British Brawn GP pilot Jenson Button could potentially seal his world champion title already this Sunday in Japan’s Suzuka circuit, for example, if he wins the race and his team mate Rubens Barrichello doesn’t get any points.
Although a scenario like this is unlikely to happen, if Button wins the race, he would have 94 points, and Barrichello, who has 69 points today, couldn’t beat Button’s score even if he won the next two remaining races …

Iran has agreed to co-operate with the UN’s nuclear watchdog on inspections of its second uranium-enrichment facility, EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.
Solana said Tehran would invite the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit the site, thought to be near Qom, “in the next couple of weeks”, the BBC reports.
The news came after talks with Iran in Geneva about its nuclear programme.
Solana said there would be further dialogue to come, with a second meeting …

According to a poll by YouGov the day after The Sun dropped their support for Labour, only 26% of the people of Britain would vote for the Labour Party at General Election, compared to 30% yesterday. Conservatives however gained from The Sun’s support and 40% of Britons favour the Tories, compared to 37% yesterday.
Support for Liberal Democrats has also dropped by one per cent to 20.
15% of people favour some other political party.
63% of people …

Toyota issued a safety recall for 3.8 million Lexus and Toyota cars because of potentially deadly floor mats, CNN Money reports.
The world’s largest automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned drivers to remove the mats or risk a forced-down accelerator pedal that could lead to a fatal crash.
The seven models being recalled could potentially have removable mats that would interfere with the pedal and cause it to stick.
“A stuck open accelerator pedal may …

Finland’s Government are drafting a new smoking law in order to become the first country on Earth where people don’t consume tobacco.
Finnish Ministry of Social and Health Affairs gave the draft of the new law to the Parliament today, Finnish national broadcasting reports.
“As the first country on Earth, we have written a law to end smoking at all,” Government’s adviser Ismo Tuominen said. “If we only tried to reduce it, that would be accepting smoking …

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has formed a new political bloc to contest January’s general election, the alliance will be called State of Law and will comprise of 40 political parties representing a variety of Iraqi religious sects and ethnic groups, the BBC reports.
Al-Maliki has been Prime Minister since 2006, but in August his Dawa party broke with the Shia-led coalition.
Analysts say the new bloc are unlikely to gain a majority in their own right …

A disabled pensioner who survived World War Two and escaped the tyranny of East Germany over the Berlin Wall has been prosecuted – for prodding a teenage hoodie who threw stones at her house, the Daily Mail reports.
Widow Renate Bowling, 71, who uses a walking frame, had confronted the 17-year-old after stones were thrown at her house. She had acted after youths had made her life a misery and acted inappropriately.
Today, the pensioner pleaded guilty …

The Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll for today shows that 29% of American voters strongly approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President, 37% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential approval index rating of -8.
Only 33% say the nation is generally heading in the right direction.
Overall, 50% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance, and another 50% disapprove.

A Wisconsin tourism lobbying group are changing their name after realizing their initials formed a crude acronym, AP reports.
The Wisconsin Tourism Federation group did a quiet rebranding in July, changing their name to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin and updating their logo from WTF to TFW, after it was featured on Web sites and blogs poking fun at it.
Lead lobbyist for the group, Chet Gerlach, said that the federation made the change after the meaning …

General Stanley McChrystal, the head of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, said today that the insurgency in Afghanistan is growing and the success of the campaign against the Taliban cannot be taken for granted, Reuters reports.
Delivering a grave and what he called honest assessment of the eight-year-old conflict, McChyrstal said the situation was serious and time was running out, although he also cautioned that moving too quickly without planning would be a mistake.
“The situation …

Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to become EU President within weeks if Ireland votes “Yes” in its referendum on the Lisbon Treaty tomorrow, the Daily Mail reports.
Blair’s candidacy for the new post will be rushed through as quickly as possible, according to government sources.
He is among the favourites to become the first President of the European Union, a role that is chosen by the EU’s 27 leaders and not by voters. Such an appointment would …

Israeli diplomat Shmuel Polishuk was forced to urgently leave Moscow after Russian authorities accused him of espionage, Jerusalem Post reports.
Israel had pressured Russia to prevent his official expulsion and even threatened a counter move. It was eventually agreed upon that he would not be declared a persona non grata but would have to leave the country.
The Foreign Ministry did not provide any details other than saying that the issue was being examined by the foreign …

Hundreds of people in Hong Kong joined a series of demonstrations on China’s National Day today calling for democracy and human rights in China, Japanese agency Kyodo reports.
Organizing a pro-democracy march, 60-hour hunger strike and candlelight vigil, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China said about 600 people joined the march while a dozen others joined the hunger strike that started at noon.
“This is a day for national mourning,” alliance …

Formula One driver Kimi Räikkönen says that he will only continue racing in the series if he gets an offer from a top team and has a chance to win the championship.
Ferrari announced yesterday that they have sacked the Finnish driver in favour of Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who will be joining the red arrows from 2010. Räikkönen’s contract with Ferrari was supposed to last until the end of next season, but the team decided to …

Romania’s coalition government has collapsed after the Social Democrat Party (PSD) resigned, the BBC reports.
The leftist coalition partner said they had pulled out in protest against the sacking of the interior minister.
The PSD’s Dan Nica was this week fired by centrist PM Emil Boc after he made comments about the potential for fraud in presidential elections next month.

China’s leaders marked the 60th anniversary of Communist Party rule today with a precision display of military bravado and a confident prediction by President Hu Jintao that “infinitely bright prospects” lie ahead for the world’s most populous nation, the New York Times reports.
The dense blanket of smog that had covered China’s capital for days disappeared in the morning, leaving crystal skies and perfect autumn temperatures for the columns of armor and thousands of goose-steeping troops …