Top News - Page 18

European interior ministers agree rules on hate crimes, but stop short of a blanket ban on Holocaust denial. More Info...  

Schoolmates and relatives painted a portrait of Virginia Tech victim Jeremy Herbstritt as a friendly, talkative and passionate man, in stark contrast to his killer Cho Seung-Hui, the deeply troubled and quiet loner.

Afghan and Pakistani troops exchange fire over the latter's new anti-Taleban border fence, officials in Kabul say. More Info...  

US defence chief Robert Gates is in Iraq, as violence in Baghdad claims more lives after a day of carnage. More Info...  

Microscopic fossils discovered deep under the ocean floor reveal new details about Antarctica's warmer past. More Info...  

Iran inaugurates a dam which conservationists say will cause huge losses to its archaeological heritage. More Info...  

China's economy picks up pace, stoking fears it may be overheating and sending shares sharply down. More Info...  

Olympic officials are worried about the air quality in Beijing ahead of the 2008 Games. More Info...  

Microsoft software will sell for just $3 in some parts of the world in an attempt to double the number of global PC users. More Info...  

Two Taiwanese legislators are criticised for a mock hostage crisis at a university, after the US shootings. More Info...  

American Idol judge Simon Cowell says he did not roll his eyes at comments about the Virginia shootings. More Info...  

Sudan has used disguised aircraft to fly weapons into Darfur in violation of UN resolutions, the UN alleges. More Info...  

Mary Winkler told a Tennessee jury on Wednesday about her marriage to a volatile preacher. She said he berated her, forced her to watch pornography and to wear "slutty" costumes for sex. She is on trial for his shotgun murder.

Afghans face suicide attacks, beheadings and abductions by the Taleban, says an Amnesty International report. More Info...  

Visit BBC News for up-to-the-minute news, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. BBC News provides trusted World and UK news as well as local and regional perspectives. Also entertainment, business, science, technology and health news.The student who shot at least 30 in Virginia sent letters and photos to NBC News on the day of the killings. More Info...  

A large UK study has found using HRT significantly increases the risk of women developing ovarian cancer. More Info...  

The European Commission will announce a big increase in numbers of risky goods withdrawn from sale. More Info...  

An 18-year-old is the fifth person to be charged with the murder of Paul Erhahon in east London. More Info...  

US President Bush says he will impose sanctions on Sudan if a strengthened UN force is not allowed into Darfur soon. More Info...  

Had they lived, they might have gone on to change the world as teachers, military officers or engineers -- but the killer who cut so many lives short at Virginia Tech snatched all that away.