Legendary Welsh singer Tom Jones shocked passers-by in central London on Wednesday by performing an impromptu set on a pavement to raise money for a cancer charity.

The 68-year-old thrilled hundreds of people who thronged around him snapping photographs on their mobile phone cameras, as he sang with only an acoustic guitarist alongside him.

TOULOUSE, France, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Singapore Airlines on Monday unveiled the mystery bidder who paid more than 100,000 dollars (70,000 euros) for a seat on the inaugural flight of the Airbus A380 between Singapore and Sydney.

Julian Hayward, a 38-year-old Briton who sold his Internet business in 2000, said he wanted a 'little bit of history' by flying in seat 1A in the first class area of the plane on next week's journey.

LONDON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Britain's Prince Harry is set to train with a charity dedicated to providing up-to-date maps during disasters and may be sent overseas with its volunteers, the group said on Thursday.

MapAction, of which the prince is royal patron, confirmed that he was training with the charity, adding that while they hoped he could be deployed with them on an overseas mission, it was not yet certain.

KATHMANDU, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Cancer survivors and musicians from across the world are planning to perform world's highest gig at the foot of Mount Everest to raise funds for cancer charities, organisers said Wednesday.

'On October 22 our team will perform a rock concert above Everest Base Camp in Kala Patthar (5,550 metres, 18,315 feet) and break the world record for the highest gig,' James Chippendale, co-founder of US-based Love Hope Strength Foundation told AFP in Kathmandu.

DUBAI, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Underpaid and underfed all year, Asian workers in Dubai, as in the rest of the United Arab Emirates, get a chance to eat their fill -- and for free -- during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

As the call to prayer goes out at dusk from a mosque in an upmarket district to signal the end of the fast, hundreds of mostly south Asian men gather nearby to savour a meal offered by charities or philanthropists.

DALLAS, Texas, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - A high-profile battle in the US 'war on terror' is in the hands of 12 Texas jurors who must decide whether what was once America's largest Muslim charity was actually a front for Palestinian terrorists.

Government prosecutors allege that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development raised millions of dollars for Hamas, but they do not accuse the charity of directly financing terrorist activity.

DUBAI, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - The ruler of the wealthy Gulf emirate of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, launched a charity drive on Wednesday to help educate one million children in poor countries.

The six-week long Dubai Cares fundraising campaign will 'tap into the spirit of giving and tradition of philanthropy deeply rooted in the Emirati community', said a statement on the launch of the drive, without indicating how much money was aimed to be raised.

LEEDS, England, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of people gathered Friday for the funeral of Jane Tomlinson, the Briton who completed a string of punishing physical challenges for charity after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Tomlinson, 43, raised more than 1.5 million pounds (2.2 million euros, 2.9 million dollars) through feats such as cycling 6,780 kilometres (4,212 miles) from San Francisco to New York in the United States over nine weeks last year.

DETROIT, Michigan, Sept 9, 2007 (AFP) - As Ramadan approaches, many US Muslims are worried about how they will manage to fulfill their charitable obligations without raising the ire or attention of federal authorities.

The start of Ramadan sometime next week coincides with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks which prompted anti-terrorism crackdowns that many here say unfairly target Muslims.

LONDON, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - A British woman who raised thousands of pounds in the seven years after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer by taking on a series of gruelling physical challenges has died, her family said Tuesday.

Jane Tomlinson was given only six months to live by doctors in 2000 but decided to devote what remained of her life to raising money for medical charities.

She became a national hero through feats such as cycling 6,780 kilometres (4,212 miles) from San Francisco to New York in the United States over nine weeks last year.

LONDON, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - A British woman with cancer who became a leading fundraiser has died after a seven-year battle with the disease, a family spokesman said Tuesday.

Jane Tomlinson, a 43-year-old paediatric radiologist, was told in 2000 that she had incurable breast cancer and was given only six months to live.

But despite the disease spreading, she raised more than 1.5 million pounds (2.2 million euros, 2.9 million dollars) through a series of gruelling physical challenges that would test the endurance of any healthy athlete.

LONDON, Aug 20, 2007 (AFP) - British Muslims will hold their own version of the Live 8 concerts to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's restive Darfur region, organisers announced Monday.

The concert on October 21 will be held at London's Wembley Stadium and is aimed at raising awareness of the situation among Britain's 1.5 million Muslims amid claims of inaction and focus on other areas such as Iraq, they added.

GEORGETOWN, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) - President Hugo Chavez's philanthropy -- made possible with money from Venezuela's bountiful oil reserves -- received two new beneficiaries Friday: Argentina and Guyana.

Venezuela has agreed to pay two million dollars to build a homeless shelter in its dirt-poor neighbor Guyana, the Guyanese foreign minister Rudy Insanally said Friday, in the latest of several charitable moves by Caracas.

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - The US Treasury said Tuesday it was moving to shut down an alleged support network for Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant and political organization which Washington considers a 'terrorist' group.

The Treasury said it was targeting the Iranian-based Martyrs Foundation, as well as what it described as a fundraising office set up by the Martyrs Foundation in the US Midwest state of Michigan.

DALLAS, Texas, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - A Muslim charity which became the largest in the United States was created for the sole purpose of funding terrorism, prosecutors said Tuesday, in a case set to test the government`s legal weapons in the war on terror.

Prosecutors contend the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development sent more than 12 million dollars to committees in the Palestinian territories controlled by Hamas, which Washington calls a terrorist organization.

LONDON, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - Oxfam launched its global ambassadors programme Tuesday, aimed at raising the charity`s profile around the world and helping to lobby governments and international institutions.

Among the 16 celebrities highlighting the programme are Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, singer Annie Lennox and actress Scarlett Johansson.

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - The US Treasury said Tuesday it was taking action to shut down an alleged Hezbollah support network as it moved to blacklist an Iranian-based foundation and a US fund-raising group.

The Treasury said it was targeting the Iranian-based Martyrs Foundation, as well as what it described as a fundraising office set up by the Martyrs Foundation in the US midwest state of Michigan.

DALLAS, Texas, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - A jury Tuesday began hearing evidence in a terrorist financing trial involving what was once the nation`s largest Muslim charity in a case that will test the US government`s newest tool in the war on terror.

The prosecutor opened Tuesday`s session by reading the 40-page indictment, which is an outline of alleged crimes.

LONDON, July 23, 2007 (AFP) - The treatment of businessmen in the so-called 'cash for honours' investigation in which no one was charged risks damaging future charitable giving, a major donor to the governing Labour Party said in an interview published Monday.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Andrew Rosenfold, a property developer, said that a consequence of the police inquiry had been 'to undermine the serious commitment' of certain individuals to good causes.