by Biodun Iginla, BBC News, London, UK ------------------------------------------------------------ Presented by Gavin Esler ------------------------------------------------------------ Hi Biodun!!!
Tonight, we examine the impact of the proposed cap on housing benefit.
Despite some Tory and Lib Dem MPs joining opposition calls for it to be dropped, Prime Minister David Cameron has said that the government is sticking to the introduction of a £400 per week limit, insisting in PMQs that it was not fair for working people to see their taxes used to fund homes "they couldn't even dream of".
Jackie Long has been talking to people on the sharp end, who could lose their homes as a result of the changes, and we will be discussing the reform with a panel including Big Issue magazine founder John Bird.
We look ahead to Prime Minister David Cameron's first European Union summiton Thursday.
In the wake of Greece's financial troubles and continued fears of instability in Europe, Germany is leading calls for an amendment to the 2009 Lisbon Treaty to tighten the rules on EU nations' borrowing and to impose tougher budget discipline in future.
What will Britain's position be on such powers shifting to Brussels?
Katty Kay has report on how the big money involved in US elections has become even bigger in the run up to next week's Mid Terms.
And Switzerland's biggest bank UBS wants the lift that country's cap on bonuses. We'll be looking at why a $1m bonus could leave investment bankers struggling to make ends meet.
-- Two Chicago police officers accused Superintendent Jody Weis in a lawsuit of libel for wrongly implicating them in the beating of a teenager.
The suit, filed on behalf of Lynn Meuris and Jason Vanna, charges Weis held a news conference about the incident and published the officers' names in an internal police communication, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.
Weis didn't identify the two officers at the news conference but the lawsuit says Meuris and Vanna were taken to police headquarters where they were escorted past a group of reporters and news cameras.
The two were among six officers and a police sergeant implicated by Weis in the Columbus Day beating of a handcuffed teenager.
Meuris and Vanna were cleared of any wrongdoing after satellite positioning data proved they weren't at the scene, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Attorney Daniel Q. Herbert said his clients want at least $50,000 in damages and an apology from Weis.
by Suzanne Gould, BBC News Analyst, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla
– 55 mins ago
NEW YORK – In the countryside, in the suburbs or even in the leafier districts of New York's outer boroughs, a treehouse would hardly raise an eyebrow. But in a historic Manhattan neighborhood whose residents have included Mark Twain and Eleanor Roosevelt, it raised hackles.
Shortly after Melinda Hackett put up the round, cedar treehouse for her girls in a broad-trunked London Plane tree in her tiny Greenwich Village backyard, a neighbor called about "a structure in rear which is nailed to a tree" and "looks unsafe," with no construction permit posted, according to a complaint filed with the city.
"I got home and the police were at the door," says Hackett, a 49-year-old artist. "Then firefighters came."
After months of legal battles, Hackett triumphed. Her girls' treehouse, apparently unique in one of America's most densely populated areas, can not only stay — it's been granted landmark status.
Though the treehouse is only five years old, Hackett's townhouse is from the 1860s, and she bought it from musician David Byrne of the Talking Heads. The city's Landmarks Perservation Commission decided to grant the treehouse a permit because it's part of a historic landmark district.
Any addition or change on such property requires approval with a permit, and architect Robert Strong filed Hackett's structure under "recreation equipment" allowed in a backyard, according to a city zoning resolution.
It was all much more trouble than Hackett imagined when she moved to Greenwich Village in 2005 from rural upstate New York.
A single mother of three girls, ages 11, 13 and 16, the artist got the idea for her urban respite from a friend who knew two carpenters who had built one on Shelter Island, just off Long Island.
"She said, 'You should have one on your big tree!'" Hackett says.
She decided to spend $5,000 to make up for the freewheeling existence her children had lost in North Salem, 50 miles from New York City.
"I came from the country with three little girls who were used to running around," their mother says. "I wanted them to have an oasis of calm in the city, a private space."
The treehouse was started months after she bought the property on West 12th Street from Byrne, a decade-long resident. In the backyard stands the proud London Plane, stretching high into the sky above the four-story townhouse beneath it.
Carpenters Nick Cohen and Ashley Koral worked on the project on and off for about five months.
"I just told them I like circular things," says Hackett, whose art is filled with circles in vivid colors.
Her ground-floor painting studio has a view of the treehouse — and of a swing made from old firewood that hangs from a branch, next to a bird feeder that attracts cardinals, blue jays and doves.
