Voting begins in the Mid-Ulster by-election to find a replacement for Martin McGuinness who resigned as MP for the constituency at the end of last year.

Adidas, the world's second-largest sportswear firm, reports a loss for the final quarter of 2012 after writing down the value of its Reebok brand.

Welsh pop singer Bonnie Tyler says she is "honoured" to be the UK's representative at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden.

The Bank of England's rate-setting committee has kept interest rates at 0.5% and rejected calls to inject more stimulus into the economy.

Two British tourists who were kidnapped in Egypt on their way to a beach resort have been freed, a security chief tells the BBC.

The body of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lies in state at the Caracas military academy, after huge crowds watch a procession carrying his coffin.

A decision is due on a High Court legal challenge to overturn plans to end child heart surgery at Leeds General Infirmary.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev denounces recent laws passed in Russia by President Vladimir Putin as an "attack on the rights of citizens".