The founding president of the UK's Supreme Court, Lord Phillips, has defended the Human Rights Act as he announces his retirement.

US authorities say they have foiled an "Iranian-backed" plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador and to bomb the Saudi embassy in Washington DC.

Israel and Hamas agree a deal for the release of Sgt Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier snatched by militants five years ago.

Firefighters in Staffordshire are turning their station into a disco with live backing dancers as part of a campaign to promote fire alarm testing.

Burma says it will grant amnesty to thousands of prisoners but does not say how many are political detainees, amid calls for "prisoners of conscience" to be freed.

Slovakia's parliament votes against measures to bolster the powers of the eurozone bailout fund, seen as vital in combating the bloc's debt crisis.

A "vacuum of public safety" in Britain allowed August's riots to escalate out of control, so-called US supercop Bill Bratton says.

The DNA of 13,000 people convicted of murder, manslaughter, rape and other serious sexual offences is not on the UK database, the Home Office has said.