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BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany called on Saturday for the world's leading nuclear powers to reduce their atomic arsenals as they press Iran to curb its nuclear programme. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- to make concessions in the context of the Iran dispute, Spiegel magazine reported. "I am in fact of the view that, beyond the current Iran conflict, we must review the w ...

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Thousands of tourists and Londoners waited in soaring temperatures on Saturday to cheer Queen Elizabeth II as she attended the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony this year to mark her official 80th birthday. Among those taking an active part was the queen's grandson Prince Harry who is an officer in the Blues and Royals regiment. The queen, who has two birthdays -- her actual one on April 21 and an official one on a chosen weekend in June, wore a purple outfit as  ...

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- For 60 years, Nancy Kenney wondered what happened to her father. The submarine that William T. Mabin was in disappeared while he and his crew mates were on a mission to attack a Japanese convoy in the last months of World War II. Now, the Navy says a wreck found at the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand appears to be the sub, the USS Lagarto. "I have never in my life, unequivocally, felt such a high," said Kenney, who was 2 when her father and the submarine did ...

About 30 people have been killed and 80 injured in a string of attacks in and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The targets included a bus, two markets and two Iraqi security checkpoints. The attacks came in defiance of a major security clampdown launched in Baghdad on Wednesday, which has seen thousands of extra troops on the streets. The bombers seem determined to prove they can continue despite the curfews, checkpoints and combing operations, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad. At le ...

Somalia's Islamist leader says 300 Ethiopian soldiers have crossed the troubled state's border - a claim denied by Ethiopian officials. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said Ethiopian soldiers had crossed in the south-west and entered the town of Dollow. But an Ethiopian official suggested it was the Islamists who were planning an incursion into Ethiopia. Many Somalis accuse Ethiopia of backing warlords ousted by the Islamist militia from Mogadishu. Mr Ahmed, leader of the Union of Islamic Courts, accus ...

By Peter Apps COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels each claimed victory on Saturday after a naval clash that officials said left more than 40 people dead or missing. The Tigers threatened retaliation if air force bombing restarted. Sri Lankan jets pounded rebel targets on Thursday and Friday in retaliation for an attack on a civilian bus that killed 64 people in the worst violence since a 2002 cease-fire, raising fears of an imminent return to a two-decade civil w ...

Incompetent teachers could be given a year to improve or face being sacked, it has emerged. Poor or struggling teachers face being placed on probation for a year, although support would be provided to help bring them up to standard. Failure to do so could see them being dismissed under a scheme which has been approved by Education Minister Peter Peacock. Only nine teachers have been sacked for incompetence in the past five years. This is despite councils having more powers to dismiss those w ...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Angelina Jolie, in her first U.S. interview since the birth of her daughter last month, says the experience was frightening. "You know, because you're there for the birth, which I wasn't for my first two kids, you're just suddenly terrified that they're not gonna take a first breath," the 31-year-old actress says in an interview to air Tuesday on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" (10 p.m. EDT). "That was my whole focus. I just wanted to hear her cry."  ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of tourists and Londoners waited in soaring temperatures on Saturday to cheer the Queen as she attended the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony this year to mark her official 80th birthday. Among those taking an active part was the Queen's grandson Prince Harry who is an officer in the Blues and Royals regiment. The Queen, who has two birthdays -- her actual one on April 21 and an official one on a chosen weekend in June, wore a purple outfit as she and the Duke of ...

More than 30 people have died in fresh clashes between Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels. The Sri Lankan navy said six sailors were killed in a Tiger attack near Mannar island. Eight rebel boats were destroyed, and about 25 rebels killed. The Tamil Tigers dispute this and say they killed 12 navy personnel - two rebels were injured, no-one killed. The government has been targeting the rebels since a mine attack on a bus on Thursday which left 64 people dead. The rebels have  ...