Net video lands US man in prison A US man who posted an internet video in which he taunted police to arrest him has been jailed for more than six years by a court in Miami, Florida. Rudy Villanueva filmed himself waving guns in the air, inviting police to "come get some". 5/15/2008 8:28:46 PM

Doctors Overwhelmed By China Quake Victims After 11-year-old Zhang Jiazhi wriggled free of the rubble that remained of his middle school, he and his parents faced a new ordeal - saving his arms, which were crushed to a pulp. 5/15/2008 5:39:02 PM

Death toll in Burma cyclone climbs The U.N. and the Red Cross say 1.6 million to 2.5 million people are in urgent need of food, water and shelter. Only 270,000 have been reached so far by aid groups. The U.N. warned a second wave of deaths will follow unless the military regime lets in more aid quickly. 5/15/2008 5:36:31 PM

Biden: Bush's comments were 'bullshit' Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), about President Bush’s speech in Israel today: “This is bullshit, this is malarkey.".. “He is the guy who has weakened us,” he said. “He has increased the number of terrorists in the world. It is his policies that have produced this vulnerability that the U.S. has." 5/15/2008 3:25:16 PM

California lifts gay marriage ban California's top court has ruled that a state law banning marriage between same-sex couples is unconstitutional. California's legislature has twice passed laws to make gay marriage legal but the state governor has vetoed them. 5/15/2008 11:32:40 AM

Burma junta denies misusing cyclone aid Burma/Myanmar's ruling junta has denied claims that the military is holding back the best foreign aid and distributing low-quality supplies to survivors of the devastating May 2 cyclone. Foreign aid is being sold openly in markets and the military is pilfering and diverting aid for its own use, The Associated Press reported. 5/15/2008 9:40:05 AM

U.S.: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education There is an industry in this country that is making billions in profit while average Americans are struggling to fill up their gas tanks. It's an industry that made an average profit of nearly 17 percent in 2007. It's an industry whose members paid a grand total of zero dollars in tax. 5/15/2008 9:37:14 AM

Abbas marks Israel 'catastrophe' Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken of Palestinians' "pain and suffering" on the day they mark the "catastrophe" of a created Israel. 5/15/2008 7:42:40 AM

Zimbabwe issues $500-million note The central bank has issued a 500m Zimbabwe dollar banknote, worth US$2, to try to ease cash shortages amid the world's highest rate of inflation. 5/15/2008 7:41:07 AM

Obama sorry for 'sweetie' comment Barack Obama, candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination to run for US president, has apologised to a reporter for calling her "sweetie". Reporter Peggy Agar had shouted a question as Mr Obama toured a Chrysler car plant in Detroit. 5/15/2008 7:36:19 AM

Afghans killed in secret raids by foreigners: UN A UN rights official has alleged that foreign intelligence agents have taken part in secret raids in Afghanistan that have killed civilians. Afghan government officials said the victims had no connection to Taliban insurgents. 5/15/2008 7:33:22 AM

50,000 feared dead, China wants help China issued an appeal for heavy machinery Thursday, as rescuers dug for survivors and bodies near the epicentre of the massive earthquake that struck the country three days ago. 5/15/2008 7:24:59 AM

Rocket hits Israeli shopping centre, 14 hurt At least 14 people were wounded when a rocket fired from Gaza slammed into a shopping centre in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. Earlier Wednesday, five Palestinians were killed in Israeli military operations in Gaza. 5/15/2008 5:41:28 AM

Austrian man admits to ax slayings An Austrian man has confessed to killing five members of his family with an ax, Vienna police said Wednesday. The man said his motive was "financial difficulties." 5/15/2008 5:29:07 AM

911 dispatcher fired for cursing caller A Nashville, Tennessee, 911 operator has been fired after he was recorded saying that he didn't "give a s---" about what happened to a woman who had just called to report her ex-boyfriend was threatening her. It took police three hours to reach the scene after the first call. 5/15/2008 5:26:44 AM

Burma cyclone death toll nearing 40,000 The death toll from a killer cyclone in Myanmar could be "in the region of 100,000 or even more," the chief of the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs said Wednesday. His organization already has confirmed 38,491 deaths. 5/15/2008 5:20:41 AM

China quake leaves many parents childless As a result of China's one-child policy, the massive earthquake that already is responsible for thousands of deaths is producing another tragic aftershock: Not only must thousands of parents suddenly cope with the loss of a child -- they must often cope with the loss of their only child. 5/15/2008 5:15:40 AM

Fritzl's victims thank the public The family of an Austrian man who is accused of imprisoning and raping his daughter in a cellar for 24 years have released their first public message. Joseph Fritzl's daughter, Elizabeth, five of her children and her mother Rosemarie, have hand-written a poster. 5/14/2008 9:09:55 PM

Girl pulled from quake rubble after 50 hours A frightened schoolgirl was pulled safely from the rubble of a school dormitory Wednesday evening, 50 hours after she was buried by Monday's earthquake, state-run media said. 5/14/2008 3:57:19 PM