Al-Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri says they have a 70-year-old US citizen, Warren Weinstein, who was abducted in Lahore, Pakistan, nearly four months ago.

Hospitals have had to cancel thousands of routine operations in the biggest strike in the NHS for more than 20 years.

The health regulator which inspects hospitals and care homes in England has "struggled" since its creation two years ago, a report says.

Over 90% of cases of a common form of food poisoning seen this year were due to people eating undercooked chicken liver pate, often at weddings, infection experts have said.

The tradition of saying prayers before Bideford Town Council meetings will be challenged by secularists at the High Court, who claim it is "archaic".

New figures suggest about three-quarters of councils are cutting or reviewing their school transport services.

Diplomats working at the Iranian embassy in London must leave Britain by Friday afternoon, after being expelled following an attack on the British Embassy in Tehran.

Iain Duncan Smith says tackling child poverty by boosting family income through benefits is too narrow and "looks set to have failed".