· China refuses to revalue yuan
CHINESE premier Wen Jiabao yesterday spurned foreign calls for the value of the yuan to rise and continued scolding the United States over recent tensions.

· Scot Norrie May-Welby has now been recognised as neither a man or a woman
A SCOT looks to have made history after winning the right to be recorded as neither male nor female.

· Israeli-Palestinian talks may yet find borders difficult to break
PALESTINIANS and Israelis have different and possibly contradictory expectations from the indirect negotiations that the United States has pushed both sides into beginning.

· Fake tale of Russian 'invasion' enrages Georgian opposition
GEORGIA'S opposition has accused the government of being behind a fake prime-time news report that Russian tanks had entered the capital at the call of the opposition, cau

· 100,000 Thaksin supporters descend on Bangkok to demand an election
MORE than 100,000 protesters converged in Bangkok yesterday and gave Thailand's military-backed government an ultimatum to call elections within 24 hours or face crippling

· Fear of arms races as weapons transfers rise
SURGING global weapons transfers are raising concerns about arms races in tension-fraught areas of the globe, a leading peace research group has warned.

· Vatican insists celibacy vow 'not linked' to sex abuse scandal
CELIBACY for the priesthood is not the root cause of the clerical sex abuse scandal convulsing the church in Europe, the Vatican reiterated yesterday, defending the Pope's

· Head of Irish Catholics refuses to quit over paedophile case
THE head of Catholic Church in Ireland last night faced down calls for his resignation over revelations he failed to report complaints against a notorious paedophile priest t

· Early results put Iraqi PM ahead in election
PRIME Minister Nuri al-Maliki edged ahead yesterday in early results of an election Iraqis hoped would end years of sectarian strife, but the tight race indicated long and fra

· Afghan blasts 'a warning to Nato that Taleban is ready for fight'
DEADLY bomb attacks in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were a warning to Nato's top general that the Taleban is ready for a coming offensive in their heartland, the

· Troops gather as protesters bid to bring down parliament
ARMY reinforcements were rushed into Thailand's capital as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators marshalled around a key military headquarters demanding that

· Polls show of unity for Sarkozy and wife
FRENCH president Nicolas Sarkozy voted in the country's regional elections yesterday, in a poll in which his right-wing UMP party is expected to take heavy losses.

· Popular premier speaks of his 'noble hopes'
CHINESE premier Wen Jiabao yesterday displayed the showmanship and soft-edged populism that has drawn both devotees and critics as he seeks to regulate the rapid pace of indu

· Two die as avalanche hits snowmobile rally
CANADIAN authorities were searching for survivors yesterday after an avalanche hit a snowmobile rally in British Columbia.

· Israel urged to scrap homes building plan
Israel: The US is reportedly pressing the government to scrap a contentious east Jerusalem building project.

· Police tow van outside funeral home with body inside
A police tow truck removed a minivan parked outside a New York City funeral home – with a body inside.

· Woman, 92, on murder charge
POLICE in Australia charged a 92-year-old woman with killing her 98-year-old husband.

· Policeman shot dead in raid on gunman
POLICE in Belgium said an officer was killed when he confronted a gunman who had killed his son.

· Runaway Prius probe fails to repeat 'fault'
CRASH investigators in the US have been unable to replicate an alleged mechanical failure that a Californian man claims made his Toyota Prius accelerate uncontrollably.

· Sarkozy beaten in regional polls
FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy suffered a national beating by voters who took their frustrations over the economic crisis to the ballot box and clearly favoured his left-win