BBC News - Home

• 'Progress' in new Afghan mission
  
  British forces say they have seized two compounds in a Taliban stronghold at the start of a fresh bid to push insurgents out of Helmand province.

• Germany mourns Love Parade dead
  
  Germany holds an emotional memorial service for the 21 people killed in a stampede at the Love Parade dance festival a week ago.

• Pakistan protest over PM comments
  
  Pakistani intelligence officials cancel a visit to Britain in protest at comments made by David Cameron about Pakistan's alleged links to terror.

• Huntley to sue over prison attack
  
  Soham killer Ian Huntley is to sue the Prison Service for compensation after his throat was slashed in an attack by a fellow inmate.

• Pakistan flooding 'affects 1m'
  
  A million people in north-west Pakistan are affected by the country's worst monsoon floods in living memory, the UN says, as local officials put the death toll at 800.

• Change call after Australia fires
  
  A report into Australia's worst bushfires, in 2009, recommends sweeping changes to the way the government responds to natural disasters.

• Tax credit overpayments 'to soar'
  
  Many more people will face having to pay back some of the money paid to them as tax credits because of Budget changes, experts say.

• Everglades on Unesco danger list
  
  A UN panel adds the Florida Everglades and Madagascar's tropical rainforest to a list of world heritage sites at risk.

• Men questioned over explosives
  
  Two men from north Wales are being questioned at a central London police station over possible explosives offences.

• Addresses set to lose county name
  
  Counties appear set to be dropped from postal addresses in future years after complaints about out-of-date names.

• Rowers racing to Atlantic record
  
  Four rowers are only 20 nautical miles away from smashing a 114-year-old transatlantic record as they approach Bishop's Rock off the Isles of Scilly.

• Fossil sparks whale of a row for Egypt customs
  
  The fossil of a whale is at the centre of a bizarre customs wrangle at Cairo airport, the BBC's Jon Leyne reports.

• Anyone seen my boa? Six foot snake on the loose
  
  Police are searching for a 6ft (1.8m) long snake which escaped through a bathroom window at a house in Essex.

• Live - Hungarian GP qualifying
  
  The Red Bulls go into qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix as firm favourites ahead of Ferrari for pole position, with McLaren struggling for pace in Budapest.

• Live - England v Pakistan
  
  England lose two early wickets after Pakistan are dismissed for 182 at Trent Bridge following Umar Gul's unbeaten 65.

• Ennis ready for heptathlon battle
  
  Great Britain's Jessica Ennis admits she faces a tough battle in the last two events if she is to add European heptathlon gold to her world title.

• England friendly angers Redknapp
  
  Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp lambasts the timing of England's forthcoming friendly against Hungary.

• Below-par Murray reaches LA semis
  
  Britain's Andy Murray beats Alejandro Falla at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, but the top seed has plenty to work on ahead of his semi-final.

• Man charged over metro stop rape
  
  A man will appear in court charged with rape after a 16-year-old girl was attacked at a Tyne and Wear Metro station in North Shields.

• Probe as wedding guests fall ill
  
  The Health Protection Agency (HPA) investigates why at least 15 people fell ill during a wedding reception at a social club.

• Scotland 'needs financial powers'
  
  The Scottish government says the argument for Scotland gaining more financial powers has to be won in order to grow the economy.

• Funeral for boy drowned in pond
  
  A funeral service is being held for a toddler who drowned after falling into a garden pond in Edinburgh.

• Woman killed in Cookstown crash
  
  A 27-year-old woman has died in hospital following a car crash in Cookstown, County Tyrone.

• Teens accused of stab murder bid
  
  Two 17-year-olds appear at Londonderry Magistrates Court jointly charged with attempted murder.

• Village mourns boat death girl, 9
  
  Residents of a village from where a nine-year-old girl from south Wales has died in a rafting accident in Turkey have spoken of their shock and sadness.

• 'Mindless' poisoning of falcons
  
  Wildlife officers are hunting those responsible for poisoning two peregrine falcons, found dead in south Wales.

• Three charged with Uganda bombing
  
  Three Kenyans are charged with the murders of 76 people killed when bombs exploded as they watched the World Cup on TV in Kampala, Uganda.

• Four fined over SA 'racist video'
  
  Four white South Africans are fined $2,700 (£1,700) each after making a video humiliating black university workers.

• China mine explosion 'kills 15'
  
  At least 15 people die at a mine in northern China, as a suspected explosives store blows up.

• China river hunt for toxic drums
  
  Search teams in north-east China are still searching for thousands of barrels of toxic chemicals washed into a major river by flooding.

• Deadly forest fires ravage Russia
  
  Forest fires kill at least 23 people in central Russia, while a forecast of heavy rain brings relief to Moscow.

• Greek military told to move fuel
  
  Greece will use military vehicles to restore fuel supplies cut by a lorry drivers' strike, the government says.

• Farc call to new Colombian leader
  
  Colombia's Farc rebel group issues a call for dialogue with the new government after Juan Manuel Santos's election as president.

• Argentine gay weddings go ahead
  
  A gay couple become the first to marry in Argentina under a new law allowing same-sex unions.

• Lebanon urged to resist violence
  
  Syria's president and the Saudi king call on Lebanon's rival factions to avoid turning to violence amid mounting political tensions in the country.

• Hamas fighter dies in air strikes
  
  A Hamas militant is killed and several are injured by Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, hours after a Palestinian rocket hit the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

• Pakistan crash 'black box' found
  
  Investigators scouring the wreckage of Pakistan's worst-ever air disaster have found the plane's flight data recorder, officials say.

