Leader: On the issue of financing tax cuts the Lib Dem leader seems ready to make a stand where the Conservatives fear to tread

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's (OFHEO) House Price Index (HPI) noted the decline in the first quarter as shown in their report released on Thursday.

Sarkozy says the reforms in public pensions are necessary to restore the country's economic vitality and replenish the country's treasury.

The ruling comes as a relief for the parents, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), who maintain that their children weren't being abused.

An emergency worker in Windsor said in a televised live phone interview with CNN news that a tornado was spotted passing over the town's fire station and there were reports of tree and shrub damage so far. In addition, patrol

There were numerous incidents of arson, looting and other violence, mostly in the city's poorest areas. About 400 people have been arrested on charges that include murder, property damage and causing public disturbances.

The office is largely a symbolic one, since power is in the hands of the Chancellor.

The innovation would be a fruit of a challenge raised by the Transportation Security Administration on March to bag makers to produce models that would reduce the bureaucratic safety procedures air travelers have to go through.

Authorities say that conditions are dry with plenty of fuel in the form of heavy brush and timber. Flames have been fanned by winds of up to 40 mph hampering firefighters' efforts to contain the blaze.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The top US commander in Iraq said Thursday he expects to recommend further cuts in US forces in Iraq before he relinquishes command in September because of improved security.

TBILISI (AFP) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's party looked set Thursday for a landslide victory in elections criticised by international observers and rejected by the opposition.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - After a nine-month journey through space, the US probe Phoenix will land on the arctic surface of Mars on Sunday to dig for ice in a new quest for signs of life on the Red Planet.

Leader: If Gordon Brown is looking for a big idea that would appeal to everyone, he should embrace new technology wholeheartedly

Michele Hanson: The trouble with sex is nobody ever knows whether they want it or not, or whether they want it because somebody else told them they want it

To be really successful the new body needs to be proactive and fearless in setting its own agenda, says Mike Baker

Geoffrey Macnab: There was a comical moment when Tommy Lee Jones met distributors in Cannes to talk about his new project

Crude oil price increased sixfold in past eight years, fueling debate about dwindling resources

British plans to offer £800m to poor countries to help prepare for climate change has come under renewed fire from debt campaigners and developing countries

Felicity Carus examines the roots of today's brutal violence in Johannesburg where mobs have killed 22 immigrants

Contacts with Hamas leaders in breach of an international boycott were informal, Paris insists