Pirates anchor tanker off Somalia
The Sirius Star, the biggest tanker ever to be hijacked, has reportedly anchored off the coast of Somalia. The Saudi oil tanker, with a cargo of 2m barrels of oil worth more than $100m, equivalent to
a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output, was captured by Somali pirates on Saturday.... [continued]
In pictures: Pirates of Somalia 
Briefing: Who are the million dollar pirates?
Somalia: A victim of Bush's recklessness
Opinion Digest: It's all Bush's fault
Cameron ditches spending pledge
The Conservatives have abandoned their commitment to match Labour's spending plans, with leader David Cameron warning of significant tax rises if the Government goes ahead with its "spending
splurge". The Tories had originally planned to match the totals for Labour's spending plans from 2008 to 2011. But in a... [continued]
The Mole: Dithering Dave's U-turn on spending paves way for public service cuts
Obama reaches out to McCain
US president-elect Barack Obama yesterday reached out to Republican voters by meeting his former rival John McCain. The two issued a joint statement after a meeting in Chicago, where the 72-year-old
senator flew to meet Obama. They said: "At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans... [continued]
American Transition: all the latest from Washington
Alexander Cockburn: Economic woes pile into Obama's in tray
Consumer inflation falls to 4.8%
New figures today are expected to show that consumer inflation fell in October for the first time in 15 months. It is thought the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Government's preferred method of
measuring increases in the cost of living, has fallen from a record high of 5.2 per cent... [continued]
Business Pages: the day's biggest stories
Law lord: Iraq invasion was illegal
A former law lord, Lord Bingham, has claimed that the legal advice on which Britain went to war in Iraq in 2003 was "flawed in two fundamental respects". In a speech to a legal institute, Lord
Bingham said the advice, given to the Government by the then Attorney-General,... [continued]
February 2008: the Government will not yield without a fight
Russia: open court for murder trial
A Russian court has decided to pursue the trial of three men accused of involvement in the 2006 murder of Anna Politkovskaya in an open court. The campaigning journalist, and open critic of the
Kremlin, was shot dead on her Moscow doorstep - a crime which shocked the international community... [continued]
October 2006: Anna Politkovskaya is shot dead
Miliband in Damascus for talks
The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, is holding talks in Damascus, the first visit to Syria by a high-level UK minister since a 2001 trip by Tony Blair. Miliband is meeting the country's president,
Bashar al-Assad, as part of a middle-eastern tour including Israel, the West Bank and the Lebanon.... [continued]
Middle East: Iran's challenge to Bush
