Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgrades Spain's credit rating, highlighting a deepening recession and rising pressure on Madrid's finances.

The mother of a US soldier killed in last month's Libya consulate attack says the Romney campaign is using her son's death for political purposes.

Most pirate vessels illegally fishing off Sierra Leone are accredited to export catches to Europe, a report by an environmentalist group says.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro is named vice-president by re-elected President Hugo Chavez, who recently fought a battle with cancer.

US researchers say that mice may have the ability to learn songs based on the sounds they hear.

Chinese PC maker Lenovo replaces Hewlett-Packard as the world's top PC maker, according to figures released by research firm Gartner.

Islamists who seized northern Mali are using money from drug trafficking to buy child soldiers, a senior UN official who visited the area says.

Oil giant Shell is due to appear in court in the Netherlands charged with polluting villages in the Niger Delta, a case that may set a legal precedent.