Swinney: Local pay 'a disaster'

Swinney: Local pay 'a disaster'
Karzai Call for Pullout Is Tempered
Al Qaeda-Linked Yemen Group Claims Responsibility for Killing American
Iran Lifts Restrictions on Rial Trading
Brazil Bars 17 at Chevron and Transocean From Leaving Country After Offshore Spill
Midwest: North Carolina State 66, Georgetown 63: 2012 N.C.A.A. Tournament — N.C. State Sends Georgetown to Another Early Exit
Greek finance minister Venizelos to lead Socialists in snap election
Tensions rise as Italy labor talks enter home stretch
How ‘Hunger Games’ Built Up Must-See Fever
ArtsBeat: '21 Jump Street' Leads the Way at Movie Theaters
Greg Smith, Goldman Sachs and the History of Loud Exits
Tonga's King Tupou V 'dies in HK'
VIDEO: Ex-pastor voted German president
VIDEO: Libya demands handover of Senussi
Royal Mail pension move imminent
Tonga's King Tupou V 'dies in HK'
Indonesia police kill 'terror suspects'
Boko Haram talks in doubt as mediator quits
Turkish police clash with Kurdish protesters
Belarus executes Minsk metro bombing convicts

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 10:01 AM PDT

The Scottish government says it would "vigorously oppose" attempts by the chancellor to axe national pay rates for public sector workers.

Karzai Call for Pullout Is Tempered

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:26 PM PDT

The Afghan government qualified the president's demand for an immediate withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Afghan villages, saying it will be the subject of negotiations that could take months.

Al Qaeda-Linked Yemen Group Claims Responsibility for Killing American

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:40 PM PDT

Two gunmen dressed in military uniforms on a motorcycle on Sunday shot dead an American teacher who worked at a language institute in Yemen's central city of Taiz, the region's provincial governor, Hamoud al-Sufi, said.

Iran Lifts Restrictions on Rial Trading

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:31 PM PDT

Iran's central bank said it was lifting the restrictions on foreign currency trading introduced earlier this year in what could be a sign of confidence that the worst speculation is over.

Brazil Bars 17 at Chevron and Transocean From Leaving Country After Offshore Spill

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:57 PM PDT

Seventeen employees of the American oil giant Chevron and the rig operator Transocean could face charges connected to an offshore oil spill, adding to Chevron's woes in Brazil.

Midwest: North Carolina State 66, Georgetown 63: 2012 N.C.A.A. Tournament — N.C. State Sends Georgetown to Another Early Exit

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:42 PM PDT

Eleventh-seeded N.C. State, which barely made the N.C.A.A. tournament, advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2005.

Greek finance minister Venizelos to lead Socialists in snap election

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:39 PM PDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Socialists elected Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos as their leader on Sunday, with a mandate to revive a party weakened by unpopular austerity policies ahead of parliamentary polls expected by early May.

Tensions rise as Italy labor talks enter home stretch

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:12 PM PDT

ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mario Monti faces an arduous task this week to reconcile the demands of unions and employers and draft a labor reform aimed at boosting Italy's competitiveness and shielding it from the euro zone debt crisis.

How ‘Hunger Games’ Built Up Must-See Fever

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:16 PM PDT

A small crew with a tiny marketing budget made gradual and canny use of social media to build interest in a movie whose subject matter is problematic.

ArtsBeat: '21 Jump Street' Leads the Way at Movie Theaters

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT

A comedic remake of that TV show was a big No. 1 at North American movie theaters, selling an estimated $35 million in tickets.

Greg Smith, Goldman Sachs and the History of Loud Exits

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:26 PM PDT

Greg Smith's spectacular exit from Goldman Sachs recalls other famous departures from jobs — both in real life and in Hollywood films.

Tonga's King Tupou V 'dies in HK'

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:36 PM PDT

King George Tupou V of the South Pacific nation of Tonga dies in Hong Kong at the age of 63, media reports say.

VIDEO: Ex-pastor voted German president

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:41 AM PDT

A former Lutheran pastor and civil rights activist has been elected as Germany's new president, replacing Christian Wulff who resigned last month.

VIDEO: Libya demands handover of Senussi

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:08 AM PDT

Libya formally requests the handover of Col Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, following his arrest in Mauritania.

Royal Mail pension move imminent

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:22 PM PDT

Royal Mail pension fund assets and liabilities are set to be transferred to the government next month, the BBC understands.

Tonga's King Tupou V 'dies in HK'

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 12:36 PM PDT

King George Tupou V of the South Pacific nation of Tonga dies in Hong Kong at the age of 63, media reports say.

Indonesia police kill 'terror suspects'

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 11:49 AM PDT

Five people shot dead on resort island of Bali "for planning acts of terrorism and robberies".

Boko Haram talks in doubt as mediator quits

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 11:41 AM PDT

ABUJA (Reuters) - A Muslim cleric brokering peace talks between Nigeria's government and Islamist militant group Boko Haram said on Sunday he was quitting the negotiations because he doubted the government's sincerity after information was leaked.