| Obama condemns Koran burning plan |
| US President Barack Obama says a small church's plans to burn the Koran are a "recruitment bonanza" for al-Qaeda. |
|
| Euro MPs condemn France over Roma |
| Euro MPs call on France to suspend its deportations of Roma (Gypsies), as Paris seeks co-operation from Romania. |
|
| Police search Sarkozy party's HQ |
| French financial police search the headquarters of President Nicolas Sarkozy's party over the inquiry into the L'Oreal party funding scandal, reports say. |
|
| Car bomb rocks Mogadishu airport |
| At least eight people are killed as a car bomb explodes at Somalia's main airport in Mogadishu, officials say. |
|
| Castro doubts over Cuban system |
| Cuba's Fidel Castro says the Cuban model no longer works in the latest excerpt from an interview with a US journalist. |
|
| 'Friendly fire' suspected in Manila siege |
| Investigators in the Philippines say police may have accidentally shot some of the hostages on a bus hijacked last month. |
|
| Taliban chief says victory close |
| Taliban leader Mullah Omar says his fighters are on the verge of victory in Afghanistan and the Nato-led campaign has been "a complete failure". |
|
| Mexico crime 'like an insurgency' |
| US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Mexican drug violence is looking increasingly like an insurgency, a comment strongly rejected by Mexico. |
|
| Big toll in Russian market bomb |
| At least 15 people are killed and more than 60 wounded in a bomb attack in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz, local officials say. |
|
| British hostage freed in Pakistan |
| A British journalist held captive by militants in north-west Pakistan since March is released. |
|
| Saudi website for fatwas closes |
| The popular Islam Today website, run by the Saudi cleric Salman al-Awdah, has closed its section offering thousands of Islamic religious rulings. |
|
| Rodney King tying the knot with his juror |
| Nineteen years after his brutal beating by four LA police officers, Rodney King is marrying a juror from the case. |
|
| Residents of 'Lustful' street seek less sinful name |
| Residents of a small street called Lustful Court in the US state of Georgia are told to raise a petition if they want a less provocative street name. |
|
| Rig firms hit back at BP report |
| Contractors who worked for BP on the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon oil rig criticise the company's report into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. |
|
| Obama defiant on tax cut stance |
| President Obama defends his opposition to extending Bush-era tax cuts for wealthier people and criticises what he calls Republican obstruction. |
|
| Honduras massacre 'gang rivalry' |
| A mass shooting in a shoe factory in Honduras is blamed on rival street gangs linked to Mexican drug cartels. |
|
| Thousands caught in Mexico floods |
| Hundreds of thousands of people in eastern and southern Mexico see floodwaters inundate their homes. |
|
| SA murder rate shows sharp fall |
| The murder rate has fallen by 8.6% over the past year in South Africa, the latest statistics show. |
|
| South Sudan vote is 'time bomb' |
| The referendum on independence for Southern Sudan is a "ticking time bomb", US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says. |
|
| China U-turn on enforced blackout |
| Thousands of people in China are to have their electricity restored after an order for enforced power cuts to meet energy-saving goals is reversed. |
|
| Japan-China boat spat escalates |
| China warns Japan that their wider relationship will suffer if Tokyo mishandles a dispute about a Chinese fishing boat seized in disputed waters. |
|
| Erdogan raps rivals ahead of poll |
| Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticises the tactics of his opponents, in a BBC interview ahead of Sunday's constitutional referendum. |
|
| Spain confirms its labour reforms |
| Spain's government says it will keep labour market reforms agreed in June which make it cheaper to sack workers. |
|
| Iran opposition lawyer detained |
| A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh, is detained by the authorities on security charges. |
|
| Yemeni soldier killed in ambush |
| Gunmen open fire on soldiers in southern Yemen, killing at least one and wounding others. |
|
| Indian caste census due in 2011 |
| India's first caste-based census since 1931 will take place next year, the cabinet announces. |
|
| Delhi games face disease threat |
| India's Commonwealth Games village in Delhi is being threatened by dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes. |
|
| North East 'least resilient' area |
| Industrial areas in the North East and Midlands are least resilient to economic shocks, BBC-commissioned research suggests. |
|
| Defence firm BAE cuts 1,000 jobs |
| BAE Systems announces it is to axe almost 1,000 jobs across the UK, with 740 to go from five sites in England. |
|
| US slips in competitiveness poll |
| The United States has been overtaken by Sweden and Singapore in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness survey. |
|
| US exports near to two-year high |
| The US trade gap in July narrowed thanks to increased exports of large US-made items such as aircraft. |
|
| UK interest rates remain at 0.5% |
| The Bank of England keeps UK interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5% for the 18th consecutive month. |
|
| Riaz to face police questioning |
| Pakistan bowler Wahab Riaz will be questioned by Scotland Yard on 14 September in relation to allegations of corruption. |
|
| Toshack stands down as Wales boss |
| John Toshack stands down as Wales manager after a six-year reign with immediate effect by "mutual consent". |
|
| Defoe out for at least six weeks |
| Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe is ruled out for at least six weeks because of an ankle injury. |
|
| Spears sued for sexual harassment |
| A former bodyguard for Britney Spears files a sexual harassment lawsuit against the pop star. |
|
| Don Johnson payout upped to $51m |
| A judge more than doubles an award made by a jury to Don Johnson over profits owed from a TV show to $51.2m (£33.2m). |
|
| Tate Modern to display Miro work |
| Works by Joan Miro will be displayed at the Tate Modern, the first time a major retrospective of the artist has been held in nearly 50 years. |
|
| UN aid chief Amos visits Pakistan |
| The newly appointed head of UN humanitarian relief Lady Valerie Amos has spent her first day in office touring Pakistan. |
|
| Turkey's controversial constitution vote |
| Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the controversial referendum on changing the constitution. |
|
| Inside the 101st's Afghan outpost |
| Captain Henry Hansen of the US Army's 101st Airborne shows Quentin Sommerville around their combat outpost near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. |
|
| Mexico rejects drug 'insurgency' analogy |
| Mexico has rejected remarks from the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, that drug-related violence in Mexico increasingly has the hallmarks of an insurgency. |
|
| Pressure mounts against Koran burning |
| A small US church says it will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary. |
|
| UN 'failed' DR Congo rape victims |
| UN peacekeepers "failed" the victims of mass rape in eastern DR Congo, a senior UN official has said. |
|
| Sect members escape Nigeria jail |
| At least 700 prisoners have escaped during an attack on a jail in northern Nigeria, including members of a militant Islamist sect. |
|
| Lion lunges at Las Vegas trainer |
| A lion lunged at a trainer as stunned onlookers watched in horror, at Las Vegas's MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. |
|
| One-minute World News |
| Watch the latest news summary from BBC World News. International news updated 24 hours a day. |
|
| There she blows! |
| Hi-tech look-out could save whales' lives |
|
| Model politician |
| British-born ex-Miss Bolivia on why she has gone into politics |
|
| 'Real women' |
| Plus-size models make New York Fashion Week debut |
|
| Downward spiral |
| Is Mexico becoming like 1980s drugs-wracked Colombia? |
|
| Altered image |
| Pictures reveal new side to life in trend-setting Soweto |
|
| Magnificent Mary |
| India's top woman boxer dreams of Olympic glory |
|
| Low pay and squalor |
| The plight of Commonwealth Games workers in Delhi |
|
| Hero's welcome? |
| Russia's returning spies will find it difficult to adjust |
|