"It's a beautiful treehouse; it has a beautiful design," says Strong, who helped Hackett unravel the red tape threatening her treehouse. "It's wonderful the way it encompasses the branches; it's completely rounded, flowing much like the tree."
But Hackett's neighbor, who she says "didn't love that I had moved in here with two dogs and three kids," wasn't as appreciative.
Strong at first believed the Department of Buildings would not require a permit "because we couldn't find a niche for it in the building code," the architect says.
But after the anonymous complaint, Hackett was forced to defend herself before the city's Environmental Control Board court, where "none of the judges knew what to do with a treehouse," she says.
Hackett turned to Strong, who said he doesn't know of any other private treehouses in Manhattan — though plenty of houses in less dense areas of the city offer sizeable yards and towering trees suitable for treehouses.
"This is a very rare structure in an urban environment," Strong says.
At the top of a wooden staircase with a rope bannister, under a metal roof and about 10 feet off the ground, is the world Hackett's girls enjoy.
Archie comic books and a sketch pad are strewn around. An old cassette boombox sits on a rickety table near a few chairs and a furry pillow. There's also a copy of the children's book "The Daring Book for Girls," by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz.
On a piece of paper, a child wrote, "Be Very Afraid." On the curved walls are drawn handprints and scribbled words like "Ha ha." Branches of greenery poke through a few windows.
"My kids come up here and have meetings. They use it as a clubhouse," Hackett says. "They plot. They scheme. They gossip."
Another paper reads "No Trespassing." Hackett says she never goes up uninvited, but there are a few rules: "No smoking, no drinking, no swearing."
It took Hackett about six months to defend the right to keep the structure, and it cost about as much as the construction price to settle three violation notices from the Department of Buildings for erecting a structure in a protected district without a permit, plus architect's fees.
In New York, where legal codes address buildings with foundations, plumbing and other construction factors, the ECB judges in June 2006 "scratched their heads, and finally, the case was dismissed," Hackett says.
It was all worth it, she says: "This is the little treehouse that could."
Argentina's former President, Nestor Kirchner, has died after suffering a sudden heart attack, doctors say.Nestor Kirchner took office after a destabilising financial crisis in Argentina
Mr Kirchner, 60, who had been operated on in September for heart problems, died in the southern Argentine city of El Calafate, local media reported.
His wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is the current president of the country.
Mr Kirchner served as president from 2003 to 2007, and was being tipped to stand for election again in 2011.
The couple had faced some criticism within Argentina for appearing to get around presidential term limits by stepping aside for each other.
A lawyer by training, Mr Kirchner served as mayor of Rio Gallegos, his hometown in Argentina's Patagonian south, before becoming governor of the wider region - the oil and gas-rich province of Santa Cruz.
He was elected president after Argentina had seen a series of presidents come and go following a major financial crisis in 2001.
Health issues
Mr Kirchner died with his wife by his side after being admitted to hospital in El Calafate in the early hours of Wednesday morning, reports said.
The Kirchners were a dominant force in Argentine politics
He "passed away due to a sudden death episode," Dr Luis Buonomo said.
There has been no statement from the Argentine presidency, but an official medical bulletin is expected later.
Mr Kirchner had been been dogged by ill health since leaving office in 2007 and had undergone two major operations in 2010 alone.
In February Mr Kirchner had surgery to remove a blockage in his carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain.
He had emergency angioplasty in September, when he complained of numbness in his legs and routine tests revealed a blocked coronary artery.
Since leaving office Mr Kirchner continued to remain politically active despite his health problems.
He had remained a member of the Argentine congress and secretary general of the South American regional grouping, Unasur.
With that role he maintained political influence beyond the borders of Argentina, playing a role in disputes and issues across South America, including in recent civil unrest in Ecuador.
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Mexico's President Felipe Calderon tells the BBC that the US should do more to help tackle the illegal drugs trade that has seen 28,000 deaths in his country.
Manchester United striker Michael Owen tells BBC Radio 5 live he will not be able to play "for a few weeks" because of a hamstring injury suffered in training.
Ministers have accused the Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) of putting lives at risk by calling a strike in London on Bonfire Night. Should everyone have the right to strike?
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A senior adviser to Elizabeth Warren, hired to help start the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is an investor in and, until recently, served as a director of, a company that helps to arrange low-documentation loans for consumers with often-spotty credit histories.
