The election of UNESCO’s new director general gets underway in Paris this Monday as a row over anti-Israeli comments overshadows Egypt’s bid to head the world’s premier cultural institution.
As he sets off on a tricky tour of the Holy Land, Pope Benedict XVI will be expected to address a number of thorny issues and make amends for recent faux pas. We take a look at the pontiff's agenda.
French students and lecturers have joined medical workers to protest at government reforms they claim undermine freedoms essential to keeping education a public service and not a business. It is their eleventh such protest in three months.
Iran has long posed a potential threat to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which 40% of the world’s oil passes. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have invested massively to build a pipeline to circumvent the busy shipping route.
Former allies Washington and Tehran have been through a particularly strained relationship since the hostage crisis took place in Iran in 1979. Today both countries are engaged in a battle of wills over Iran's plans for nuclear development.
The Jan. 24 decision of Pope Benedict XVI to revoke the excommunications of four bishops from the priestly fraternity of Saint Pius X was welcomed by traditionalists, but many Catholics faithful to Rome remain sceptical.
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has officially nominated members of his national security team, including former political rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Defence Secretary Robert Gates will remain as Pentagon chief.
Teachers from all levels of the French education system, kindergarten to university, go on strike on Thursday over job cuts. Primary schools will be particularly affected, with seven in 10 teachers stopping work, according to the unions.
