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The Sarah Palin phenomenon


There may have been doubts over whether Sarah Palin could read, but boy, can she write. Her memoir, Going Rogue, sold 300,000 copies on its first day, making it one of the most successful non-fiction sellers in history. So taken has her publisher HarperCollins been with the enthusiastic reception for Palin's first venture into literature that they have upped the print run from 1.5 million to 2.5 million copies. And that, lest you need further sobering statistics on the new heroine of the world of books, is four times the population of Alaska.






The accidental uprising: How 'corpse' killed Communism


For the past two decades, 17 November has been a national holiday in the Czech Republic. It is the day that marks the beginning of the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that brought down the Communist dictatorship which for 40 years had run Czechoslovakia, the country that then comprised today's Czech and Slovak republics.






As deaths in Afghanistan rise, so does the growth of opium


Attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan are at record levels and threaten to derail efforts to rebuild the war-torn country, while an unholy alliance of Taliban drug dealers and corrupt government officials has made a mockery of coalition forces' attempts to stem the export of heroin.






I was Prince Albert of Monaco's private spook


There's nothing like a good spy caper to help pass the time, as you kick back in a sun-drenched deckchair. But the latest page-turner to enthral the good people of Monte Carlo is casting ominous shadows over its resident community of tax exiles and jet-setting billionaires.






US builds up its bases in oil-rich South America


The United States is massively building up its potential for nuclear and non-nuclear strikes in Latin America and the Caribbean by acquiring unprecedented freedom of action in seven new military, naval and air bases in Colombia. The development ? and the reaction of Latin American leaders to it ? is further exacerbating America's already fractured relationship with much of the continent.






Tearful Knox hears prosecutor demand life sentence for her


The agonisingly drawn-out melodrama that is the trial of the American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of a British student, Meredith Kercher, yesterday entered its emotional final stages.






Lady Ashton... well, at least she's not Tony


As Baroness Ashton of Upholland, the European Union's new High Representative for Foreign Affairs, this weekend surveys her grand suite of offices, with a special corner for her life-sized Dalek, she might still be wondering how on earth she got there.






Feed the world? Band Aid 25 years on


It's Christmas time (nearly) and quite soon it will be impossible to switch on the radio without being bombarded by the preachy strains of a slightly shambolic Christmas song recorded 25 years ago in an effort to feed the world.






Italian police arrest two linked to Mumbai attacks


Italian police today arrested a Pakistani father and son accused of helping fund and providing logistical support for last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai.






Kercher murder accused could face life sentences


Prosecutors are expected to request life in prison for an American student and her former boyfriend accused of killing a young British woman in Italy.






Sri Lanka to release 136,000 war-displaced Tamils


Sri Lanka will release 136,000 ethnic-minority Tamil war refugees on 1 December, allowing the civilians to leave squalid and overcrowded government camps after a half-year detainment, a top official said today.






Chavez praises Carlos the Jackal


Hugo Chavez has defended the alleged terrorist mastermind Carlos the Jackal, saying the Venezuelan imprisoned in France was an important "revolutionary fighter" who supported the cause of the Palestinians.






China mine explosion kills 42 and traps 66


At least 42 miners were killed and 66 remain trapped 500 metres underground following a gas blast at a mine in China early today.




China mine explosion kills 31and traps 78


At least 31 miners were killed and 78 remain trapped 500 metres underground following a gas blast at a mine in China early today.






Pirate hostages fear they will be killed in days


Fears are intensifying for the plight of the British couple captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean in October, after a new video aired yesterday showed the pair surrounded by gunmen and desperately urging the British Government to negotiate a ransom.






US senator calls for return of Lockerbie bomber to jail


A US senator has written to Gordon Brown, demanding the immediate return of the Lockerbie bomber to prison. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi's early release from Greenock jail in Scotland on compassionate grounds was granted on the assumption that he had only three months to live because he was suffering from prostate cancer.






A warm welcome from the Pope sows Anglican unease


Pope Benedict XVI will today greet Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, for the first time since the Vatican announced the creation of a canonical structure to receive groups of Anglican converts en masse.






Maoist rebels derail train after threat of crackdown


Maoist rebels in India have blown up a railway track, leading to the derailment of a crowded passenger train, killing two people and injuring dozens.






He's off! Egypt pulls ambassador in fall-out from World Cup clash


Never mind the "hand of Henry" ? the "foot of Yahia" has caused an even greater World Cup fallout in north Africa as rioting erupted in the early hours of yesterday morning in Cairo. It was Algerian defender Antar Yahia's powerful right-foot volley that settled their play-off with bitter rivals Egypt in the week's most contentious match.






Man who escaped in parcel is caught


A French murder suspect who caused a media sensation after escaping from prison in a cardboard box and evading a huge manhunt during weeks on the run, has been recaptured, the interior ministry said on yesterday.






Prostitute in Rome scandal dies


A body believed to be that of a Brazilian prostitute involved in a scandal that brought down the governor of the Rome area was found in an apartment fire yesterday.






Peruvian gang 'killed peasant farmers for their fat'


Police in Peru say they have arrested three members of a gang who murdered a string of peasant farmers, drained the fat from their dead bodies, and then attempted to sell it to European cosmetics manufacturers.






Herman who? The world greets new EU President


Limp waves of polite puzzlement circled the globe yesterday as leaders adjusted to the news that the much ballyhooed EU President would be a mild-mannered, competent manager rather than a charismatic new "face" for Europe.






The guru with a gift for brainwashing


Thierry Tilly looks like a geography teacher or a chartered accountant, or a French version of Bill Gates. He claims, variously, to be a Nato "master-spy", a confidant of presidents and prime ministers, a financial genius, a 21st-century representative of an ancient, secret order descended from the Knights Templar and a man with superhuman powers sworn to fight the forces of evil.






Blair 'happy to be out of race for Europe job'


Tony Blair will not seek another big international job after being rejected for the new post of "President of Europe", his allies said yesterday.