Rajeev V. Date, pictured, a former banker who was hired this month as a senior adviser to Ms. Warren, was an active participant in the debate over the Dodd-Frank Act, the financial regulation bill that created the consumer bureau.
During that time, he also served as a director of Prosper Marketplace Inc., a so-called peer-to-peer lender that operates an online market to match consumers seeking loans with lenders, The New York Times reports. In its first four years of operation, more than 25 percent of the loans it helped arrange went into default, according to the company's financial statements.
CommScope, a maker of telecommunications equipment, said on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell itself to the Carlyle Group for about $3 billion in cash, as private equity firms continue to ramp up their deal-making.
Google is nearing a deal to buy the 111 Eighth Ave. building in Manhattan for a price-tag rumored to be close to $2 billion, The New York Post reported.
OPI Products, the popular nail polish company known for its quirky color names, is in advanced talks to sell itself to a beauty-care company or private-equity firm for as much as $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported.
Electricite de France and Constellation Energy, the Baltimore-based company, announced a deal on Tuesday night under which E.D.F. will buy out Constellation's share of what had been a joint venture, UniStar Nuclear Energy, for $140 million in cash.
Singapore Exchange posted its worst two-day drop in two years after its chief, Mr. Bocker, unveiled an $8 billion takeover of ASX this week. Australian Green party leader Bob Brown said he won't support the bid and Tokyo Stock Exchange warned it will be saddled with losses.
Singapore Exchange and ASX's proposed merger will make it harder for Hong Kong to win offerings by commodity companies and achieve an expansion plan announced this year, the chairman of the Hong Kong bourse said.
Saskatchewan's securities regulator will hearBHP Billiton's challenge to Potash Corp's shareholder rights plan on November 8-9, assuming the Canadian government allows BHP's $39 billion bid to proceed.
The Deal Professor examines the state of play inNovartis's effort to squeeze out minority shareholders of Alcon now that it controls the eye care company.
Airgas, after reporting robust quarterly results on Tuesday, again told its hostile suitor Air Products and Chemicals that its offer of $65.50 was "grossly inadequate."
Banks seem to be dispersing and shuttering their prop trading desks to comply with the Volcker Rule, but they're really just continuing their gambling under another name, Michael Lewis writes.
Deutsche Bank said Wednesday that it had lost money in the third quarter as the costs of acquiring Germany's largest retail bank added to the effects of a slump in stock trading.
The Sheraton Hotel in midtown Manhattan was teeming with pantsuits and red-heeled Louboutins on Monday evening as Deutsche Bank hosted its 16th annual "Women on Wall Street" conference.
The U.S. commodity futures regulator is looking into claims by a trader in London that JPMorgan Chase was involved in manipulative silver trading, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person close to the situation.
In 50 years, Lloyd Blankfein will be 106 years old -- and Goldman Sachs's new bond issue will mature. Goldman is just the latest company to take advantage of low interest rates by issuing long-dated debt.
Todd Combs's hiring lends some clarity the biggest question mark regarding Berkshire Hathaway's inevitable changing of the guard -- who would wind up managing the company's money after Warren Buffett. But questions still remain over the exact make-up of the next generation of Berkshire's management.
J. Christopher Flowers won U.S. approval to buy a two-branch bank in New Jersey, in a rare bank takeover by a private-equity fund manager that may revive a debate about such investors' role in the banking system.
Korea Finance Corp., the country's state-run financier, said it may purchase temporary control of Hynix Semiconductor by forming a private-equity fund should creditors fail to find a capable buyer of the chipmaker.
Dubai World has secured support from all its creditors for a $25 billion debt restructuring plan, a spokesman said on Wednesday, helping to avoid a drawn-out battle with a special tribunal.
Versa Capital Management, the private-equity owner of Polartec, is seeking a buyer for the century-old maker of the Polarfleece material, Bloomberg News reports.
Brit Insurance Holdings, an insurer based in Amsterdam, said Tuesday that its board would recommend a cash takeover offer worth up to $1.4 billion made by the private equity firmsApollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners.
JP Morgan said Wednesday it would acquire a controlling stake in Gavea, a $6 billion hedge fund whose chief is Arminio Fraga, the former head of the central bank of Brazil.
Did David Einhorn turn down Warren E. Buffett? That's the suggestion from Insider Monkey. The blog thinks the Greenlight Capital chief may have been one of the unidentified fund managers to take themselves out of the running to become heir apparent to manage the investments at Berkshire Hathaway.
