International

March 2, 2011

US Orders Ships to Libya

The United States has ordered two warships and 400 Marines to the waters off Libya, but top U.S. military officials played down the likelihood that the forces would intervene in the country's growing civil war. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates…

March 2, 2011

UN narcotics body rewards Colombia’s drug war efforts

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has dropped Colombia from its list of countries requiring special observation. It said Colombia remained the world's biggest producer of cocaine but had made progress in its war on drugs. Board member…

March 2, 2011

Iran: Security forces break up Tehran protests

Iranian police have fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters mounting protests in the capital Tehran. A BBC correspondent in Tehran said large numbers of riot police and militia on motorcycles in the city centre broke up any crowds that…

February 26, 2011

Brazil judge blocks Amazon Belo Monte dam

A Brazilian judge has blocked plans to build a huge hydro-electric dam in the Amazon…

February 26, 2011

Ivory Coast: Rebels take western town Zouan-Hounien

Ivory Coast rebels fighting to oust President Laurent Gbagbo have taken control of a town in the west of the country, Mr Gbagbo's forces confirm. The rebels, who control the north of the country, seized the town of Zouan-Hounien in an overnight…

February 26, 2011

Libya unrest: Britons urged to leave on final flight

Britons still in Libya are being urged to leave on the final government-chartered flight from Tripoli later. There are thought to be fewer than 500 Britons left in Libya, many of them oil workers in desert regions. Foreign Secretary William Hague…

February 26, 2011

Libya: United States announces sanctions

The United States is to impose unilateral and multilateral sanctions on Libya, including halting operations from the US embassy in Libya. The US was acting "to put pressure on the regime" to cease the violence, White House spokesman Jay Carney…

February 23, 2011

Libya protests: UN Security Council condemns crackdown

The UN Security Council has condemned the Libyan authorities for using force against protesters, calling for those responsible to be held to account.

February 23, 2011

New Zealand earthquake: Death toll rises to 75

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has declared a national state of emergency as the death toll…

February 23, 2011

Iranian warships sail through Suez Canal

Two Iranian warships sailed through the Suez Canal on their way to the Mediterranean Sea, canal officials said Tuesday. They are the first such ships to sail through the Suez since the Islamic republic's 1979 revolution. The move, which occurred…