A British soldier from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha rifles, has been killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The Metropolitan Police has been asked to investigate Adam Werrity, the close friend of former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, for possible fraud, an MP says.

Children's minister Sarah Teather is to launch a trial of free parenting classes for those with children under the age of five.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi promises to punish rioters after a peaceful mass rally against austerity in Rome descends into street battles.

Immigration policy may be stuck between a "rock and a hard place" with the public most concerned about groups the government can do little about, says an Oxford University report.

Sonic Youth co-founders Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon have separated after 27 years of marriage, while plans for the future of the band are uncertain, their record label says.

A fight between prisoners at a jail in a city in northern Mexico near the US border leaves 20 inmates dead, the authorities say.

Opposition parties in Liberia say they are pulling out from the presidential election vote-count favouring President Sirleaf, calling it "fraudulent".