US London embassy trades Mayfair mansion for futuristic cube in Battersea

Telegraph::2010-02-24

The US embassy is moving from its Mayfair mansion of 50 years to a new £650million futuristic cube in Battersea. American architect firm Kieran Timberlake was selected to design the carbon-neutral glass-sided structure in Wandsworth, south London. The US State Department agreed to sell its current base, in Grosvenor Square, London, after it began showing ''signs of wear and tear''.

Japan offers to enrich Irans uranium

Haaretz::2010-02-24

In a new twist on the international community's effort to reign in Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Japan has offered to enrich uranium on Iran's behalf, the AFP news agency reported on Wednesday. Iran has not yet responded officially but its parliament speaker Ali Larijani is expected to discuss the offer in a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in Tokyo on Wednesday, the agency said, quoting the Japanese-language Nikkei business daily.

Rental figures soar as home owners decrease

::2010-02-24

Around 3.1 million people in England rented a property privately during 2008/09, up from 2.1 million in 2001, according to the English Housing Survey. The increase, which is likely to have been driven by house price rises pushing home ownership out of many people's reach, was accompanied by a fall in the number of people living in their own home.

Afghan handover to start this year

::2010-01-28

The province-by-province handover of security in Afghanistan to Afghan forces will begin later this year.

Website Offers Reward For Tony Blair's Arrest

Sky News::2010-01-27

A website offering a reward to people who try to arrest former Prime Minister Tony Blair for alleged "crimes against peace" has raised over £9,000 in just two days. The website, called Arrest Blair, was launched on January 25 - just four days before he was due to give evidence to the Chilcott inquiry into the Iraq war.

90 Feared Dead In Plane Crash

::2010-01-25

Rescue teams are battling stormy weather to find survivors and recover bodies after a plane burst into a ball of flames and plunged into the Mediterranean Sea. The plane lost contact with airport control shortly after taking off from Beirut amid thunder and heavy rain and crashed into the water off Lebanon's south coast.

Haiti earthquake: Up to 100,000 may have died

::2010-01-15

Up to 100,000 people may have died in the Haiti earthquake, the Pan American Health Organisation has said, as the UN launches an appeal for more than $550m (£337m) in aid. "A variety of sources are estimating the numbers [at] between 50,000 and 100,000," said Jon Andrus of PAHO, the Americas arm of the World Health Organisation.

Blazing ring eclipse races across Africa, Asia

::2010-01-15

A solar eclipse that reduced the sun to a blazing ring surrounding a sombre disk plunged millions of people in Africa and Asia into an eerie semi-darkness on Friday.

Extremist Islamist groups to be banned under new terror laws

::2010-01-11

The Islamist group Islam4UK, which planned a march through Wootton Bassett, and its "parent" organisation, al-Muhajiroun, are to be banned under new legislation outlawing the "glorification" of terrorism.

British soldier killed in Afghanistan

::2010-01-11

A British bomb disposal expert died following an explosion in Afghanistan today, the Ministry of Defence said.