At least 100 people, most of them children, have been killed in a Taliban assault on an army-run school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials say.

Nasa's Curiosity rover has detected "belches" of methane gas on Mars - a gas that could hint at past or even present life on the planet.

The Russian central bank announces a huge rise in its key interest rate - to 17% from 10.5% - to try to stem the rouble's fall.

Tiny microbes uncovered by the deepest-ever marine drilling expedition are analysed by scientists to see how they can survive under the seabed.

An anti-slavery raid on a factory in Greater Manchester finds immigrants from Eastern Europe allegedly paid £2 an hour and working 80-hour weeks, police say.

Researchers in Brazil discover a "super-bacteria" in the sea waters where sailing and windsurfing events will be held during the 2016 Olympics.

The government is expected to set out a range of proposals for introducing "English votes for English laws" later after the parties failed to reach agreement on the way forward.

Australian police begin an investigation into the deaths of three people during the operation to end a 16-hour siege in a central Sydney cafe.