Delegates representing some 70 countries descended on Kabul for a conference on the future of Afghanistan, the first to be held in the country since an American-led coalition routed the Taliban in 2001. President Hamid Karzai presented an optimistic plan… more »

In Kampala, Uganda’s capital, at least 76 people were killed in explosions at a restaurant and a rugby club as they watched the final of the football World Cup. The Shabab, an Islamist militia group in Somalia, claimed responsibility. Uganda contributes… more »

The Dutch environmental agency published a report into mistakes in the 2007 assessment put out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The agency concluded that the science of climate change was sound, but found new errors in the IPCC’s work an… more »

In his first televised address from the Oval Office Barack Obama spoke about the oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, an environmental disaster that is also threatening to engulf his presidency. Mr Obama said he would “make BP pay” for the damage it has… more »

The UN Security Council approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme. Both China and Russia, traditional allies of Iran, voted for the measures. Brazil and Turkey, non-veto-wielding members who have negotiated their own nu… more »

Israel caused an international furore when its commandos shot dead nine protesters on a Turkish ship that was bound with humanitarian supplies for Gaza, which Israel has been blockading. The commandos boarded the ship before dawn in an effort to prevent… more »