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Eric Holder 30min ago

Attorney-general Holder in contempt over Fast and Furious, House decides

20 Jun 2012:
Republicans set up protracted showdown with White House as committee votes to place Eric Holder in contempt of Congress
Rio+20 Earth summit 47min ago

Rio+20 Earth summit talks turn into rubber-stamp job

20 Jun 2012: UN chief urges leaders to be more ambitious after concerns they will sign a pre-negotiated text but won't commit on key issues
Federal Reserve 1hr 6min ago

Fed to pump $267bn into economy with warning that US recovery is slowing

20 Jun 2012:
Ben Bernanke extends Operation Twist stimulus but warns that unemployment is unlikely to improve before end of the year
Greece 1hr 20min ago

Antonis Samaras appointed Greece's prime minister

20 Jun 2012: Three-party coalition cabinet expected as PM pledges to honour bailout commitments
Hillary Clinton 3hr 2min ago

Online innovation threatened by governments, Clinton adviser warns

20 Jun 2012:
State department's Alec Ross tells London conference that governments will 'lash back' in bid to regain internet control
France 3hr 36min ago

François Hollande's girlfriend regrets tweet that led to election storm

20 Jun 2012: Jealousy accusation after Valérie Trierweiler tweets in support of French president's former partner Ségoléne Royal's political rival
Euro 2012 3hr 39min ago

Government to boycott England's Euro 2012 quarter-final

20 Jun 2012:
Ukraine boycott continues for Kiev quarter-final against Italy over treatment of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko
Euro 2012 4hr 8min ago

Euro 2012: Uefa urged to investigate $4bn corruption allegations in Ukraine

20 Jun 2012: Opposition politicians claim officials defrauded Ukraine of up to $4bn by awarding no-bid contracts for Euro 2012 infrastructure
Bahrain 4hr 9min ago

Bahraini boy, 11, charged with helping protesters

20 Jun 2012:
Ali Hasan faces up to three years in jail if convicted as authorities refuse to believe he was merely playing in the street
Penn State sexual abuse scandal 4hr 42min ago

Penn State trial: defence rests without calling Jerry Sandusky to testify

20 Jun 2012:
Closing arguments to come as defence rests after calling Sandusky's wife and his colleagues to witness stand
Julian Assange 4hr 54min ago

Julian Assange interviews Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa – video

20 Jun 2012: Video (2min 38sec)
The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, interviews the Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, a month before he sought asylum in the country's embassy in London
Aid 5hr 1min ago

OECD criticises Canada for aid budget cuts and lack of transparency

20 Jun 2012: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development review says Canada should revoke aid budget cuts and promote greater transparency on funding and objectives of aid projects
Alan Turing 5hr 18min ago

Alan Turing: the short, brilliant life and tragic death of an enigma

20 Jun 2012:
Codebreaker and mathematician Alan Turing's legacy comes to life in a Science Museum exhibition
Gay rights 5hr 22min ago

Uganda bans 38 organisations accused of 'promoting homosexuality'

20 Jun 2012: Country's ethics and integrity minister claims banned NGOs exist to 'destroy the traditions and culture of this country'
Obama administration 5hr 27min ago

Obama asserts executive privilege and backs Holder over Fast and Furious

20 Jun 2012:
House Republicans vow to press on with contempt vote with scene set for protracted struggle over attorney-general's future
France 5hr 33min ago

Toulouse bank hostages freed in raid

20 Jun 2012: Gunman claiming links to al-Qaida arrested after police commandos storm bank and free remaining hostages
Rio+20 Earth summit 5hr 35min ago

Rio+20: Ban Ki-moon urges world leaders to act on sustainability

20 Jun 2012: UN secretary general defends scope of summit agreement, but says it is 'merely a piece of paper' unless leaders take action
Middle East Live 6hr 1min ago

Egypt: Mubarak 'improves' as crisis worsens - Wednesday 20 June 2012

20 Jun 2012:
Follow live updates as conflicting reports about Hosni Mubarak's health add renewed volatility to Egypt's political crisis

