Brazil's government says it will implement 50bn reais of spending cuts in order to curb inflation and help stop the economy overheating.

A married Republican congressman from New York state resigns amid a report he flirted online with a woman and sent her a shirtless photograph.

The US administration steps up its criticism of Egypt's leadership after a 16th consecutive day of protests against the rule of President Mubarak.

Former Netherlands football star Ruud Gullit is feted in Chechnya as he takes up his new job as coach of Terek Grozny.

A tanker owners' group urges governments to do more to combat Somali piracy in the Indian Ocean, saying hijackings could disrupt global oil supplies.

Cuba hails the arrival of a fibre-optic communications cable linking it to Venezuela as a breach in the US trade embargo.

A drunken driver in central Russia is jailed for 10 days for causing five accidents in half an hour, injuring three people.

The US military reduces to two years the prison sentence of Osama Bin Laden's former cook and driver, after he complies with a plea agreement.