Fredrik Reinfeldt of the "new" Conservative Party in Sweden was set to take over as prime minister Monday after Persson conceded defeat in Sunday's election and said he would resign as head of Sweden’s Social Democrats. Reinfeldt will head a coalition of four center-right parties after the Social Democrats experienced their worst election in decades

Pope Benedict XVI sought to mollify Muslim anger, saying he was "deeply sorry" for the outrage sparked by his recent remarks toward Islam and stressed they did not reflect his personal opinion. The pope's expression of regret was welcomed by several prominent Muslim groups that said they hoped his words would calm tensions that have flared throughout the Muslim world

Hurricane Lane developed into a category-two storm as it advanced along Mexico's Pacific coastline late Friday, the country's weather centre said. Lane, still offshore, was following along a similar path to Hurricane John, which struck the Baja California peninsula and the resort town of Cabo San Lucas in early September, killing five people. Lane is also expected to make landfall on the peninsula in northern Mexico

Oriana Fallaci, a veteran Italian journalist and author who challenged world leaders in uncompromising interviews and recently drew criticism for her vehement attacks on Islam, has died, officials said on Friday. She was 76. Fallaci, who was diagnosed with breast cancer years ago, died overnight in a private clinic in Florence, said Paolo Klun, an official with the RCS publishing group, which published Fallaci’s work

Major political parties on Friday criticised Pope Benedict XVI for his comments made earlier in the week on Islam and Prophet Mohammed. Taking strong exception to the remarks, Congress party spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi said: "The Pope should have spoken with more wisdom. He is not merely the head of a religion, he is also the head of a state (Vatican)." "He has every right to propagate his own religion

Hundreds of people have queued overnight in order to secure one of the 3,000 free tickets to Steve Irwin's memorial service at Australia Zoo next week. According to reports, the tickets for the public memorial at the Croceseum were snapped up within 15 minutes. It had been suggested last week that the service would be held at a football stadium in Brisbane but Irwin's widow Terri requested that it be held at Australia Zoo

Poland has announced it will send 1,000 troops to Afghanistan next February to bolster the NATO peacekeeping force in the region. The troops will join 100 Polish soldiers already on the ground in Afghanistan. Poland is the first NATO member to commit more soldiers to the existing 20,000-strong force in the country. The announcement comes after military commanders in Afghanistan said another 2,500 troops were needed to help the fight against the Taliban

One woman was killed and 19 people were wounded yesterday when a opened fire on students at a further education college in Montreal, Canada's second largest city. The gunman also died. Montreal paramedics confirmed 20 people were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from gunshot wounds to emotional shock following the shooting at Dawson College. One woman died in hospital from wounds sustained during the attack, officials confirmed

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki received a red-carpet welcome at Iran's presidential palace on Tuesday at the start of his first official visit to the neighbouring country since taking office in May. Al-Maliki's talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were expected to cover regional issues and joint projects in energy, trade and economy. Maliki will spend two days in Iran

A battle raging in northern Sri Lanka between government troops and Tamil rebels has killed 185 combatants over the past six days, government officials said today. The Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels have exchanged artillery fire across their frontlines in Muhamalai, on the Jaffna peninsula, since Thursday, the government official said on Tuesday. The government says that 35 soldiers and 150 rebels have been killed during the battle. However, the rebels disputed this toll