All today's world stories

Top stories

Samaras sworn in as Greek prime minister

New Democracy leader, Antonis Samaras, gets support of Pasok with revised €130bn bailout deal as top priority in new coalition
Assange asylum bid driven by fear of life sentence or death penalty in US

Assange's representatives say he was forced to seek asylum because he fears a 'political prosecution' in the US
Egyptian presidential result delayed as both candidates claim victory

Elections commission still considering appeals as supporters of Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafik argue over the figures
- Hosni Mubarak in coma as Egypt tension grows
- Protests in Cairo over military power grab

Africa

UN report on Rwanda fuelling Congo conflict 'blocked by US'

20 Jun 2012: Congolese officials rebuke US for 'stifling' inquiry over claims Kagame's army is backing Bosco Ntaganda mutiny
Dozens killed in north Nigerian clashes over two days

20 Jun 2012: Police and Red Cross figures reveal at least 80 killed in gun battles in Damaturu and Muslim-Christian conflict in Kaduna

South and Central Asia

Pakistan's prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani disqualified by supreme court

19 Jun 2012: President Asif Ali Zardari ordered to appoint a new PM after judge rules 'convict Gilani' cannot hold the office
Aung San Suu Kyi praises British people and BBC on trip to UK

19 Jun 2012: Burmese democracy activist and MP thanks audience at LSE talk for warm welcome and wishing her happy birthday

More on South and Central Asia

Europe

Antonis Samaras appointed Greece's prime minister

20 Jun 2012: Three-party coalition cabinet expected as PM pledges to honour bailout commitments
Euro 2012: Uefa urged to investigate $4bn corruption allegations in Ukraine

20 Jun 2012: Opposition politicians claim officials defrauded Ukraine of up to $4bn by awarding no-bid contracts for Euro 2012 infrastructure

Americas

Hugo Chávez launches re-election bid in front of thousands of supporters

Venezuelan president registers to run for a third term in October with an open-top parade and folk song performance
WikiLeaks reveals US concerns over Televisa-Peña Nieto links in 2009

US cables back Guardian claims that Mexican presidential election frontrunner has been paying for favourable TV coverage
More on the Americas

Middle East

Bahraini boy, 11, charged with helping protesters

20 Jun 2012:
Ali Hasan faces up to three years in jail if convicted as authorities refuse to believe he was merely playing in the street
Britain urged to ban royal head of Bahrain Olympic committee

20 Jun 2012:
Son of Bahrain's king set to visit London 2012 despite being accused of violating athletes' human rights during Arab spring

More on the Middle East

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Last 24 hours

Last 24 hours

Egypt: Mubarak 'improves' as crisis worsens - Wednesday 20 June 2012
Antonis Samaras sworn in as Greek prime minister
Eric Holder to face contempt proceedings over Fast and Furious - US politics live
Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle commemorated with honorary Oxford degree
'Al-Qaida' gunman takes hostages in Toulouse bank
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Greece's biggest hospital struggles as austerity cuts bite - video

As Greece faces the most important election in a generation, the doctors at Nikaia hospital struggle to keep their patients alive and the system working

Audio

Guardian Books podcast: Latin American novels and poetry

Audio (40min 16sec)

Interactive

The weight of nations: obesity worldwide – interactive

Interactive

Gallery

Rio+20 Earth summit - in pictures

Gallery (16 pictures)

Video

Reframing Rio+20: revisiting children in Papua New Guinea – video

Video (9min 24sec)

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mattseaton: Super piece by @moorehn on Bernanke. Serious shorter: with Congress deadlocked, US economy too dependent on Fed action: http://t.co/J5nqzNi0
about 11 minutes ago
guardianworld: Attorney-general Holder in contempt over Fast and Furious, House decides http://t.co/FICkwBxK
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guardianworld: Fed to pump $267bn into economy with warning that US recovery is slowing http://t.co/1iSUq6kB
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