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Myanmar political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi will run for a seat in parliament in upcoming by-elections, National League for Democracy (NLD) senior official Nyan Win announced today. The NLD decided Friday to participate in the by-elections, but Suu Kyi did not say directly then that she would run. The by-elections include 48 seats in Parliament, all of which the NLD intends to contest. Dates for the elections have not yet been set. Suu Kyi was released from house arrest last year. She had stated she would only accept an unconditional rele

In the centre of the English city of Birmingham, three vehicles collided and eight people are reported injured. The crash was on the Aston Expressway; of the eight injured two are said to be in a serious condition. No fatalities have been reported. The two people most seriously injured are both female, one in her 30s and the other an elderly woman. Both women had to be freed from the vehicle they were in when the crash occurred at approximately 1845 UTC yesterday. According to a spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service: "The elderly wom

Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, has moved to first place among the field of Republican Party presidential candidates in the latest survey from Public Policy Polling (PPP). The poll, released on Monday, shows Gingrich with 28 percent support; three points ahead of businessman Herman Cain, and ten points ahead of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. The result reflects a thirteen point increase for Gingrich since last month's PPP survey. Gingrich, 68, represented the sixth congressional

Strathclyde Police in Scotland have apologised to the family of Diane Fallon and her daughter Holly after a report heavily criticised the force's handling of their killer — a known sex offender living next door. Thomas Smith, now 28, had been given a six month jail sentence in 2006 after a sex attack on a ten-year-old girl. He had been living next door to the Fallons in a small village in Ayrshire for a year at the time of the murders in March 2009. Nobody in the village was aware he was a registered sex offender. Smith sexually assaulted Dia

A court in Gujarat, India has convicted 31 Hindus of murdering 33 Muslims during a race riot by burning down the building they were sheltering in. The convicts were given life sentences, while lack of evidence saw more than 40 others cleared. The case dates back to 2002, when a train caught fire and 60 Hindus died. Muslims were blamed and Hindus seeking revenge rioted in predominantly Muslim areas. Over 1,000 died, mostly Muslims. 28 died inside a house in Sardarpura, Mehsana which was torched whilst they sought refuge inside it, with five mor

Australian newspapers and magazines could be fined up to $30,000 for breaches of media standards, according to a Press Council submission to Julia Gillard's media inquiry. The fine is said to be reserved for "exceptionally grave" or persistent breaches, and suggests that newspapers could be censured or reprimanded "where appropriate". PM Julia Gillard announced the media inquiry earlier this year under pressure from Greens leader Bob Brown, as part of an attempt to boost public confidence in the media following the News of the World hacking sc

Anglo American PLC has negotiated a price of US$5.1 billion to buy 40% of diamond giant De Beers from the Oppenheimer family. Anglo's stake will jump from 45% to either 75% or 85%; the Botswanan government has an option to increase its own stake. "This has been a momentous and difficult decision as my family has been in the diamond industry for more than 100 years and part of De Beers for over 80 years," said De Beers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer. The Oppenheimers are selling their entire remaining stake in the company they took over in the 1920

Ministers in Australia's federal government have lost the power to veto laws in the nation's two mainland territories after legislation passed the national parliament. The legislation requires for both chambers of the parliament to strike down laws made in the Northern Territory (NT) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) parliaments. Previously government ministers could veto laws unilaterally. "What that means is that it is no longer the case that the minister can step in with the stroke of a pen and dismiss territory laws as we've seen

A US soldier has been sentenced by a South Korean court to ten years in prison for raping a teenager. Although the court declined to identify the 21-year-old pending a possible appeal, media has named him as Pfc. Kevin Flippin. Flippin stood accused of breaking into the eighteen-year-old's rented accommodation and raping her for hours, stealing 5,000 won (US$4.50). The allegations date to September 24, with the indictment coming that month. The US government was quick to hand Flippin over and issued an apology following the incident in Dongd

A family of four adults and one minor has been reported dead after the house they were inhabiting in the city of Pichilemu, in Chile was allegedly intentionally set on fire on Sunday morning. The fire was reported for the first time at around 8:00 AM local time (11:00 UTC). The house was located in Dionisio Acevedo Street, in front of the Inmaculada Concepción Catholic Church of Pichilemu. According to eyewitnesses, it was "intentionally caused by a group of drunken teenagers." Another eyewitness said it was "the greatest fire she ever saw in

Australian international airline Qantas is grounding all its flights with immediate effect in the midst of a major industrial dispute. The airline announced yesterday that there "will be no further Qantas domestic departures or international departures anywhere in the world" after 5pm AEDT. They then plan to "lock out" all employees involved in the action at 8pm AEDT on Monday. Flights will remain grounded indefinitely until a decision with unions over pay and working conditions is reached. Thousands of passengers have been stranded in airpor

Voters in Tunisia went to the polls on Sunday in the first elections for the country since the events of January this year, when President Ben Ali was toppled after twenty three years by the revolt which triggered the Arab Spring. The electoral commision announced that 90 percent of the 4.1 millon registered citizens in the electorate had voted. 3.1 million citizens were eligible to vote but unregistered. It has been predicted that Ennahda, an Islamist party, will become the single largest party with about 40 percent of the vote, short of a ma