The government's public sector cuts are not "lashed to the mast" and could be scaled back if the economic situation changes, a cabinet minister says.

The death toll following the spill of a large amount of toxic red sludge from an industrial plant in western Hungary has risen to seven, officials say.

Gunmen in south-western Pakistan torch nearly 30 tankers carrying oil to Nato troops in Afghanistan, officials say.

A UK aid worker held hostage after being kidnapped in Afghanistan has been killed during a rescue attempt, the Foreign Office says.

David Cameron defends a failed rescue attempt by US forces in Afghanistan during which a British hostage was killed by her captors.