Several die in Israeli raid on Gaza aid ship

The flotilla of aid-carrying ships that left Cyprus on Sunday was attacked by Israeli commandos off the coast of the Gaza Strip early on Monday, killing nine people on board.

Dozens of others were injured (photo, from aljazeera.net) when troops raided the convoy of six ships, dubbed the Freedom Flotilla.

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German president resigns

After criticism of remarks he made about German military deployments abroad, German President Horst Koehler (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk) says he is resigning immediately.

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BP ‘top kill’ operation fails

After three days of blasting mud and other materials into the well, oil giant BP said that engineers had been unable to stop oil from spewing into the ocean. (photo, from aljazeera.net)

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Gaza waiting for aid ships

A flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip has left Cyprus, organisers say. (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk)

Around 5am local time (2am GMT), five ships left the island and they are expected to reach Gazan waters late on Sunday afternoon.

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Activity drop for Icelandic volcano

Recent measurements suggest that the Icelandic volcano which has been disrupting air traffic for more than a month is showing a marked drop in activity.

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Bangkok back to business

Following a massive clean-up of the capital Bangkok (photo, from aljazeera.net), Thai financial markets, government offices, and schools have re-opened.

The country just went through his worst political crisis in his modern history.

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Cameron wishes strong EU role but won’t give further powers

During his first visit to Berlin, David Cameron has told German leader Angela Merkel the UK will not agree to hand any further powers to Brussels. (photo, from dailymail.co.uk)

After talks in the German capital, UK prime minister said there was “no question” of him backing any treaty giving the EU more powers to shore up the eurozone.

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Artificial life created by US scientist

For the first time, scientists have created an organism controlled by man-made DNA.

On Thursday, Craig Venter (photo, from aljazeera.net), an American biologist, announced during a press conference that he had synthesised an artificial strain of DNA and used it in order to take control of a cell.

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Rogue general Khattiya shot in Bangkok

A renegade Thai general was shot in Bangkok on Thursday as the military planned to encircle the barricaded encampment of antigovernment demonstrators.

Khattiya Sawasdipol, 58, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), was allied with the protesters. He was struck in the head by a bullet during an interview with an New York Times reporter, who took this photograph minutes before he was shot.

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Woman fined over veil in Italy

A Muslim woman has been fined in Italy for wearing a face-covering veil in public, officials in the northern city of Novara said.

The $650 fine, thought to be the first in Italy, comes under a rule that bans people from wearing clothes that obscure their identity. (photo from abc.net.au)

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