UK leaders in final push for votes
The UK party leaders make their last attempts to win over voters in what is expected to be the closest election for many years.

Somali pirates seize Russian ship
A Russian warship is rushing to assist an oil tanker which has been hijacked by Somali pirates off East Africa.

Suicide squad targets Afghan town
Nine suicide bombers are killed along with four bystanders in an attack in the Afghan city of Zaranj, officials say.

'Alien abduction' prompts Russian security questions
A Russian MP asks President Medvedev to look into claims by a regional president that he met aliens on board a spaceship.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Live - Premier League
Manchester City and Tottenham meet in a crunch game in the battle for fourth in the Premier League, while Fulham host Stoke.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Live text - Australia v Bangladesh
Australia face Bangladesh in Barbados on the final day of group matches at the ICC World Twenty20.

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Changing threat
Tracing alleged NY bomb plot to its Pakistan roots

Bleak setting
Limited hopes for new Middle East talks

Sense of failure
Chief negotiator remembers Iranian embassy siege

After the uprising
Kyrgyz lawlessness drives rise in ethnic tensions

Rural neglect?
Why do new recruits join India's Maoist rebels?

Much maligned
Little evidence that priests more prone to paedophilia

Cuba opens to tourism investors
Cuba unveils plans to allow foreigners to develop golf courses and marinas to boost the nation's tourism industry.

Economic block: Checkpoint bribes cost Ivory Coast '$300m'
At least $300m (£200m) is paid in bribes at checkpoints in Ivory Coast each year, a business leader says.

Fighting poverty
How will Africa reach its economic potential?

Ash compensation e-mail 'is fake'
Passengers receiving e-mails offering compensation for volcanic ash flight delays are warned it is a scam.

Swiss sci-fi
The director of Switzerland's first science fiction film

Small science
Inside Russia's 'nanotechnology park

Picasso work fetches record price
Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust sells for a record-breaking $106m at auction in New York.

Florence heads up Mojo nominees
Florence and the Machine leads the charge at this year's Mojo Honours List awards with four nominations.

Water mission fights interference
The Smos spacecraft returns valuable data on the way water is cycled around the globe, despite experiencing interference.

Lack of sleep 'poses death risk'
Lack of sleep can lead to an early grave, warn experts who say six to eight hours a night is optimal for good health.

Secrets of fruit appeal
Making fruit look good holds the key to helping children eat more of it, a European study suggests.

Nigeria drops ex-graft tsar case
Nigeria drops charges against former anti-corruption boss Nuhu Ribadu, who was controversially removed in from his job in 2007.

Botswana battles Okavango flood
Twenty villages in Botswana are evacuated after the Okavango River burst its banks and water continues to rise.

Prison for Letterman blackmailer
A former CBS producer is sentenced to six months for blackmailing TV host David Letterman over his affairs.

More deaths feared in US flooding
Officials in Nashville, Tennessee, fear the death count from flooding will continue to grow as the waters recede.

N Korea leader Kim 'in Beijing'
North Korea's Kim Jong-il is in Beijing where he is set to meet Chinese leaders on his secretive visit to the country, say reports.

Philippines refiles murder charge
The Philippines reinstates murder charges against two regional leaders over the country's worst massacre in living memory.

France to return 15 Maori heads
The French parliament votes to return the heads of at least 15 tattooed Maori warriors to New Zealand.

Irish conjoined twins leave care unit
Former conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf leave intensive care after a successful operation in London to separate them.

Iraq groups agree coalition deal
Two of the largest Shia groups have announced they have formed a new coalition following inconclusive elections in March.

US envoy Mitchell meets Israel PM
US Middle East envoy George Mitchell meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before "proximity talks".

'Truth drug' test banned in India
India's Supreme Court says the use of a "truth drug" to question suspects is illegal and a violation of their fundamental rights.

Sri Lankan emergency laws relaxed
Sri Lanka's government eases tough emergency laws, nearly a year after troops defeated Tamil Tiger rebels.

Body discovered after hotel fire
A body is discovered in staff quarters after a fire rips through Harrogate's 170-bedroom Majestic Hotel, police confirm.

Torture brothers' appeal refused
A court refuses two young brothers permission to appeal against their sentences for a prolonged attack on two boys.

Inflatable art deaths accidental
A inquest jury rules the deaths of two County Durham women in an inflatable artwork were accidental.

Murder accused 'fabricated alibi'
A man murdered his married lover and then fabricated an alibi to cover his tracks, a court is told.

Afghan blast soldier 'ambushed'
A British soldier was killed and three others injured during an ambush in Afghanistan, an inquest hears.

Prosecutors net £6.5m crime cash
A Moscow businessman has £6.5m seized by Scottish prosecutors in the largest ever Proceeds of Crime action.