The Vatican is due to publish a letter from Pope Benedict XVI to Irish Catholics, asking forgiveness for paedophilic abuse by priests. The pastoral letter is the first public statement by the Vatican
We will never forget the day when China launched its first manned spacecraft into orbit on October 15, 2003 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Northwest China's Gansu Province. Spraying a mas
Roman Polanski's lawyers have filed an appeal over alleged judicial misconduct in his 1970s child sex trial in the US. The appeal cites new evidence that a prosecutor was aware of misconduct by the ju
A US citizen has pleaded guilty to scouting targets for the 2008 attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai. David Headley, at his trial in Chicago, also admitted plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that
Nigeria has recalled its ambassador to Libya after leader Muammar Gaddafi suggested Nigeria be divided into two states - one Christian and one Muslim. The foreign ministry said the Libyan leader's sta
Sahil Saeed back at home in Oldham A five-year-old British boy, who was held by kidnappers in Pakistan for two weeks, has returned to the family home. Sahil Saeed, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was
The US Congressional Budget Office says the final version of the Democrats' healthcare plan will cut the federal deficit by $138bn over 10 years. The non-partisan body said the proposed legislation, w
Hundreds of Cuban government supporters have heckled members of the Ladies in White rights group marching in protest through the streets of Havana. The women - wives and mothers of jailed dissidents -
A key al-Qaeda figure wanted for a deadly attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan has been killed in a US drone strike, US officials believe. Hussein al-Yemeni, a top al-Qaeda planner, died in the strike
Greater use of hypnotherapy to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome would help sufferers and might save money, says a gastroenterologist. Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterolog
BBC Radio 3 and World Service presenter Charlie Gillett has died after a long illness, aged 68. Known as a champion of world music, the Lancashire-born broadcaster passed away in a London hospital on
An artists impression of CoRoT-9b which was spotted by the CoRoT satellite It is 1,500 light-years from Earth but CoRoT-9b is the first temperate planet found known to be similar to those within our o
About 30 ''Ladies in White'' were stopped on the march in Havana Cuban police have arrested the wives and mothers of political dissidents at a demonstration in the capital, Havana. About 30 members of
Two suspected bank robbers, one of them wearing a St Patrick's Day costume, have been killed in a shoot-out with police in Tennessee. First State Bank in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin was held up o
The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has told the BBC that he believes Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. Mr Erdogan said he was confident Iran's nuclear programme was f
A plan to help the US lead the world in providing its citizens with super-fast internet has been officially released. The Federal Communications Commission, FCC, aims to ensure every American in the c
Cyclone causes state of emergency in parts of Fiji Australia and New Zealand have begun airlifting aid to the Pacific island nation of Fiji, battered by a powerful cyclone which sparked sea surges. Th
Japanese car manufacturer Honda has announced it is recalling 410,000 cars in the US because of complaints about their brakes. The recall is of 344,000 Odyssey models and 68,000 Element vehicles made
The US Federal Reserve has repeated its pledge to keep interest rates at record lows in order to nurture the economic recovery. The Fed said its main interest rate would be kept at the current 0% to 0
The world's shortest man has died in Rome The world's shortest man, He Pingping, who was just 74.6cm (2ft 5in) tall, has died in Rome. He was born in 1988 in Wulanchabu, China, with a form of primordi