Today top news

Fidel Castro takes blame for 1960s gay persecution

HAVANA, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Fidel Castro took the blame for a wave of homophobia launched by his revolutionary government in the 1960s, but said it happened because he was distracted by other problems, in an interview published on Tuesday in a Mexican ...

German Jewish group urges central banker's sacking

BERLIN, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Germany's Jewish community urged the central bank on Tuesday to sack a board member who polarised the nation by making disparaging comments about Muslim immigrants and asserting that Jews have a particular ...

Iranian newspaper reiterates derogatory remarks about French first lady

TEHRAN - An influential Iranian state-run newspaper on Tuesday reiterated and expanded on its earlier derogatory remarks about French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, spurring Iran's Foreign Ministry to warn news media to refrain from ...

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Today top news

China prods N.Korea on economic reform

Mexico lauds capture of top drug lord as violence rages

France defends Roma expulsions

Terrorist Ties Doubted in Amsterdam Arrests

Marking Iraq Milestone, Gates Strikes Cautious Note

Today top videos

Summer of Music: The Gooch

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Business stories

Tomkins deal leads to call for shareholder action from pension fund
Shareholders should resist opportunistic takeover bids, one of the UK's largest pension fund managers has warned after the £2.9bn takeover of the London-listed automotive and industrial parts maker Tomkins was approved today.

Greenpeace blocks Greenland drilling
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Greenpeace forced a Scottish company to stop drilling off Greenland on Tuesday by having four activists climb onto an oil rig.

EDF puts up electricity prices for 1 million customers
Electricity prices will go up for the first time in two years, after EDF said more than 1 million customers would see their bills increase.

House market to fall again after mortgage slump
The housing market is set for a "double dip" fall according to a leading think tank, after official data suggested that mortgage lending had slumped to its fourth lowest month on record.

Tomkins' shareholders overwhelmingly back Canadian takeover
From buns and guns to maple syrup. Tomkins shareholders on Tuesday voted overwhelming in favour of a £2.9bn Canadian takeover of the British engineering conglomerate, which has had a finger in just about every pie since it was founded in 1925.

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Sports stories

Kevin Pietersen facing disciplinary action over Twitter outburst
Kevin Pietersen not only had to endure the ignominy of being dropped by England for the first time in his international career, but he could face disciplinary charges for tweeting about his omission before the two one-day squads had been announced.

Stoke capture Eidur Gudjohnsen as part of triple deal on deadline day
Stoke have signed Eidur Gudjohnsen on loan from Monaco, Marc Wilson on a permanent basis from Portsmouth and Jermaine Pennant on loan from Real Zaragoza until January.

Transfer deadline day summer 2010: live
Follow all the breaking Premier League stories, done deals and rumours as the clock ticks down on football's transfer deadline day.

Paco Boy rated at only 50-50 for Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock
Paco Boy, the best older miler in Britain, is only 50-50 to drop back to six furlongs in Saturday's Group One Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock for which he is 7-2 third favourite behind Starspangledbanner [9-4] and last year's winner Regal Parade [11-4].

Lithuania v Scotland: Paul Hartley targets back-to-back Euro 2012 victories
Two years ago Scotland embarked on a qualifying campaign with a hazardous fixture away from home, as they will do against Lithuania in Kaunas on Friday.

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Something else

UPDATE 2-Britain cool on mooted carrier sharing scheme

Aug 31, 2010

LONDON/PARIS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it would discuss closer military cooperation with France in talks this week, but played down a report that the two countries would share aircraft carriers to save ...

Labour commission urges alcohol sponsorship ban

Aug 31, 2010

Alcohol producers must be banned from sponsoring sports teams and competitions or public events such as T in the Park, a report commissioned by Labour has recommended.

Britain confirms Afghan combat mission to end 2015

Aug 31, 2010

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan (Reuters) - British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed Tuesday that Britain's combat mission in Afghanistan would end by 2015 and pledged to protect frontline troops from sudden cuts in government spending.

True believers in Osborne's budget cuts may harm their career prospects

Aug 31, 2010

Tory ministers boasting about how eager they are to please George Osborne by cutting their budgets risk forgetting the mercurial cabinet career of John Moore.

Arrest after two teenagers killed when car plunged into lake

Aug 31, 2010

Police arrested a 21-year-old man after two teenagers were killed when a car plunged down an embankment into a lake in Wales. Anwen Busby, 16, and Jai Burks, 19, died in the crash near Aberystwyth in the early hours of this morning.

Blair to head for the US as memoirs are published

Aug 31, 2010

LONDON - Former prime minister Tony Blair, who took Britain into war in Iraq and Afghanistan, publishes his long-awaited memoirs on Wednesday but will leave for the United States as the book hits the shops.

William Hague denies inappropriate relationship with special adviser

Aug 31, 2010

William Hague has denied that he has been involved in an inappropriate relationship with a member of his staff. By Martin Beckford The Foreign Secretary took the extraordinary step of issuing a statement about his links to Chris Myers, ...

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