Headlines News

US talk show hosts Jay Leno and David Letterman are returning to TV screens two months after writers embarked upon industrial action. Letterman's Late Show on the CBS network features actor Robin Williams on Wednesday, after his production company reached a deal with strikers. Leno's The Tonight Show on NBC is returning without its team of writers. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said Letterman's deal meant writers would be paid for work distributed online. Leno's most prominent guest for ...

A section of Scotland's busiest road was closed for 13 hours after a head-on collision involving a police car. A 58-year-old driver was in a critical condition after his car hit the police vehicle at junction six on the A8 near the Eurocentral in North Lanarkshire. One of the police officers was treated for leg and pelvic injuries and the other for cuts and bruises after the incident at about 2200 GMT on Tuesday. The road was closed eastbound until 1100 GMT on Wednesday. The collision happen ...

Reports from Iran say a person has been arrested for spreading a rumour that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would be assassinated during a visit to Tehran. The reports say the individual, who worked for a telecommunications company, was arrested last week. Mr Putin went ahead with the visit in October despite the Kremlin saying it had uncovered a plot to kill him. At the time, Iran described the threat as baseless and part of a psychological war being waged on Iran by the West. Mr Putin beca ...

A suicide attack has killed at least three people in the Algerian city of Naciria, east of Algiers, police say. They say the bomber detonated his car near a police station. At least seven people were also wounded in the attack. There has been a upsurge in violence in Algeria in recent months. About 40 people died in suicide attacks against a UN building in Algiers in December. Al-Qaeda's North ...

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson compared the Old Trafford atmosphere to a "funeral" during his side's 1-0 win over Birmingham City. Ferguson noticed the lack of voice from the 75,459 crowd after watching the match from the directors' box as part of a two-match touchline ban. "That was the quietest I have heard the crowd, it was like a funeral," he said. His comments come seven years after Roy Keane famously dubbed the Old Trafford crowd as the "prawn sandwich brigade". Carlos Tevez' ...

A German container vessel with 27 crew on board has run aground in the Dover Strait off the coast of Kent. The 90,465-tonne LT Cortesia was en route to the Suez Canal when it ran aground on the Varne Bank, nine miles (14km) south of Dover harbour. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said all those on board were uninjured and the vessel still appeared watertight. Spokesman Mike Toogood said it was in no danger and an attempt to refloat it would be made within the next 12 hours. He said the shi ...

Police say they are treating as suspicious a fire at a flat in Downpatrick in which a 33-year-old woman died on Tuesday evening. A man, who also lived in the Oriel Drive property, escaped and is being treated in hospital for the affects of breathing in smoke. The woman was found in the first-floor flat's kitchen and taken to hospital. Fire station commander Brian Irvine said neighbours tried to rescue the woman but were beaten back by smoke. "We immediately sent firefighters in wearing breat ...

Four Hamas militants have been killed and two injured in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, hospital sources say. The Israeli army said it launched the pre-dawn raid in the Gaza City area after militants fired anti-tank missiles at nearby Israeli troops. The Israeli army said it mounted the attack from the air and ground. Israel has carried out numerous similar raids which it says are aimed a ...

The elder sister of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej has died of abdominal cancer at the age of 84. Princess Galyani Vadhana died early on Wednesday morning in the Bangkok hospital where she had been receiving treatment since June last year. An academic specialising in French literature, the princess was involved in health, education and arts projects. Her funeral will be held at the Grand Palace and a 100-day mourning period has been declared. Hundreds of Thais assembled at the  ...

A teenager is due to appear in court accused of stabbing to death a 16-year-old boy. Nassirudeen Osawe was stabbed in the chest in Upper Street, Islington, north London, on 27 December, when he was shopping with friends. A 17-year-old from Enfield, north London, has been charged with murder, grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon. He is due to appear at a youth court later. A second 17-year-old youth, who was also stabbed, was released from hospital on Saturday. Police h ...