News

Spain's Eta 'declares ceasefire'
Armed Basque separatist group Eta says it has decided not to carry out "armed actions" in its campaign for independence, the BBC learns.

'Banish Pakistan trio if guilty'
Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan says the three cricketers accused of spot-fixing should receive life bans from cricket if found guilty.

Cell assault sergeant facing sack
A police officer who was caught on CCTV injuring a woman by throwing her into a cell faces being dismissed.

UK soldier killed in Afghan blast
A British soldier from The Royal Scots Borderers has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence says.

Gove defends free school numbers
Michael Gove says demand for new free schools has exceeded expectations but Labour says plans for 16 new institutions next year are "laughable".

Burnt golf course body was a man
Police trying to identify a badly-burnt body found on a golf course in East Sussex believe the young man was murdered elsewhere.

'US troops' repel Iraq attackers
US forces have helped repel an attack on an army base in Baghdad in which seven people died, security officials tell the BBC.

SNP rethink Scots referendum plan
The Scottish government is set to shelve plans for an independence referendum before next year's election.

Ex-army head attacks Labour PMs
Former head of the Army Gen Sir Richard Dannatt accuses Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of letting down British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Archbishop backs papal visit cost
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales says taxpayers should help fund the Pope's visit because it is an official state event.

Four charged over 'brothel' raids
Two men and two women are due in court following a series of raids on suspected brothels in Belfast in a UK-wide operation.

Rooney set to travel with England
Wayne Rooney will travel to Switzerland for England's Euro 2012 qualifier despite allegations about his private life.

In for a penny... racers have a bone-shaking ride
Penny farthing riders from around the world take to the streets for the 1km Knutsford Great Race.

Prince and Tony Blair to appear on Daybreak show
Prince Charles and ex-prime minister Tony Blair will be guests in the first week of new ITV morning show Daybreak.

Live Twenty20 - England v Pakistan
England require 127 to beat Pakistan in the first Twenty20 international after a disciplined bowling effort in Cardiff.

Live text - US Open day seven
Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams are among the players in action on day seven of the US Open at Flushing Meadows.

Pedrosa wins on tragic MotoGP day
Dani Pedrosa wins the San Marino MotoGP, but the race is overshadowed by the death of Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa in the preceding Moto2 race.

Moto2's Tomizawa dies after crash
Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa dies after a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Jimenez claims European Masters
Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez holds off the challenge of his Italian Ryder Cup team-mate Edoardo Molinari to win the European Masters by three strokes.

Father and son die in air crash
A father and son are killed when their plane crashes after a mid-air collision with another aircraft during a race.

Tube strikes loom for commuters
The first of a series of Underground strikes begins later in London, with journeys expected to be severely disrupted this week.

Motorcycle family speak of loss
The family of a father and son killed in a motorbike crash say the tragedy will leave a huge hole in their lives.

Scotland faces £3.7bn budget cuts
Scotland faces nearly £4bn of cuts over the next four years, Finance Secretary John Swinney is warning.

Twelve children have E. coli bug
Twelve children in the Lurgan area are infected with E. coli 0157, the Public Health Agency has confirmed.

Petrol bomb attack in Enniskillen
A petrol bomb is thrown at the door of a house in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.

Local identity worry in shake-up
Some community identities in Wales may be "wiped clean" by proposals to shake up local councils, it is claimed.

Car crashes into pub toilet wall
A pub landlady tells how she discovered a car embedded in the wall of the men's toilets.

Mozambique police fire at rioters
Police in Mozambique's capital fire rubber bullets on the third day of riots, as the violence spreads to the central city of Chimoio.

Nigerian economy 'to grow by 10%'
Nigeria's economy will hit double-digit growth by the end of 2011 or early 2012, the country's finance minister says.

New Zealand assesses quake damage
Officials assess the damage caused by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, as aftershocks continue.

South Korea FM offers to resign
The South Korean Foreign Minister, Yu Myung-hwan, offers to resign after it was revealed that his daughter was offered a job in his ministry.

Car bomb kills Russian soldiers
A suicide car bombing at a military base in the southern Russian region of Dagestan kills five soldiers and wounds about 40 others.

French hostages 'in good health'
Two French journalists kidnapped in Afghanistan in December are alive, says President Nicolas Sarkozy's chief adviser.

Crash survivors back Chile miners
Survivors of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes arrive at the San Jose mine to support the 33 men trapped underground.

Heavy rains devastate Guatemala
A state of emergency is declared in Guatemala where heavy rain has caused widespread flooding and landslides, killing at least 20 people.

Iran stoning woman 'to be lashed'
An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery now faces being whipped for indecency, her son says.

One dead in Israeli raids on Gaza
Israel carries out three bombing raids on the Gaza Strip, killing one man and injuring another.

Security stepped up at Kabul Bank
Armed police are posted outside the main branch of Kabul Bank as customers continue to withdraw money amid fears it may collapse.

Karzai sets up Taliban talks body
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has formed a committee to seek peace talks with the Taliban, his office says.

BP well 'poses no further risk'
The official in charge of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill says the well which caused the damage is no longer a risk to the environment.

