Palestine and Egypt say Mideast focused on talks

PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he was still focused on a return to direct peace talks with Israel but looking at alternatives. Abbas, speaking alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, repeated his demand for a halt to Jewish settlement building on occupied land before any return to peace talks. Abbas said his first choice was a return to those negotiations, which Washington hopes can resolve major issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within a year with the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

US, Japan hit back at China's muscle flexing

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton (L) arrives with Japanese Foreign Minister, Seiji Maehara, for a press conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Picture: AFP

China says Hu open to discussing French G20 proposals

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L), his wife Liu Yongqing (2nd L), French President Nicolas Sarkozy (3rd R) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (R) arrive at the banquet of the opening ceremony of the World Expo in Shanghai, China. Picture: EPA

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LimeWire filesharing site ordered to close

LimeWire has been shut down by a US court who found that the service had been used to infringe copyright on a huge scale
The ruling follows a long-running legal dispute with the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the major record labels and accused Lime Wire, the company behind the LimeWire service, of infringing copyright.

Halloween Movie, Pumpkin Carving, Decorations, Witches, Costumes

Google Aims To Help Small Businesses With Boost

If you own a business and have claimed your free business listing in Google Places, which then appear on Google and Google Maps, then you will be glad to know the search and advertising company has introduced another way to help your business get noticed.

David Cameron admits defeat over EU budget | World news | guardian.co.uk

EU flags reflected in glass walls of EU headquarters in Brussels. Photograph: Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
David Cameron is planning to approve a £435m increase in Britain's contribution to the EU next year, prompting a row with the Tory right as he admits defeat in a battle to freeze Europe's budget.

Midterm elections live blog

Barack Obama and Jon Stewart during Obama's appearance on The Daily Show in Washington DC. Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP
9am ET: Joe Miller is down to third place with 23% in a new Alaska poll. This, it has to be said, is very different from other polls that have showed him around the mid-30s and a point or two ahead of Lisa Murkowski. His disapproval rating in the poll is an astonishing 68%.

Sir John Sawers's speech

MI6 chief Sir John Sawers today. Photograph: Toby Melville/PA
The Times published a reader's letter earlier this year. It read: "Sir – is it not bizarre that MI5 and MI6, otherwise known as the secret services, currently stand accused of being – er – secretive?"