Pension payments to expatriate Britons in Cyprus are being "held safely" until the country's financial position becomes clear, MPs have been told.

The government is to announce parents will be able to claim back up to 20% of childcare costs from 2015.

The Foreign Office is investigating reports that two Britons on a Caribbean cruise have been shot while in Barbados.

The leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya apologises for using a stadium public address system to insult a football referee during a match.

A meat plant closed during the horsemeat scandal is given conditional approval to reopen.

Two of the EU's top officials, Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, both announce that they are to stand down at the end of 2014.

Heavy snow showers and gale force winds are expected to cause problems in parts of eastern, central and southern Scotland on Tuesday.