At least 21 journalists were killed in a massacre of more than 52 people after being abducted by armed men in the Philippines this week, reports the Manila-based Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). This is the largest group of journalists killed in a single incident in the world. Many of the victims were beheaded and mutilated; some of the women were raped. The journalists were part... 

If there’s a hero in the Amanda Lindhout kidnapping affair, it’s the Somali journalist who risked his life trying to secure her freedom, colleague Chris Gelken says. “He played quite a heroic role,” said Gelken, who counts both as friends. Gelken, who worked with Lindhout in the Middle East but now lives in Beijing, stayed in almost daily contact with Ahmed Mohamed throughout... 

  A hundred pregnancy testing kits rushed out to Afghan frontline as pregnancy rate among soldiers doubles Ten servicewomen have been flown home from Afghanistan after falling pregnant. The women were evacuated under strict military rules which bar expectant mothers from frontline service. There is a strict “no-touching” rule which all 700 women and 8,500 men serving in the warzone are warned... 

After losing the race for the EU presidency, Premier Jan Peter Balkenende not only remains empty-handed but also faces opposition accusations that his credibility has been dented. Fellow-ministers frenetically tried to remove this picture Friday. The ministers one by one declared to journalists Friday ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting that they are pleased Balkenende is staying in the Netherlands.... 

THE RAF is to fly its first all-woman combat helicopter crew into action in southern Afghanistan. The four women are expected to fly a number of missions taking troops and supplies to the frontline against the Taliban in Helmand. They will also airlift casualties to the hospital at Camp Bastion. The Merlin crew includes Flight-Lieutenant Michelle Goodman, 32, from Bristol, the first woman to win the... 

Picture Mogadishu in 1992. Marauding militias loyal only to Somali clan leaders stalk the city, looting aid shipments bound for the 1.8 million Somalis facing starvation. Then, from the green-blue Indian Ocean waters, there materializes a flotilla of U.S. transports bearing aid and armed men to deliver it. In the skies overhead, U.S. attack helicopters appear, providing cover for food shipments, while... 

In an article in American Vogue magazine in which Mr Miliband was described as “tall and dashing”, the interviewer joked about developing a crush on the 44-year-old Foreign Secretary after hearing his British accent on the telephone. “Well, if you saw him it would be a big crush. I mean, he is so vibrant, vital, attractive, smart,” said Mrs Clinton, 18 years Mr Miliband’s... 

Mr Obama walked along the popular Badaling section of the wall outside Beijing under tight security in wintry temperatures following a working lunch with Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister. “It’s a reminder of the ancient history of the Chinese people,” Mr Obama said of the structure designed to keep foreign invaders out of the country “It gives you a good perspective... 

The road from Nairobi winds 100 miles to Entasopia, a town deep in Masai country. The asphalt gives way to sand and dust, until finally it is just a dirt track climbing over broken hills and plunging back to desert flats. The going is slow. The outpost, with about 4,000 inhabitants, is at the end of that road and beyond the reach of power lines. It has no bank, no post office, few cars and little... 

Gordon Brown is to make an embarrassing climbdown on plans to abolish a childcare tax break, after a rebellion by female Labour MPs. The prime minister is to announce that childcare vouchers, which benefit working families by up to £2,390 a year, will now be saved. The U-turn follows a letter to Brown signed by nine former ministers warning that scrapping the scheme, which helps 340,000 parents, would...