Jack’s Weblog

South Korean scientists develop a technique for manufacturing plastics without using fossil fuels, prompting hopes for a new generation of environmentally-friendly products.

The wife of a candidate for governor and about 30 others were abducted Monday morning in the southern Philippines -- with some in the group feared beheaded, state-run media said.

Chinese officials blamed poor management and inadequate precautions for an explosion at a mine that killed 104 people, state-run media said Monday.

Online auction giant eBay apologized Sunday for a daylong glitch that inactivated the search function on its Web site, and said it will compensate sellers for their losses.

When Sandra Stainton returned to her house in northwest England, everything was covered in brown sludge.

The beating of 12-year-old boy by a group of classmates at a Southern California middle school may be linked to a Facebook posting encouraging kids to target redheads, authorities say.

Authorities at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear plant were investigating what caused a weekend radiation leak that resulted in 150 workers being sent home, officials said Sunday.

Rhode Island's top Roman Catholic leader has asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy to stop taking Communion over his support for abortion rights, the diocese said Sunday.

France captain Thierry Henry says he considered quitting international football over the handball controversy as Les Blues qualified for the World Cup finals at the expense of Ireland last week.

Defender Robbie Russell led Real Salt Lake to an upset win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night in a penalty shootout that gave the underdogs victory in extended time and the Major League Soccier Cup title.

On a visit to flood-hit areas, the Taoiseach has insisted that that flood protection schemes will remain a priority for the Govt.

Payment to around 55,000 social welfare recipients will be delayed by a day as a result of the strike action by the civil and public sector unions tomorrow.

A teenager has died in a road accident in Connemara, Co Galway.

Charity group St Vincent De Paul says it is gearing up for an avalanche of calls in the run-up to Christmas.

A 46-year-old Dublin man who was caught with a loaded semi-automatic pistol has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is today expected to condemn the latest attempts to derail the peace process.

The US Army major charged with killing 13 people in an attack at an army base in Texas earlier this month is paralysed from the chest down.

EBS chief executive Fergus Murphy has confirmed that merger talks with Irish Nationwide will begin this week.

Relatives of the 104 people killed in a gas blast at a coal mine in northeast China have demanded answers from the owners.

China has accused a US congressional advisory panel of bias after a report said China is conducting cyber-spying on US networks.

HEGANG, China (Reuters) - Relatives of victims of a gas blast at a northeast Chinese coal mine scuffled with police and demanded answers from the owners on Monday as state media put the toll from the latest in a series of mine disasters at 104.

KABUL (Reuters) - Two Afghan cabinet ministers are being investigated under suspicion of embezzlement, a deputy attorney general said on Monday, at a time when President Hamid Karzai faces tough Western pressure to clean up his government.

HANGU, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces backed by tanks and artillery attacked Taliban positions in the northwest of the country, killing 22 militants, a senior police official on Monday.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - An overloaded ferry sank in bad weather off Indonesia's Riau islands on Sunday, killing 29 people, while 245 passengers survived the accident, officials said.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel has softened its terms for a prisoner swap with Hamas and the two enemies are nearing a deal to exchange hundreds of Palestinian inmates for an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, officials said on Monday.

MANILA (Reuters) - Gunmen abducted and killed at least 21 people in the southern Philippines on Monday, apparently to prevent a woman filing her husband's nomination to run for provincial governor in elections next year, the military said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi parliament on Sunday failed to resolve an impasse threatening to delay the country's election in January, which could affect the U.S. military's plans for a partial pullout next year.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese dissident who tried to help victims of last year's Sichuan earthquake was jailed for three years on Monday on charges of illegally possessing state secrets, his wife said, decrying the sentence as "revenge."

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Pakistan-based militant group that attacked the Indian city of Mumbai a year ago remains an implacable Indian foe and could strike again despite Pakistani efforts to rein it in.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The Taiwan government said on Monday it was not claiming the territorial waters around two small islands that have long been part of its frontline defense against political rival China.