The African Union says it may have to withdraw troops for lack of funds The security situation in Sudan's western Darfur region is deteriorating with more frequent and widespread violence, the African Union says. The head of the AU Sudan peacekeeping mission, Baba Gana Kingibe, blamed intertribal confrontations, Arab militias and "opportunistic bandits". Mr Kingibe urged the government to take imm

Trade between China and African nations jumped 39% to $32.17bn (£18bn) in the first 10 months of last year, official Chinese customs figures have revealed. Representing a record high, analysts said the surge was fuelled by China's increased imports of African oil, most notably from Sudan. Africa is also buying more Chinese-made goods, the figures show. China is investing heavily in African oil exp

Chelsea must repeat last season's Champions League win against Barcelona and Arsenal will have to overcome Real Madrid to reach the quarter-finals. The Premiership duo were drawn to face the Spanish giants in Friday's draw for the last 16 of the Champions League. Holders Liverpool have been drawn to play Manchester United's conquerors Benfica, while Rangers face a tough test against Villarreal of

A South Korean cloning pioneer has admitted fabricating results in key stem cell research, a colleague claims. At least nine of 11 stem cell colonies used in a landmark research paper by Dr Hwang Woo-suk were faked, said Roh Sung-il, who collaborated on the paper. Dr Hwang wants the US journal Science to withdraw his paper on stem cell cloning, Mr Roh said. Dr Hwang, who is reported to be receivin

No high-level officials have been prosecuted for the atrocities in Darfur Sudan's government says it will not allow international investigators into the troubled province of Darfur to collect evidence on alleged war crimes. The ban comes as the chief prosecutor from the International Criminal Court told the UN Security Council that he wanted more co-operation from Sudan. Luis Moreno Ocampo said he

The authorities in China have arrested a police commander who ordered officers to open fire during a disturbance, killing protesters, media reports say. The arrest comes after officials broke several days' silence to say that three villagers were shot dead in the protest, in Guangdong province. Local residents have alleged that up to 20 people were killed. If this is true, this could be China's de

Last Updated: Saturday, 10 December 2005, 18:12 GMT A teacher has been arrested in Japan and charged with stabbing a schoolgirl to death in an argument. Sayano Horimoto, 12, was killed in a classroom on Saturday, becoming the third child to be murdered in Japan in the last three weeks. Japan's justice minister has warned of a chain reaction of killings. Serious crimes are rare in Japan but recent

By Richard Black Environment Correspondent, BBC News website Japan's whaling fleet has set sail for Antarctic waters where it will make its biggest catch in 20 years. The boats will aim to catch nearly 1,000 whales over the coming months. A global moratorium on commercial whaling has been in place since the 1980s, but Japan describes its programme as "scientific." The hunting is condemned by most

By Richard Black Environment Correspondent, BBC News website Meeting Kyoto Protocol targets on greenhouse gas emissions will reduce European economic growth significantly. That is the finding of a new study from the International Council for Capital Formation, a market-based think tank. It projects that by 2010, Spain's growth will have fallen by 3%, and that Italy's will shrink by 2%. These are b