Flagship hospitals lose top stars
Four of the government's flagship hospitals have lost their three star status in this year's NHS ratings.

UN demands Israel scrap barrier
The UN votes overwhelmingly for a resolution demanding Israel tear down its West Bank barrier.

Microsoft to pay $32bn dividend
Microsoft is to return $75bn in cash to shareholders over the next four years, starting with a $32bn dividend.

Blair pressed over case for war
Tony Blair rejects questions about his credibility as he says intelligence errors do not mean the Iraq war was wrong.

Businessmen 'could head police'
Senior figures from businesses and the public sector could be appointed to run police forces, a report suggests.

'Mercenaries' in Zimbabwe court
A group of 70 mercenaries suspected of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea go on trial in Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

UKIP MEP in row over women
A Euro MP for the UK Independence Party sparks controversy hours into his first day in the Strasbourg parliament.

Man hunted over four murders
North Yorkshire police hunt one man in connection with the murders of twin sisters and an elderly couple.

Philippines' Iraq hostage freed
Philippine lorry driver Angelo de la Cruz is freed by his kidnappers in Iraq after Manila pulls out its troops.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Football: Drogba joins Chelsea
Chelsea sign Marseille striker Didier Drogba on a three-year deal.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Football: Argentina v Colombia
Argentina's in-form striker Javier Saviola should be fit for their semi-final against Colombia.

Sudan plans Darfur refugee return
The Sudanese authorities say displaced citizens in the threatened region should go back home.

Taiwan holds rare military drill
Taiwan's fighter jets use a motorway as an emergency runway in a military drill, as China conducts war games.

Donors pledge $1bn in Haiti aid
International donors in Washington pledge more than $1bn to help rebuild the stricken nation of Haiti.

Battle lines drawn in new Europe
The newly enlarged European Parliament elects Josep Borrell as leader after a controversial right-left deal is reached.

Palestinian PM agrees to stay on
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei will remain in his post for now, three days after offering to resign.

Bangladesh battles flood chaos
Water swamps a key airport in the north-east as Bangladesh struggles to cope with some of its worst floods in years.

Tributes for dead firefighters
Two firefighters who died after an east London blaze in a three-storey building are praised by their colleagues.

Morning-after pill 'scandal'
Most accident and emergency departments in NI will not prescribe the morning-after pill, the BBC learns.

Man convicted of body-bags murder
A man is jailed for life for killing a friend, cutting up his body and disposing of it in bin bags.

Freed sex offender 'likely to kill'
A police chief says nothing can be keep done to keep in prison a serious sex offender likely to attack women and kill.

Powergen fined over unfair policy
Powergen is fined £700,000 for preventing more than 20,000 household customers from switching to other energy suppliers.

Unions hail two-tier worker deal
Unions welcome a deal giving thousands of public sector workers employed by private contractors greater rights.

Antidepressants of equal safety
Newer antidepressants like Prozac are as safe in terms of suicide risk as older-style alternatives, a study shows.

School spending remains a mystery
Too little is known of how schools in England spend £24bn a year, the Audit Commission says.

End comes closer for whaling ban
Anti-whaling campaigners say it looks likelier than ever before that the 1986 moratorium on the commercial hunt will be lifted before long.

Parents 'under-estimate' net risks
Parents still do not realise what their children do or see while they are on the net, a report suggests.

Ferdinand head Mercury Prize list
Rockers Franz Ferdinand and soul singer Joss Stone lead the shortlist for this year's Mercury Music Prize.

Future transport plans: Your views
A new transport strategy for the future has been outlined by Transport secretary Alistair Darling. Will it achieve the government's intentions?