• Five Taliban off UN sanction list
  
  Five Taliban are removed from a sanctions list by the UN Security Council, a move sought by Kabul to ease rapprochement with insurgents.

• US economic growth slows to 2.4%
  
  US economic growth slowed between April and June, with GDP growing by an annualised rate of 2.4%, the US Commerce Department says.

• Wikileaks denies 'blood on hands'
  
  The founder of Wikileaks rejects US claims he has blood on his hands after releasing leaked documents on the Afghan war.

• Interns are 'entitled to be paid'
  
  Many young people working free as interns may legally be entitled to pay, a report says.

• Strikes and ash extend BA losses
  
  BA reveals a steep quarterly loss of £164m after being hit by cabin crew strikes and disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud.

• Northwest agrees to pay $38m fine
  
  Northwest Airlines will plead guilty and pay a $38m fine for fixing air-cargo prices, the US justice department says.

• Prescott Iraq intelligence doubts
  
  The intelligence on Iraq's weapons threat was "not very substantial", former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott says.

• Benefits face 'radical' shake-up
  
  Merging all tax credits and benefits into a single payment is one option being considered by Iain Duncan Smith in a "radical" welfare shake-up.

• Expenses four in appeals defeat
  
  Three ex-Labour MPs and an ex-Tory peer lose appeals over a ruling that they are not protected by parliamentary privilege from prosecution over expenses fraud allegations.

• Concern over rape medic shortage
  
  A lack of specialist medics to care for rape victims could be hampering conviction rates, doctors believe.

• Calcium pills 'raise' heart risk
  
  Calcium supplements taken by many older people could be increasing their risk of a heart attack, research shows.

• Pregnant women rights questioned
  
  The right of women to choose whether they have home births is being questioned by a leading medical journal.

• Gove defends academy schools list
  
  The Education Secretary insists there no is rush for schools in England to become academies, after criticism over the number of schools coming forward.

• Maths fears over A-level reforms
  
  Plans to reform A-levels could put students off maths and lead to university department closures, an academic body warns.

• 150 schools ask to be academies
  
  More than 150 top schools in England have applied to become academies, government documents show.

• Call to check on mobile security
  
  Owners of mobile phones are being asked to test the security of their network to see if enough is being done to stop eavesdropping.

• UK troops use iPad app for fire mission training
  
  Newsbeat's had an exclusive look at new training being given to UK soldiers at the Royal School of Artillery in Wiltshire.

• Facebook data hoarder speaks out
  
  Security researcher Ron Bowes tells BBC News why he collected and published the personal details of 100m Facebook users.

• Mammals decline in Chernobyl zone
  
  The largest wildlife census of its kind conducted in Chernobyl reveals evidence of mammals declining in the exclusion zone.

• Further Chile quakes 'possible'
  
  Land in the north of Chile is "ready" for another major earthquake, say researchers, adding that authorities did not act on previous warnings.

• BP boss scaling back oil effort
  
  The incoming BP chief executive has said it is time to scale back some parts of the oil spill clean-up in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Balding complains over sex jibe
  
  Sports presenter Clare Balding makes an official complaint to the Press Complaints Commission over an article which mocked her sexuality.

• DeGeneres leaving American Idol
  
  Comedienne and chat show host Ellen DeGeneres is leaving American Idol after one season on the judging panel.

• Ben Shephard says goodbye to GMTV
  
  Ben Shephard bids farewell to GMTV after 10 years telling viewers: "I'm going to miss all of you, every single one of you."

• Quiz of the week's news
  
  The Magazine's weekly quiz of the news, 7 days 7 questions - plus the Weekly Bonus Question.

• Family getaway or get away?
  
  They frequently end in disaster and can be anything but relaxing. Why do we persist with the ordeal of family holidays?

• Was croquet an Olympic sport?
  
  Tug of war, croquet and cricket have all featured at the Olympics. See what else has been in and out over the years.

• Australia bushfires: What went wrong?
  
  A report into the bushfires that tore across Victoria, Australia, in early 2009 has called for sweeping changes to the way the authorities respond to natural disasters.

• Tables turned on top QC
  
  Jonathan Sumption, one of Britain's top barristers, talks to Matt Stadlen about whether judges have too much power, why history matters, the secret to a good cross-examination and why he applauds inequality.

• Blind driver targets speed record
  
  A bank manager from Sale, Greater Manchester, is hoping to become the first blind person to drive a car at more than 200mph.

• River punting gets fast and physical
  
  Punting would normally be seen as a tranquil way to pass a summer day on the river, but race punting is an altogether different affair.

• Excitement ahead of Clinton wedding
  
  Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former US president Bill Clinton, is to marry long-term boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky at a private ceremony.

• Argentina celebrates first gay weddings
  
  The first gay weddings have taken place in Argentina after the implementation of a law approved by parliament earlier this month.

• 'I survived grizzly bear attack'
  
  A Canadian woman has said she played dead in order to escape from a bear during an attack in Montana that left one man dead.

• Enduring appeal of live rock music
  
  Urban sounds may dominate the music charts but there is still a buoyant market for live rock events.

• Wedding belle
  
  Why Chelsea Clinton continues to fascinate

• Week in pictures
  
  Striking pictures from around the world this week

• Life without a stomach
  
  The sisters who had surgery to combat family cancer threat

• Beyond Auschwitz
  
  Polish town's struggle to emerge from shadow of Nazi horror

• Scratching the surface
  
  Why so few people get under the skin of Afghanistan

• The G word
  
  How did cast of Jersey Shore rile Italian-Americans?

• From Lord's to Lod
  
  Israeli cricket's passionate players

• Lost lives
  
  The stories behind the IRA 'Disappeared'