
Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have won their party caucuses in the US state of Iowa, the first test in the race to choose the candidates for president.

Headlines: Birmingham's back!; OTs Minister on three day visit; Memorial reflects historic link with Royal Marines; 'A deep water port for the 21st century - where?; Norway Golden Shears dream for Lee and Jan.

In his first New Year address to the Falkland Islands, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has restated the commitment of his government to protecting Islanders' right to self-determination.
Results of a DNA test on Friday revealed why leftist rebels failed to deliver this week on their promise to free a 3-year-old boy born in captivity: Little Emmanuel has spent the last two years not in a jungle rebel camp, but in a Bogota foster home.
DNA samples have been taken from relatives of a woman held by Colombian rebels to try to determine if her young son is in a Bogota foster home.
Paraguayan retired General Lino Cesar Oviedo, recently absolved of charges of uprising in 1996, will register as an official candidate for the coming presidential elections, announced the party that sponsors him the National Union of Ethical Citizens, Unace.
On the 175 year of the illegal British occupation of the Islas Malvinas the Argentine government ratified its sovereignty claims over the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich and adjoining maritime spaces.

In the midst of the popularity slump confronted by Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and unrest inside the ruling coalition, Interior Minister (Home Secretary) Belisario Velasco resigned on Thursday, anticipating a third cabinet renewal since the current administration took office.

Peace is a divine gift, Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday in his traditional New Year's Day mass, stressing the role of the family as an agent of peace.

A Venezuelan-led mission to rescue three hostages, including a 3-year old boy, from leftist rebels in Colombia's jungles fell apart Monday as the guerrillas accused Colombia's military of sabotaging the promised handoff.