Cuba announced Monday it will cast off at least half a million state employees by mid-2011 and reduce restrictions on private enterprise to help them find new jobs — the most dramatic step yet in President Raul Castro’s push to radically remake...

Thousands of foreign domestic workers are living as slaves in Britain, being abused sexually, physically and psychologically by employers, according to an investigation to be screened tonight. More than 15,000 migrant workers come to Britain every year...

Cuba has issued a pair of surprising free-market decrees, allowing foreign investors to lease government land for up to 99 years – potentially touching off a golf-course building boom – and loosening state controls on commerce to let islanders grow...

A British Cabinet Minister and a Cardinal were certain that a Roman Catholic priest was responsible for one of the worst IRA atrocities of the Northern Ireland Troubles, but they colluded to allow him to continue his ministry preaching the Gospel. This...

A Swedish man has been handed what is believed to be the world’s largest speeding fine, which is expected to cost him £650,000. The 37-year-old man was driving at two and a half times the speed limit in his £140,000 Mercedes when he was pulled...

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur today reported that 221 people lost their lives in the war-torn Sudanese region due to armed conflict and criminality in June, the vast majority of deaths being attributed to...

Fears over how South Africa will deal with 350,000 visiting supporters to the World Cup were highlighted after a terrifying stampede at a pre-tournament friendly. Ten people were taken to hospital - with one police officer suffering serious injuries -...

Two supporters of a defeated candidate in Sudan have been shot dead by police during demonstrations. The protests followed the announcement that the ruling party in Southern Sudan retained the key governorship of the oil-rich Unity state. Four others...

A “devoted mother” who discovered her desperately ill daughter in the midst of a suicide attempt spent 28 hours administering a cocktail of lethal drugs to her after failing to convince her to go on living, a court heard today. From the...

A British woman on holiday in Dubai told police she had been raped – only to be arrested herself for having illegal sexual intercourse with her fiancé. The 23-year-old was celebrating her engagement to her boyfriend, was allegedly attacked by a...