National Party Senator Barnaby Joyce has called for Peter Costello to make a return to the frontbench or conclusively end speculation about his future. 

Today's Newspoll shows Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson failing to make any ground against Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, with Mr Rudd leading Dr Nelson by 65 per cent to 14 per cent in the approval ratings. 

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has introduced veteran Senator Joe Biden as his running mate at a rally in Springfield, Illinois. 

Mr Obama hailed Mr Biden as a 'man with a distinguished record and a fundamental decency'.

Can anyone seriously argue that Chinese treatment of Tibetans, who have not been subject to either genocide or ethnic cleansing and of whom the vast majority continue to live on their ancestral lands, compares unfavourably with the treatment accorded to Native Americans by the European settlers in North America or the treatment accorded (and continuing to be accorded) to the indigenous Palestinians by Zionist settlers in Palestine?

Can anyone seriously argue that it is even in the same league of evil and injustice?

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has announced that Joe Biden will be his running mate in November's election. 

Mr Obama's choice, confirmed on his website, comes ahead of next week's Democratic Party convention. 

The credit crisis has created the most challenging economic and monetary policy environment in recent memory, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve has admitted.

Ben Bernanke presented a downbeat assessment of the economic effects of the unfolding crisis when he addressed the US central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, yesterday. 

On the steps of the bombed-out Parliament building Thursday, down the street from a neighborhood in ruins, the black-suited maestro prepared to lead a concert he aptly called a requiem, or composition for the dead.

Within hours of the news breaking of the ambush of French soldiers on Monday, text messages arrived on reporters' mobile phones in Kabul. From Zahibullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman, they boasted of the defeat of the "invader forces". Nato spokesmen in the city took much longer to issue a statement.

One problem, they said, was the difficulty in identifying exactly who had attacked the French troops. Most reports, including the statements by Mujahed, described the attackers as Taliban.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the negotiations had been "tough, but friendly", adding that the deal would make both Poland and the US more secure. 

Ms Rice said the signing of the document was an extraordinary occasion, adding that the agreement would help Nato, Poland and the US respond to "the threats of the 21st Century". 

Anyone who still doubts that the evangelical Christian world is going through a political revolution was not watching Pastor Rick Warren's presidential forum this weekend. The era of reducing Christianity to a narrow set of ideological commitments is over. 

Chinese fans are watching the Olympics on TV, puffing on cigarettes in a smoke-filled bar. Suddenly, when the Chinese team scores, they crush out their cigarettes and jump up to cheer. 

'Love China,' says a message on the screen. 'Increase patriotism even more. Love a smoke-free Olympics.' 

America’s back in the cold war and W’s back on vacation. 

Talk about your fearful symmetry. 

Britain's Prince Charles has again voiced his opposition to the spread of genetically modified (GM) crops. 

The heir to the British throne was responding to plans to allow 50 British farms to plant GM crops. 

The risk of a new era of east-west confrontation triggered by Russia's invasion of Georgia heightened yesterday when Moscow reserved the right to launch a nuclear attack on Poland because it agreed to host US rockets as part of the Pentagon's missile shield. 

The US and the Europe today demanded that any settlement of the conflict in Georgia had to be based on recognition of the small Black Sea country's territorial integrity. But after overrunning Georgia in five days with troops, tanks, and bombers, Russia rejected the terms.