A US writers' group is suing internet search engine Google, claiming that its plan to digitise major library book collections infringes author copyright. The Authors Guild has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit seeks class action status, seeks damages and demands an injunction against further infringements. Google said it regretted the Autho

Last Updated: Tuesday, 20 September 2005, 16:27 GMT 17:27 UK Rebels in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region have captured a town, a United Nations spokesman says. More than 500 fighters from the Sudan Liberation Army launched a surprise attack on Sheiria in South Darfur late on Monday, military sources say. The UN mission in Sudan has urged restraint on all sides, after an increase in fighting following

Last Updated: Thursday, 15 September 2005, 21:11 GMT 22:11 UK Government and rebel leaders from Sudan have begun the latest round of talks on the Darfur conflict. Representatives of the Sudanese government and the two main rebel groups are present in Abuja, Nigeria. However, one faction of the main SLM group is boycotting the talks, raising fears over their prospects of success. Talks to try to re

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has won an overwhelming victory in lower house elections, according to results published by the media. His party and its coalition ally will have a key two-thirds majority in the new parliament, Kyodo news agency said. Mr Koizumi said the voice of the people had been heard and promised to push on with post office reform, which he had put at the heart of his

"Today's judgement shows that Kazaa, one of the biggest engines of copyright theft and the biggest brand in music piracy worldwide, is illegal," said John Kennedy, chairman of the International Federation of Phonographic Industries. "This is a milestone in the fight against internet piracy worldwide." The defeat for Kazaa comes two months after the Supreme Court in the US ruled that file-sharing s

Police in Tokyo are searching 11 hospitals which have received bomb threats. A letter sent to each of the institutions warned they would be bombed within 45 days. No demands were made in the letters, which the police said were handwritten and largely illegible. Tokyo Metropolitan Police have begun a search for anything suspicious at each of the hospitals which received the letters. There was no re