US President Barack Obama signs into law a tax compromise agreed with the Republicans, averting a rise in income tax for millions of Americans.

American musician and artist Don Van Vliet, best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart, has died aged 69.

Former England captain David Beckham is to be given the BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement award.

The build up of sticky mucus in the lungs of some cystic fibrosis patients could be prevented using medication, a study has suggested.

A motorist injured in a collision in East Sussex dies after the ambulance he is being treated in crashes in poor weather conditions.

Government cuts will leave Britain with worse youth unemployment problems than the 1980s, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown warns.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been accused of stealing as much as $9bn of his country's funds, according to leaked US cables.

US envoy Bill Richardson, visiting North Korea, says the situation on the peninsula is a "tinderbox" and calls for "extreme restraint", as South Korea plans live-firing exercises.