Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cuts Spain's credit rating because of the risks it could take on more debt to support its banks.

Syria is "in contravention" of an internationally agreed peace plan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warns, amid reports of continuing fighting.

UK Business Secretary Vince Cable says all UK exports to Argentine armed forces are being halted amid tension over the Falkland Islands.

Campaigners and human rights groups welcome a UN-backed special court's guilty verdict against the former Liberian leader Charles Taylor.

British industry will lead the production of Solar Orbiter, a spacecraft that will travel closer to the Sun than any satellite to date.

The contraceptive pill should be available at pharmacies without a GP prescription, including to some under-16s, an NHS report says.

Horrific crimes, such as the Anders Breivik case, illustrate the misconceptions the public has about mental illness, a leading expert says.

More than half of Europe's development aid budget is going to "relatively rich" countries like Turkey and Serbia, MPs warn.