Pyongyang's streets offer few hints of the momentous events opening today in the city's Mansudae Assembly Hall, where Workers' Party cadres from across the country are convening for a rare meeting to discuss who will succeed the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il. There are no election posters or party-political broadcasts. Last night however, the official media made » Read More
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Switzerland is now governed by a majority of women. But is this a historic moment for the country? The revolution would appear to be only superficial – Switzerland is actually pretty conservative. Two new ministers have been elected to the Swiss federal council: Johann Schneider-Ammann and Simonetta Sommaruga. With these two newcomers, it is now four » Read More
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Families of 33 miners trapped inside a collapsed copper and gold mine in northern Chile since early August have been shown the rescue capsule that authorities hope will eventually bring their loved ones safely to the surface. Crowds waiting outside the San Jose mine near the city of Copiapo on Saturday chanted "Viva Chile!" as » Read More
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The lead singer of rock band The Zutons, who broke a man's nose after his girlfriend was insulted, was convicted of assault today. Dave McCabe, 29, head-butted Peter Appleby during an alcohol-fuelled row outside a nightclub, Liverpool Crown Court was told. McCabe, who wrote the hit song Valerie which was covered by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson, » Read More
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China's premier Wen Jiabao has threatened further retaliation against Japan unless it releases a fishing boat captain, as the maritime dispute between the two countries escalates. Wen is the most senior Chinese leader to comment on the row, which began earlier this month when a Chinese trawler collided with a Japanese patrol ship near disputed islets » Read More
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As first words to a wife who had just returned from six years of hellish captivity in the jungle, they lacked a certain empathy, let alone romance: "Can I still live in your apartment?" Juan Carlos Lecompte, surrounded by weeping and cheering relatives at Bogotá airport, wanted to know if Ingrid Betancourt, the world's most famous » Read More
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A British man has been arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on suspicion of possible involvement in terrorism, Dutch authorities said today. The man, of Somali origin, was held after flying in from Liverpool en route to Entebbe in Uganda. He was detained by Dutch military police while sitting on an aircraft that was ready to depart. The » Read More
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The saga of badgers and tuberculosis in cattle returned to the centre stage of politics yesterday as the Government unveiled proposals to allow farmers to cull badgers in TB hotspots – a complete reversal of the previous government's policy. The announcement from the Conservative Agriculture Minister, Jim Paice, delighted the farming community but left animal welfare » Read More
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President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has rounded fiercely on European critics of his anti-Gypsy campaign and pledged to carry on with a programme of deportations and demolition of Roma camps. He branded criticism of him by the European commission as "outrageous" and "deeply hurtful". The war of words between Brussels and Paris over the legality of the » Read More
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Licence to cull? ... Monty Norman's James Bond theme resembles a 1904 piece by Jean Sibelius. Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features and Michael Nicholson/Corbis A continuation of an occasional series featuring my serendipitous discovery of musical connections, cross-fertilisations and unusual thematic ancestries that centuries of musical history have managed to suppress – until now. This » Read More
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