Iran nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri 'defects to US'

An Iranian nuclear scientist who has been missing since June has defected to the US, according to a US media report.ABC News said Shahram Amiri had been resettled in the US and was helping the CIA in its efforts to block Iran's nuclear programme....

read more...

Kapoor designs 2012 Orbit tower

A spiralling sculpture designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor has been chosen as the monument to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games.The 115m tall piece, named the ArcelorMittal Orbit, will be placed in the Olympic Park and will be 22m higher than New York's Statue of Liberty. The £19.1m design incorporates the five Olympic rings...

read more...

BT flood knocks out broadband and phone services

A major flood at a BT exchange in Paddington, London has affected broadband and telephone services across the UK.In a statement BT said it could not predict when either service would be restored. "Tens of thousands" of customers have been affected,...

read more...

Meningitis vaccine gives travellers immunity

A new meningitis vaccine which protects against four major strains of the disease is available in Europe for the first time.The vaccine, called Menveo, is likely to be used as a travel vaccine to protect people from contracting meningitis in sub-Saharan...

read more...

Breast cancer screening does 'more good than harm'

Breast cancer screening does more good than harm, with any over-treatment justified by the number of lives saved, a study of 80,000 women has concluded.Mammograms can spot dangerous tumours, but might also detect lumps that are essentially harmless,...

read more...

Eurozone unemployment rate rises to 10%

The unemployment rate across the 16-nation eurozone hit 10% in February, the first time it has reached double figures since the euro was introduced.The jobless figures, from the Eurostat agency, showed large variations between nations in the eurozone....

read more...

Pakistan to ask Switzerland to reopen Zardari cases

Pakistan's anti-corruption agency is to ask Switzerland to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Zardari.The move came after Pakistan's Supreme Court said it would jail the head of the agency if he did not take action. Mr Zardari and his...

read more...

Afghanistan bombing kills 13 in busy Helmand market

A bomb explosion in a crowded village market in the south Afghan province of Helmand has killed at least 13 people and injured 45.The attack in Babaji, near Lashkar Gah, apparently targeted farmers collecting free seeds under an anti-opium drive....

read more...

Call to bar Iraq election winners 'connected to Saddam'

Six of the winning candidates in Iraq's elections should be disqualified because of alleged ties to the former Baath government, a vetting panel says.If upheld, the move could alter the election result, to which State of Law coalition leader, Nouri...

read more...

Twelve killed by twin bombings in Russia's Dagestan

At least 12 people, including a top local police official, have been killed by two suicide bombings in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan.A car bomb was detonated at about 0830 (0430 GMT) outside the offices of the local interior ministry...

read more...

Poor weather halts search of South Korea sunken warship

South Korean search teams have suspended their efforts to reach missing sailors on a sunken warship because of poor weather conditions.The move comes a day after a diver died searching the wreckage of the Cheonan, which is lying near Baengnyeong ...

read more...

ICC to investigate Kenya 2007 election violence

The International Criminal Court has authorised its prosecutor to investigate the violence that followed Kenya's 2007 election.Some 1,300 people died and tens of thousands were displaced as political differences snowballed into weeks of ethnic score-settling...

read more...

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urges support for $4bn Haiti plan

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has opened a fundraising conference on Haiti by calling for a "wholesale national renewal" of the earthquake-hit country.Mr Ban gave his support to a plan to rebuild Haiti which will require almost $4bn (£2.65bn) in initial aid...

read more...