Oil giant Shell accepts responsibility for two oil spills in Nigeria's Ogoniland region, in what activists say could set a legal precedent for UK courts.

The US air authority, the FAA, is partially shut down as a new row in Congress sees the agency's funding cut off until lawmakers return in September.

One in three adults in the UK now use a smartphone, according to research by the telecoms regulator Ofcom.

A majority of leading economists polled by the BBC expect interest rates to remain unchanged until the start of 2012.

Italy is likely to default on its debts but Spain may just avoid it, says the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Shares of Japanese infrastructure giants Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy rise on speculation they plan to merge some businesses.

The Japanese government intervenes in the currency market to weaken the yen and protect economic growth.

A large shortfall in affordable new housing is revealed by figures obtained from local councils by rural campaign group the Countryside Alliance.