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__NOTOC__ FIFA, the world governing body for association football, yesterday announced it was setting up a working group to conduct an inquiry into the introduction of assistant referees and technology into the world game, in the wake of the reactions to the controversial handball committed by French captain Thierry Henry during the 18 November France vs Republic of Ireland qualifying play-off game for the 2010 World Cup. Yesterday, at the request of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, FIFA held an emergency meeting of its 24 member Executive Commit

Iranian authorities have released five British yachtsmen who were detained last week in the Persian Gulf. A statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that, after investigation, it reached the conclusion that their illegal entry was a mistake. Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the release, and said the yachtsmen are being towed to international waters, and were expected to head to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Iranian naval forces detained the Britons on the 25th of November as they sailed from Bahrain to Dubai for a race. The chair of S

Queen Elizabeth II officially reopened the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford yesterday, after its £61 million redevelopment. The museum, which is run by the University of Oxford and is the oldest museum in the United Kingdom, was closed for a year during the refurbishment. Under the direction of the architect Rick Mather, a further 39 galleries have been added, along with the first rooftop cafe in Oxford. The project, which replaced the whole building apart from the Grade I listed Cockerell building, received a £15 million grant from the Heritage Lo

With two federal by-elections coming up in Australia, many minor parties and independents will be looking to gain a seat in the House of Representatives. Goronwy Price is a candidate representing the Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy party. Mr Price is an environmentalist, adventurer and businessman from the Sydney suburb of Cremorne. "In 1975 I founded the adventure travel company World Expeditions and built it to be the world's largest adventure organisation. I am currently Managing Director of Learningportal.com a successful software c

The U.K. Government announced today it has commissioned a report on whether the legal alcohol limit for driving, and whether the laws on driving under the influence of drugs, should be tightened. The report, by Oxford University academic Sir Peter North, should be completed by April for the Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis. Lord Adonis said, "Drink-driving was involved in 430 road deaths in 2008 and research suggests that drug-driving is also a key concern for the public." One option that will be considered is whether to lower t

Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister of Pakistan, has told British prime minister Gordon Brown that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is not in the country. Brown hailed Pakistan's efforts to "disrupt the activities of al-Qaeda", and referred to them as his "allies", promising to provide another £50 million to support the operations to stabilise the borders of the nation; announcing this pledge, he said "This is your fight but it is also Britain's fight." Four days ago, he urged Pakistani officials to "join [Britain] in the major effort" to fi

A deadly hotel bombing in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, has killed at least fifteen people, including three Somali Cabinet ministers, earlier today. Some reports say the death toll could be higher. The blast targeted a university graduation ceremony being attended by a number of government officials. The Shamo Hotel was hosting a graduation ceremony for Banadir University. Eyewitnesses reported that a suicide bomber gained access to the venue dressed as a woman, donning a full abaya and a veil. The attacker was wearing an explosive strapp

Tuesday evening, United States President Barack Obama went to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, to deliver a televised address to announce his new approach to the War in Afghanistan. President Obama announced an increase of 30,000 US troops to be sent to Afghanistan. "The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 – the fastest pace possible – so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers. They will increase our ability to train competent Af

A Pakistani provincial politician was killed earlier today by a teen-aged suicide bomber in the northwestern Swat valley. Shamsher Ali Khan, a member of the Awami National Party, was receiving guests at his residence in the town of Kanju, when a young man, armed with explosives. walked into the grounds of the house. He blew himself up, killing Khan and injuring over twelve other people. According to police, two of the victim's brothers were among those hurt. The blast was so strong it damaged portions of the building. The guests were reporte

Religious and political leaders from around the world have criticised the ban on building minarets as part of the Swiss referendum held in November. Leaders from the Vatican and the Muslim community around the world have deplored the vote as an attack on religious freedom. The Swiss government has also expressed shame at the result, and expects repercussions from Muslim countries with which it does business. Some politicians from other countries, however, defended the ban. The co-president of the European Greens-European Free Alliance in the

Five British sailors traveling in a yacht in the Persian Gulf were detained and released by Iranian authorities after they accidentally crossed into Iranian waters. The sailors were on their way to a race then they suffered propeller problems and drifted into Iranian waters. Iranian authorities interrogated the sailors and released them after they found no evidence of "bad intentions." They earlier warned that the sailors would face prosecution if they suspected any wrong doing. "[There was] certainly no question of any malicious intent on th

British actress Maggie Jones has died at the age of 75. The actress was best known for playing the role of Blanche Hunt in the British soap opera Coronation Street. She died on Wednesday morning in hospital. Jones played Blanche for 35 years but did not become a main character until 1999. Jones played several different characters on the set of the soap, originally appearing as a police woman in 1961. Jones was admitted to hospital in October of this year for "life saving" surgery. It is still currently unknown what she was admitted for. The sc