Zimbabwe officials refuse entry to UN investigator despite ministry invitation

The United Nations? chief torture investigator was stranded at Harare airport last night, barred from entering Zimbabwe even though he had been invited by the country?s Government.

Sara Palin waits to bank on political memoir Going Rogue: An American Life

Sarah Palin has earned priceless name recognition by running for the US vice-presidency, but not, as yet, untold wealth. The former Alaska Governor and potential presidential candidate has so far been paid $1.25 million for her memoirs, according to disclosure statements $? a fraction of the multimillion-dollar advance she was said to have received.

Diver David Swain killed wife Shelley Tyre in near-perfect murder

A former politician faces life behind bars after being found guilty of drowning his wife during a scuba-diving trip in what prosecutors called a nearperfect murder in the British Virgin Islands a decade ago.

Juror's wrong kind of oaths threaten John Gotti Jr trial

A foul-mouthed juror has created disarray in the latest trial of John Gotti Jr, throwing doubt on the fourth attempt to convict the alleged New York crime boss in five years.

Sick Silvio Berlusconi phones TV show to rant at ?conspirators?

Silvio Berlusconi may be too ill to attend the European summit in Brussels today but he was fit enough to call a television show to berate the media and the Italian legal system.

Tehran court gives British Embassy ?plotter? a four-year sentence

A senior Iranian employee of the British Embassy in Tehran has been given a four-year prison sentence after being found guilty of fomenting violence at the behest of the British Government, The Times has learnt.

Commanders prepare to persuade Barack Obama to approve Afghanistan surge

The Pentagon was preparing yesterday for the seventh and possibly last big White House strategy session before President Obama makes his long-awaited decision on how to respond to urgent military requests for more US troops in Afghanistan.

The Boere and Demjanjuk trials are about the truth, not punishing old men

Hunting Nazis has always needed special skills: a command of international law, a precise sense of the logistics of the Holocaust, a nose for archival discovery and the readiness to wear down shoes in pursuit of a suspect.

Six officers wounded in Greek police station attack

A Greek policewoman was in critical condition yesterday after a machinegun attack on a north Athens police station. The incident poses the first security test for the country?s three-week-old socialist Government.

Pilots who missed airport by 150 miles have flying licences revoked

Two pilots who overshot their destination airport by 150 miles (240km) have had their flying licences revoked.

Nazi hitman Heinrich Boere finally faces court for killing Dutch fighters

When Heinrich Boere is asked how he was able to shoot three Dutch resistance fighters, he tells interviewers: ?Not difficult, you just curled your finger around the trigger and pulled. Bang!? And then he laughs.

Teacher held over 'black widow serial killings' in Japan

It looked like a straightforward suicide ? and yet, when Yoshiyuki Oide was found dead in his car from carbon monoxide poisoning, something did not make sense.