Kara DioGuardi leaves Idol panel
Songwriter Kara DioGuardi becomes the latest member of the judging panel on American Idol to quit this year.

Public 'support' cutting deficit
Many people are in favour of reducing the deficit but they are less clear about where cuts should be made, a BBC poll suggests.

Six million facing new tax bills
HM Revenue and Customs says some 1.4 million people each owe about £1,500 in tax, while 4.3 million will get an average rebate of £418.

Rovers takeover man left UK debts
The Indian businessman hoping to buy Blackburn Rovers, Ahsan Ali Syed, left a trail of debt from his time in the UK, 5 live Investigates reveals.

Hacking claims 'recycled' - Gove
Allegations surrounding Andy Coulson and phone hacking at the News of the World are being "recycled", a senior Cabinet minister says.

Hague thanks public for support
Foreign Secretary William Hague says he and his wife have received "huge public support" since making a frank statement about their private life.

Tory defects over schools scheme
A Tory councillor defects to Labour over cuts to the government's schools building programme, saying she was "ashamed to be a Conservative".

Reading Arabic 'hard for brain'
Israeli scientists believe they have identified why Arabic is particularly hard to learn to read.

'No evidence' implants are toxic
Tests on a type of breast implant filled with an unapproved gel have shown no evidence they are unsafe, UK experts say.

Compost sparks Legionnaire's fear
Gardeners are being warned about the risk of Legionnaire's disease from compost after a pensioner developed the disease after handling compost.

Men in short supply in primaries
One in four state primary schools in England has no male teacher, statistics show.

Music tuition falling, poll says
Fewer children are learning to play a musical instrument than in their parents' generation, a survey suggests.

School lottery 'failed in aim'
England's first city-wide lottery system aimed at solving the problem of allocating places at over-subscribed schools failed to give poorer children equal access to top schools, academics say.

Craigslist ends adult service ads
Online marketplace Craigslist closes its US adult services listing following pressure from attorneys general and advocacy groups.

PS3 hack escapes court challenge
Sony has won a permanent ban in Australia of a hack for its PS3, but the code behind it has been released for free on the web.

Memristor revolution backed by HP
A potentially revolutionary circuit component, once a laboratory curiosity, is to be mass-produced for the first time.

Hubble re-shoots 1987 star blast
The Hubble space telescope returns to view one of its favourite subjects - a giant stellar explosion first seen from Earth in 1987.

Danish rocketeers postpone launch
A group of Danish rocket enthusiasts trying to launch a dummy 30km into the sky abort the mission when a valve on their rocket freezes up.

Plans for solar 'close encounter'
Nasa is aiming to get closer to the Sun than ever before, with plans to plunge a car-sized unmanned spacecraft into the star's outer atmosphere.

Funeral for festival death star
The funeral is held of singer Charles Haddon from Northamptonshire who died in a fall in Belgium.

Robbie turns on Blackpool lights
Thousands of people watch Robbie Williams switch on Blackpool's illuminations.

Sarah Kennedy leaves BBC Radio 2
Veteran broadcaster Sarah Kennedy is leaving BBC Radio 2's Dawn Patrol show - 34 years after joining the station

Eddie who?
Comic Eddie Kadi can command vast crowds at his live shows. Why has he attracted so little mainstream attention?

Don't let the bed bugs bite
The world is on the verge of a bed-bug pandemic, according to a report - how did the tiny biting insects come to pose such a threat?

Autobiographies of the rich and famous
Tony Blair's memoirs has become the fastest selling autobiography in Britain. But what are the biggest overall sellers?

Could adverts appear on the Colosseum?
The Italian government is inviting private companies to sponsor the Colosseum to help fund repairs.

Trapped miners speak to families
The group of miners in Chile trapped underground for a month have been talking to their families on a video link.

Imran Khan on corruption in cricket
The former Pakistan cricket captain, Imran Khan, has said that if players are found guilty of spot fixing, they should not be given a life ban, which some officials are demanding.

Blair pelted with eggs in Dublin
Eggs and shoes have been thrown by anti-war protestors at former Prime Minister Tony Blair as he arrived at a book signing in Dublin.

Ian McEwan: Booker winner 'not my best'
Author Ian McEwan talks to Matt Stadlen about the exercise of writing, the importance of long, moody walks, the "thinginess" of James Joyce and getting to grips with quantum mechanics.

Making music from children's old toys
The Modified Toy Orchestra is a band made up of five musicians - and 48 tweaked toy instruments.

The military 'junk' left in Iraq
Thousands of tonnes of US military equipment have been moved out of Iraq but plenty has been left behind - and not just for the troops who remain there.

'Worst earthquake I have ever felt'
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes New Zealand's South Island, causing widespread minor damage and power cuts.

Missing in Mexico
Mystery of young women disappearing in Ciudad Juarez

Remember when...
How much can you trust the human memory?

Crumble in the jungle
Ali-Foreman boxing match venue now in state of decay

Warhol's pivotal years
A major new exhibition focuses on crucial four-year period

Medieval munchies
How an ancient diet could aid healthy eating

Historical dilemma
How can Italy best commercialise its world-famous Colosseum?

Cottage country
Escaping the hustle and bustle of city life in Ontario