British hostage Patrick Noonan, who was kidnapped in Sudan three months ago, is freed, the Foreign Office says.

Two senior fire officers are acquitted of the manslaughter of four colleagues who died in a blaze in Warwickshire in 2007.

The European Commission suggests the idea of bailouts for ailing banks directly rather than helping national governments.

The former newspaper proprietor, Eddy Shah, is charged with child sex offences by the Metropolitan Police.

US author Madeline Miller has won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction with her debut novel The Song of Achilles.

Sky has become the third internet service provider to prevent its users accessing file sharing site The Pirate Bay.

Sportsday rounds up the big sporting stories of the day on the BBC news channel. (UK only).

Households who overfill rubbish bins or put them out at the wrong time will face smaller fines, as the government promises "common sense" by councils.