L'Insomniaque

UN chief Ban Ki-moon says the North Korea crisis has "gone too far" and urges urgent talks over plans to restart Pyongyang's main nuclear complex.

The UN General Assembly adopts a historic treaty to control the trade in conventional arms, voting it through by a huge majority.

Six European data protection bodies are to launch coordinated investigations into Google's privacy policy

Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris resigns after completing talks on a controversial bailout deal.

Amnesty denounces as "outrageous" the reported sentencing of paralysis for a Saudi man as punishment for paralysing another man.

Burmese police investigate the head of a mosque for possible negligence after 13 children died in a fire at Muslim school in the city of Rangoon.

The boss of Samoa Air says the airline's decision to charge passengers based on their weight is "the fairest way of travelling".

Mark Kirk becomes the second Republican senator to back gay marriage, as polls show a rapid rise in public support on the issue.

Jury selection has begun in the US in a case where Michael Jackson's mother is hoping to sue the late singer's promoters for neglect.

The main road linking Somalia's capital to the strategic city of Baidoa is totally recaptured from Islamist militants, African Union says.

Pakistani youth believe that Sharia law is the best political system, a British Council survey suggests.

France and Germany decide not to contribute to a British government review of the impact of EU powers on the UK.

Students at Cairo's al-Azhar university plan a second day of protests after almost 500 of them were taken to hospital due to food poisoning.

Chancellor George Osborne defends benefits and tax changes and calls criticism "headline-seeking nonsense".

The US state of Arkansas launches an investigation into an Exxon Mobil pipeline that ruptured, spilling oil into a housing community last week.

Cornwall artist Graham Ovenden is found guilty of indecency offences committed against young girls up to 40 years ago.

As Nelson Mandela's treatment for a lung infection continues, well-wishers are leaving messages of support hand-painted onto stones outside his Johannesburg home.

Egypt's ruling Freedom and Justice Party criticises US "interference" over the case of the popular Egyptian TV satirist Bassem Youssef.

The rate of unemployment in the eurozone hit 12% in the month of February, a record high, official figures show.

A Catholic priest dubbed Monsignor Meth admits selling drugs in the US state of Connecticut, and buying a sex shop to launder the money.

Canada's Information Commissioner has launched an investigation into allegations that the federal government is "muzzling" its scientists.

Thirty-five former school officials indicted in a major test cheating scandal have until Tuesday to surrender in the US state of Georgia.

As the official election campaign to replace Hugo Chavez gets under way in Venezuela, government candidate Nicolas Maduro visits the late president's hometown.

Police in Brazil arrest a third man accused of robbing and raping a foreign tourist on a minibus in Rio de Janeiro and beating up her boyfriend.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma pays tribute at a memorial service to 13 soldiers killed in the recent rebellion in the Central African Republic (CAR).

A French doctor who worked on adventure reality TV show Koh Lanta kills himself in Cambodia a week after one of the contestants died.

Israeli prison guards use tear gas to stop protests by Palestinian prisoners after a Palestinian inmate died of cancer.

Children's heart surgery at Leeds General Infirmary is to resume after operations were suspended over concerns about the number of deaths there.

A site which allowed users to sell on their unwanted digital music was in breach of copyright, a US judge rules.

North Korea says it will restart its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, closed since 2007, amid high tension on the peninsula.

Firefighters in China have rescued a drunk man who climbed a utility pole and crawled along electricity cables, according to state TV.

Court ruling tests power of French secularism

A grand piano used in the Motown Records studios is restored and put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label.

US President Barack Obama has unveiled a new initiative to map the human brain.

Two New York state lawmakers are among six officials who have been arrested over an alleged plot to rig the city's mayoral race, prosecutors say.

The draft report on the death of Savita Halappanavar has found an overemphasis by medical staff on the welfare of the foetus, which was unviable, a solicitor for her widower Praveen has said.

Mick and Mairead Philpott, the parents of six children who died after a house fire in Derby, are convicted of their manslaughter, along with their friend, Paul Mosley.

Xstrata and Glencore once again push back the date for when they expect to complete their merger, after Chinese concerns.

Paolo Di Canio declines to answer questions relating to fascism in his first news conference as Sunderland manager.

Declan Kidney's five-year reign as Ireland boss comes to an end after a dismal 2013 Six Nations campaign.

A fire at a Muslim school in the Burmese city of Rangoon has killed at least 13 people including children, officials say.

Lebanon is struggling to cope with the estimated 400,000 Syrian refugees that have crossed

The Moscow Metro is used by millions of Russian commuters every day - but is often described as an underground art museum. Steve Rosenberg looks around.

A new video game created by the Chinese government has become the latest big thing in China

An 80-year-old Japanese climber who has had heart surgery four times is to attempt to climb Mount Everest.

How involved was MI6 in the death of Congo's first prime minister?

What went wrong with Japan's electronic companies?

Tests reveal deception in fish marketing

Indoor technology gets attention

The world is barely enough for Norwegian airline