the landing of the task force on the islands.

Libyan Lockerbie bomber Megrahi dies

2012-05-20T13:03:44Z

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing over Scotland in which 270 people were killed, died on Sunday, his brother told AFP.

Italy bombing revives memories of dark era

2012-05-20T12:10:56Z

A bomb blast outside a high school in southern Italy that killed a 16-year-old student has revived dark memories of the 70s and 80s, when terrorists, anarchists and organized crime carried out dozens of bloody attacks across the country.

Windies fifth-wicket duo frustrate England

2012-05-20T00:48:48Z

Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels repelled England with a century stand as the West Indies batted through the fourth morning of the first Test at Lord's on Sunday without losing a wicket.

Libyan Lockerbie bomber Megrahi dies

2012-05-20T00:43:24Z

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing in which 270 people were killed, died on Sunday, his brother told AFP.