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GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli missile hit a car ferrying Palestinian militants back from a rocket attack in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing two of them, Palestinian and Israeli officials said. "We identified a cell from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades firing rockets into Israel," an army spokesman said. "They fired the rockets, they got into the car and we hit the car," the spokesman added. Two p ...

By Madeline Chambers MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Conservative leader David Cameron said on Saturday his party must embrace deep and rapid change if it is to wrest power from the Labour Party. Cameron, seeking to transform the Tories into a modern and compassionate party, acknowledged he faces an uphill battle to win the next election, expected in 2009, and avoid a fourth straight election defeat for the once mighty political force. After an initial fillip in opinion polls, surveys now show the 39- ...

An Israeli missile has struck a car in Gaza City, killing at least two of its occupants and wounding others, Palestinian officials say. The attack killed militants from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Reuters news agency said, quoting Palestinian security and emergency workers. An Israeli army official told the agency the strike targeted militants who had fired a rocket at Israel. Five militants and a boy were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza on Friday.

The UK Independence Party parked an armoured personnel carrier outside the Conservative Party's spring conference in Manchester. UKIP said the stunt showed it was parking its tank on Conservative leader David Cameron's lawn. UKIP Euro MP Nigel Farage made a speech from the turret of the vehicle, which was on the back of a low loader. He demanded an apology from Mr Cameron, who called UKIP members "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly." Mr Farage also called on Conservatives to come ...

By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Nine more birds found dead in Scotland did not die of bird flu, officials said on Saturday, two days after Britain confirmed the deadly H5N1 strain had reached its shores. On Thursday, Scotland's chief veterinary officer Charles Milne said a Mute swan found in Cellardyke harbour in eastern Scotland had died from the virus. More birds were being tested on Saturday and the results are expected over the weekend. "The latest information shows that no new positiv ...

By Michael Georgy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - One of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders urged his followers on Saturday to resist being drawn into a sectarian civil war after a triple suicide bombing killed at least 70 people at a mosque associated with his party. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a top figure in the ruling Shi'ite Alliance, urged Shi'ites to stand firm against what he called a campaign by al Qaed ...

By Isabel Reynolds GAMAGORI, Japan (Reuters) - It's a long way from the green playing fields of Eton to a windswept patch of reclaimed land near the Japanese industrial centre of Nagoya. But 10,000 km (6,000 miles) from the spot where Henry VI founded Britain's most famous boys school 566 years ago, Japanese businessmen have built an exclusive new academy, which they have modelled on Eton in the ...

The Scottish National Party's Holyrood leader Nicola Sturgeon will place the party on an election footing when she addresses its spring conference. Ms Sturgeon will deliver a keynote speech at the event in Dundee. She has promised to put independence at the heart of the SNP's campaign for next year's Holyrood election. Ms Sturgeon will restate the party's commitment to replacing council tax, writing off student debt and opposing new nuclear power stations. These proposed pledges are containe ...

A protester against King Gyanendra's absolute rule in Nepal has been shot dead in the west of the country while the capital Kathmandu is under curfew. The man was killed during a rally in the resort town of Pokhara. With mobile phone networks cut and the curfew being enforced, an opposition rally due to be held in Kathmandu has been put off until Sunday. Maoist militants launched attacks in the west of the country overnight, leaving at least five people dead. The militants attacked securit ...

By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Nine more birds found dead in Scotland did not die of bird flu, officials said on Saturday, two days after Britain confirmed the deadly H5N1 strain had reached its shores. On Thursday, Scotland's chief veterinary officer Charles Milne said a mute swan found in Cellardyke harbour in eastern Scotland had died from the virus. Five other birds were also being tested on Saturday and the results are expected later in the day. "The latest information shows that no  ...