Hedge funds surpassed their previous high water marks in the third quarter, recouping the losses sustained during the financial crisis, according to a report from Credit Suisse.
The European Union agreed Tuesday after drawn-out negotiations to new rules for hedge funds, having gained the approval of the European Parliament to regulate more thoroughly the 2 trillion euro industry.
I.B.M. said on Tuesday that its board had approved an additional $10 billion in stock buybacks, representing nearly 6 percent of its outstanding shares.
The University of New Hampshire's Center for Venture Research has found that angel investors put much less money into startup deals during the first half of 2010 than they did in 2009, a direct refutation of the widely held notion in Silicon Valley that seed valuations have been rising.
Cloudera, a provider of software that helps with manage large gobs of information, announced Tuesday that it has raised $25 million in its third round of funding to help develop its distribution of the Hadoop software architecture.
Facebook's head of advertising sales is leaving the social networking company to "spend more time with his family and look to new opportunities in the future."
Lenders formally took control of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village on Tuesday, ending a four-year odyssey that put the affordable middle-class enclave at the center of both the biggest real estate deal in history and a major financial debacle.
U.S. companies are hoarding almost $1 trillion in cash, which they are more likely to spend on share repurchases and mergers and acquisitions a the economy stabilizes, rather than expanding their business and hiring new employee, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. futures regulator, laid out a proposal on Tuesday that would give it greater power to combat traders who seek to manipulate prices or defraud investors.
Oracle's chief executive, Larry Ellison, said he can prove that Hewlett-Packard's incoming C.E.O. oversaw a scheme to steal Oracle's software by rival SAP.
The Federal Reserve will not join a group of leading commercial banks in asking the Supreme Court to allow the government to withhold details of emergency loans made to financial companies in 2008.
About to publish a memoir about his major deals in finance, the gray eminence of deal-making is showing some uneasiness about his own industry and its effect on society.Read More»
Special Section Fall 2010
Tests for Buyouts and Banks
DealBook's latest special section takes a look at how private investment firms and public banks find themselves at unusual inflection points in their recovery from the financial crisis.
A blog-within-a-blog that looks at mergers, private equity and corporate governance through a legal lens, written by Steven M. Davidoff, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law and a former lawyer at Shearman & Sterling.
An in-depth look at white-collar crime and litigation, written by Peter J. Henning, a professor at Wayne State University Law School and a former enforcement lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission and prosecutor at the Justice Department.
DealBook’s full coverage of restructuring and bankruptcy news, from companies toiling to stay afloat to their creditors, and the advisers to both. More»
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Check out our growing collection of documents — from hedge fund letters to important court filings — on our page at Scribd. More»
DealBook is a joint production of The New York Times and NYTimes.com, published daily, Monday-Friday, except on U.S. Market holidays and during the last week of the year. Editorial staff: Andrew Ross Sorkin, Michael de la Merced, Liza Klaussmann and Chris V. Nicholson.
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Rescuers in Indonesia are scrambling to reach survivors after a tsunami and a volcanic eruption struck within 24 hours of each other, killing more than one hundred people and leaving hundreds more missing.
France's pension reform bill goes before the lower house Wednesday, a day after the Senate approved the measure raising the retirement age from 60 to 62, amid signs that nationwide strikes and protests against the reform are losing steam.
An Iraqi court sentenced one of Saddam Hussein's most prominent officials, former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz (pictured) to death Tuesday, sparking criticism from family members and a Vatican plea to halt the execution.
Guinea's electoral commission on Tuesday set October 31 as the date for a long-awaited presidential run-off election. The poll has been repeatedly delayed due to logistical concerns and outbreaks of violence between competing factions.
Haiti announced 25 new cholera fatalities on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to nearly 300 as UN officials warned that the outbreak could fester for years in the impoverished nation.
One week after the British government announced a vast austerity plan, official figures for the third quarter show that the UK's economy has grown twice as much as expected but remains slow at 0.8 percent.
In a deal worth 8.2 billion dollars, Singapore's stock exchange (SGX) is to take over its Australia's ASX in a merger that will create one of the world's largest and most diversified financial trading hubs.
As G20 finance ministers meet for talks in South Korea, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged G20 nations with trade surpluses to review their currency regimes and those with deficits to boost savings and exports for the sake of global growth.
Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. said it would recall more than 500,000 vehicles worldwide Friday due to a faulty brake fluid cylinder. The move comes just a day after Toyota announced a safety recall of 1.5 million vehicles for a similar fault.
The whistleblower website WikiLeaks has announced on its Twitter page that a "major announcement" is to be expected on Saturday. Rumour has is that the site will release something concerning the war in Iraq.
This year's Ballon d'Or shortlist is dominated by seven players from Spain's winning World Cup team. No French, English or Italian players made it onto the list.
Côte d'Ivoire produces more than its fair share of the world's top footballers. So many young boys believe they're going to become another Didier Drogba, but few, of course, ever make it to a big European club. But the country produces many world class footballers. At Abijan's Asec football school we find out why.
Paris Saint-Germain squandered a chance to move up the table in France's Ligue 1 as they slumped to a 3-2 home defeat against Auxerre on Sunday. Whilst Marseille moved into second place with a 3-1 win over Lille.
Switzerland's Roger Federer beat Florian Mayer of Germany in straight sets on Sunday to win the Stockholm Open and level with Pete Sampras on 64 career titles.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso moved to the top of the driver's championship on Sunday after winning a chaotic South Korean Grand Prix in which both Red Bull drivers failed to cross the finish line.
Top art dealer Larry Gagosian opened a gallery in Paris this week, calling it a sign the French capital is "reclaiming" its role on the world art scene. The opening came just ahead of the launch of the FIAC contemporary art fair (photo) on Thursday.
At British artist David Hockney’s new exhibit in Paris, iPads and iPhones take the place of canvas. Using the "Brushes" application, which allows users to paint with their fingers, Hockney created a series of colourful landscapes and still lifes.
The US non-profit group TED has awarded 100,000 dollars to the French photography artist known as "JR" for putting a "human face on some of the most critical social issues while redefining how we view, make and display art."
A new exhibit that opened in Berlin on Friday features Nazi memorabilia -- from propaganda posters to Christmas tree ornaments -- to explore the personality cult surrounding Adolf Hitler that enabled him to keep a tight grip on the German nation.
Nelson Mandela never wanted to become South Africa's president and would have preferred a younger person to become the country's first black ruler, according to his memoirs released on Thursday.
In today’s French press review, we focus on the five year anniversary of the riots that took place in the Parisian suburb of Clichy. The death of two boys chased by the police near a power transformer sparked extreme violence in the region. Also in the papers: medical assistance on the internet and the worst US campaign adverts, seven days before the mid-terms.
Finland has just become the first country in the world to make a law aiming to eradicate smoking entirely. The government has introduced a bill which aims to make Finland smoke-free by 2040. On October 1st, the first measures of the so-called Tobacco Act were introduced, making it harder for people under 18 to smoke, and restricting smoking outdoors. And tougher measures are to come. But can Europe follow the lead?
While over 200 countries come together in Japan to work out a road map to stop the extinction of species, ENVIRONMENT looks at the bugs and pests that are gaining in strength and taking over towns. Insecticides have gotten less toxic over the years and some species are profiting, but scientists in France may soon be able to trap them using the laws of attraction.
An accident at an Alumina factory in Hungary smothers three villages with a toxic sludge, leaving 9 dead and scores of others burned and badly injured. HEALTH meets those burned by the alkaline mud which ate deep into their skin. At Budapest’s hospitals doctors still rely on results from Greenpeace to see what metals or toxic materials are present in the mud.
A network of suspected Armenian gangsters used means such as setting up fake medical clinics to try and cheat the government's medical insurance programme out of $163 million, the largest fraud by a criminal enterprise in the programme’s history.
The French Senate approved a pension reform bill on Tuesday, bringing the draft one step closer to law, despite weeks of nationwide protest against the reform. The text will come before the National Assembly on Wednesday for a final vote.
French journalists Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier’s abduction in Afghanistan was initially greeted by a media blackout – for security reasons. Their plight has since moved into the spotlight. But will it help secure their release?
France's Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said Tuesday that oil supplies were gradually returning "to normal", as five of the France's mainland refineries went back to business after going on strike against the government's unpopular reform.
The EU on Monday delegated management of its new global diplomatic corps to Pierre Vimont (pictured), France's ambassador to the US. Vimont, known as the "diplomat's diplomat", will head the European External Action Service as secretary-general.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy outlined his agenda for France's forthcoming presidencies of the G20 and G8 on Saturday at the opening of a summit of French-speaking nations in the Swiss town of Montreux.
