World News: Portugal goes to European Union for financial bail-out

Portugal's caretaker prime minister Jose Socrates has said that he has asked the European Union for financial assistance.

Mr Socrates said the country was "at too much risk that it shouldn't be exposed to".

The government has long resisted asking for aid, but last week admitted that it had missed its 2010 budget deficit target.

Portugal follows Greece and the Irish Republic in seeking a bail-out.

"I always said asking for foreign aid would be the final way to go, but we have reached the moment," Mr Socrates said.

"Above all, it's in the national interest."

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement that Portugal's request would be processed "in the swiftest possible manner, according to the rules applicable".

He also reaffirmed his "confidence in Portugal's capacity to overcome the present difficulties, with the solidarity of its partners".

Mr Socrates did not say how much aid Portugal would ask for. Negotiations will now be under way.

Mr Socrates was speaking after finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said it was necessary to resort to financial aid from the European Union.

Paris sued over borrowed gems

A break-in at Paris Hilton's Los Angeles home has led to a lawsuit over $60,000 in borrowed gems.

The jeweller's insurer said the celebrity simply held onto them after police gave them back.

Her spokeswoman said only costume jewellery was recovered.

Leader's son set for step up

North Korean legislators gathered in Pyongyang today amid speculation that leader Kim Jong Il may appoint his son to a post that would make him the nation's second most powerful man.

As the Supreme People's Assembly convenes a spring session, attention is focused on whether Kim Jong Un will be elected to the National Defense Commission - a move that would further solidify his standing as North Korea's next leader.

Cancer pictures on fag packets

Tobacco companies in Australia will be forced to strip all logos from their cigarette packages and replace them with graphic images such as cancer-riddled mouths and sickly children under legislation unveiled today - a move the government says will make the nation the world's toughest on tobacco advertising.

Police unearth pit of bodies

Mexican security forces searching for abducted bus passengers in a state bordering Texas have found a collection of pits holding 59 bodies.

The grisly find was made near the ranch where drug cartel gunmen massacred 72 migrants who were trying to reach the US.

Gaddafi asks States to halt 'unjust war'

Libya: Gaddafi has appealed directly to President Barack Obama to end what he called "an unjust war."

In a rambling, three-page letter, he also wished Mr Obama good luck in his bid for re-election next year.

The White House confirmed the letter, but shrugged it off.

Pakistan: A suicide car bomber targeted a senior police official today in the south-west city of Quetta, killing a guard and wounding eight people, police said.