The EU on Monday delegated management of its new global diplomatic corps to Pierre Vimont (pictured), France's ambassador to the US. Vimont, known as the "diplomat's diplomat", will head the European External Action Service as secretary-general.
EU foreign ministers have given the bloc's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton (pictured), a mandate "to explore ways to try and progress" relations with Cuba in the wake of Havana's decision to release several political prisoners after talks with Spain.
The EU moved Serbia one step closer to bloc membership on Monday after agreeing to examine Belgrade's bid to join the union, a prerequisite to becoming an official candidate, despite the country's failure to round up former Yugoslavia war criminals.
Authorities in Naples arrested three men on Monday for assaulting police during a protest against landfills in the area. Thousands of people had gathered to call for the Cava Sari dump to be closed and plans for a second one dropped.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy outlined his agenda for France's forthcoming presidencies of the G20 and G8 on Saturday at the opening of a summit of French-speaking nations in the Swiss town of Montreux.
An Iraqi court handed one of Saddam Hussein's most prominent officials, former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz (pictured), the death penalty on Tuesday for the persecution of Islamic parties, state media reported.
Iran has began loading fuel into its first nuclear power plant, state television reported on Tuesday, bringing it closer to producing nuclear energy that Iran says is for peaceful means, but that Western powers fear is for nuclear weapons.
Iraq's highest court ordered the country's parliament to get back to work on Sunday, since sessions stalled after politicians failed to agree on a new government seven months after an inconclusive election.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a press conference in London on Saturday that the publishing of 400,000 classified military documents on the Iraq war was an attempt to reveal the extent of human suffering caused by the conflict.
Bahrain's Shiite opposition picked up 18 out of 40 parliament seats in Saturday's legislative elections, one more than in the previous polls, with nine seats still up for grabs in a second round of voting next week.
Guinea's electoral commission on Tuesday set October 31 as the date for a long-awaited presidential run-off election. The poll has been repeatedly delayed due to logistical concerns and outbreaks of violence between competing factions.
Guinean leaders appealed for calm Saturday amid reports of further clashes between supporters of the two rival candidates in the country's presidential runoff vote, which has been delayed twice due to simmering ethnic tensions.
The former head of state, deposed in a coup in 1999, is preparing his last attempt at a comeback in Ivory Coast: Henri Konan Bedie sees himself as the worthy heir to the “father of the nation”, Felix Houphoet-Boigny.
Mahamadou Danda, Niger's prime minister, told RFI radio on Sunday that all seven hostages, including five French nationals, taken by an al Qaeda affiliate in September are alive and attempts are underway to secure their release.
In an interview with France24.com, a top official of the government of South Sudan insisted that an independent South would protect citizens of all faiths, as it has done since gaining autonomy in 2005.
Ahead of midterm elections next week, US President Barack Obama has been upbeat about the country's economic recovery, promoting his administration’s job creation efforts in an effort to rally support for Democrats to maintain a majority in Congress.
Haiti announced 25 new cholera fatalities on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to nearly 300 as UN officials warned that the outbreak could fester for years in the impoverished nation.
Canadian national Omar Khadr, who was arrested by US forces in Afghanistan at age 15 and held at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, pleaded guilty on Monday to all the war crimes charges against him.
With President Obama’s approval ratings sliding and Republicans looking to capitalise on his weaknesses, polls and pundits are saying the Black vote - so crucial to Obama's victory in 2008 - may not turn out to support Democrats.
Over the weekend, whistleblower website WikiLeaks released some 400,000 classified documents relating to the Iraq war. But this trove, drawn from US soldiers on the ground, seems to have failed to create serious controversy. FRANCE 24 finds out why.
Rescuers in Indonesia are scrambling to reach survivors after a tsunami and a volcanic eruption struck within 24 hours of each other, killing more than one hundred people and leaving hundreds more missing.
Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted three times on Tuesday, prompting authorities to order 19,000 people to evacuate. A three-month-old infant died of breathing difficulties from atmospheric volcanic ash, becoming the first casualty of the eruptions.
At least 108 people were killed and more than 500 are missing after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's west coast on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami. A 2004 tsunami off Sumatra killed 168,000 people in Indonesia.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai acknowledged on Monday that his chief of staff had received money from Iran but said such payments were "transparent" aid from a friendly country. Pentagon files leaked in July suggested that Iran helps fund the Taliban.
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